Chapter Twenty-Two
Eric
“What do you mean you want to stay there for an entire week?” I ask, looking at my daughter in disbelief. It’s eight o’clock in the morning, and Julie blindsided me with her request.
“Well, the girls’ parents are going on a vacation, so the girls are staying with Mrs. Bennett. They invited me to stay with them. It’ll be like going to camp. And summer school ended, so I’ll be bored anyway.”
“You’ve never wanted to go to camp,” I say.
“But I want to stay with Mrs. Bennett and the girls,” Julie pleads.
“Why do you like sleeping there so much?”
Julie shrugs. “Mrs. Bennett is cool. She makes us Pop-Tarts and even plays Twister with us.”
“But isn’t she old by your standards?”
“Dad, there are cool old people and uncool ones,” Julie says in her ‘You know nothing, Dad’ tone. “You’re going to be an uncool old person.”
I nearly choke on my coffee. “What? Why would you say that?”
“Because I’ve spied on you sometimes when you speak on the phone with people at your office, and you’re grumpy all the time. You only smile when you’re with me or Pippa.”
Wow, kids certainly don’t hold back punches. Scratching my jaw, I try to find the best words to tell her that she shouldn’t get used to Mrs. Bennett and the squad. After
all, we’ll be leaving here in two weeks. But as Julie watches me with wide, pleading eyes, I can’t bring myself to break her heart, so I say, “Okay, you can go.”
Just thinking about her being gone for a week makes me sick. I have to get used to this. As she grows up, she’ll prefer to spend more time with her friends rather than with me. Still, a difficult pill to swallow.
“Yay! I have to be at Mrs. Bennett’s on Saturday. So I can call my friends and tell them we’ll be staying together?”
“Yeah. You do that,” I say.
Julie practically jumps up and down as she darts to her room, pressing the phone to her ear. She’s growing up way too soon.
***
Pippa
On Friday night, I’m at Eric’s place. Alice should arrive in about an hour, so we can start the girls’ night out we planned. Ava, Nadine, my sisters, and I collectively decided we need to let off some steam tonight. It’s been months since we’ve done it. Julie is leaving for my mothers’ tomorrow for a week, and Eric insisted I sleep here for the entire period, starting with tonight. He also insisted that I should bring enough clothes, so now his bedroom is full with dresses, shoes, and makeup items.
Preparing for the night can wait, though. Eric can’t. Julie’s out with Ms. Blackwell, so it’s the two of us alone for a little while. I’d better take advantage of it. I find him in the living room, barking orders on the phone while typing on his laptop. He and Julie will have the evening to themselves, and they’ll spend it watching movies. He’s having the blues because she’s leaving tomorrow, and he couldn’t be more adorable. Well, he’s adorable to me. I’m sure the person on the receiving end of his orders would disagree.
“Stop looking for excuses and start finding solutions,” Eric bellows into the phone.
Right, time for an intervention. I wait until he finishes the conversation then ambush him.
“You said you’re being nicer to your team.”
“I am until they screw up.”
“You work too much.” I push his laptop away, climbing in his lap. I undo the belt of my kimono, giving him a view of my naked skin, hoping that’ll take his mind off whatever troubles he’s having. Judging by his sharp intake of air, I succeed. He pushes the fabric off to the sides, completely baring my breasts. He looks at them with a delicious hunger, riling me up to no end.
Instead of touching me, though, he drops his hands to his sides. All right, two can play at this teasing game.
“You carry a sketch pad in your bag,” Eric remarks.
I shrug. “You never know when inspiration strikes. Let’s make a deal for this week. If one of us thinks the other is overworking to death, we step in. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. What do you say?”