“Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back.” I do my best Michael Corleone imitation, and the guys chuckle.
“Can’t wait to see the finished product. You always knock my socks off.” He does a little wave and strolls to the other side of the large space, leaving me with JR.
“Hey, you’re off the hook. You should head home and put a heating pad on your back.”
Ice blue eyes blink up to mine. “I can help you a little longer.”
“And I really appreciate it, but I don’t want to be in the doghouse for breaking your back. You’ve got babies to carry now. Spencer will help me.”
That deep dimple appears, and I sigh, wondering if it’s a sin to acknowledge how handsome he is.
“You’re still a badass with a blowtorch.” He holds up a hand, and I high-five it feeling proud.
“Thanks, babe.” He gives Daisy a wave before heading out the door, and I turn to see Spencer watching me with his dark brow lowered. Such a deep frown for someone who has no interest in me anymore.
Stalking back to the beginnings of my sculpture, I pull my glasses over my eyes again. “I don’t know why you’re frowning. I did what you said.”
“Good girl. Now, what do you need me to hold?” I’m annoyed at him speaking to me like a child. At the same time, his possessive tone tingles my stomach.
I have two things he can hold… and fondle… and nuzzle…
“Aunt Sly! Aunt Sly!” Ollie charges into the empty ballroom waving a plastic cup over his head. “Look at all the crickets I found!”
Spencer exhales impatiently. “How do you get anything done?”
“Magic.” I do a little starburst with my fingers, and he shakes his head, turning away.
Pretty sure I see the smallest hint of a grin trying to break that ice, and it reminds me of the time I heard him laugh—another dirty memory of his dick at my lips.
“Chartreuse is going to be so fat!” Oliver turns the cup side to side. “Just look at them.”
“That is really gross, Olls. Let me check that thing.”
The lid has tiny holes punched in it, but they’re not too big for anything to escape. I double-check it’s sealed tight, shuddering at the pile of crickets inside climbing over each other to get to the top.
“Don’t let those get loose in the house.” I hug his little shoulders. “Mom will have a cow, and I’ll have to sleep in my van.”
“Ms. Regina said she likes Chartreuse. She held her and let her climb onto her shoulder and everything! We almost lost her in her hair!”
He’s talking loud because he’s excited. I have a full-body shiver at the thought of that slimy thing in my mom’s hair. “You should be a props master for Indiana Jones movies when you get big.”
“What’s a props master?” Ollie’s face scrunches. “It sounds cool!”
“It’s right up your alley, froggy boy. Tons of bugs and snakes and alligators. Have you finished your homework?”
“Yes, Aunt Sly,” he grouses, and I goose his side, making him shout with a laugh.
When I told Courtney I had to be here until Sunday, she asked if I’d bring Ollie with me just in case his dad showed up again. Naturally, I said yes. I didn’t like leaving her in Columbia alone, but she said she couldn’t ditch out on her clients. Still, I call her every night, and she’s joining us this weekend.
“What if you traded in your frog for a dog?”
“Mom said we can’t afford a dog.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the vivid green frog with enormous, red-orange eyes.
My throat knots. I’m a little less creeped out by her now, but not much. “I can’t look at those eyes. They’re too big.”
“They help her eat.” Ollie smooths a finger down her slippery head. “She pulls them in to swallow, and they shove the food down her neck.”
“That’s disgusting.”