Page 46 of Sweet Poison

"There was no time to do all these personally,” he explained. “I got the meal from Mrs. Sheridan. She makes the most wonderful dinners. However, for dessert, you’ll be having brownies that were made by Montana and ice cream, made by me. We whipped them up last Sunday."

"Bought or not, I deeply appreciate the gesture," I said.

I put a forkful of meatloaf into my mouth and instantly became a fan of Mrs. Sheridan’s cooking. It was easily one of the most delicious things my tongue had ever tasted.

After Montana’s sweet pussy, obviously.

Chapter 28

Montana

Throughout the meal, I was aware of my father’s watchful gaze and Cole's intense scrutiny. The only person without an ulterior motive who was simply enjoying herself was Anya. Oh, what a joy it was to be a child. Innocent and free of worries and scheming.

I thought of her mother and wondered if it would be appropriate to ask her about it. Probably not. I didn’t want to come across as a prying, snooping busybody.

"Do you have any special requirements for Anya?" I asked. I made sure to look directly in his eye, as I did with the other parents, or else my dad was sure to make a mountain out of a molehill.

"Not really. What sort of things did you have in mind?" he replied evenly, but because he gave his whole attention to me, it was unnerving.

My God, he really was so unfairly beautiful. I took a sip of wine. I might already have drunk too much out of sheer nervousness.

"Anya was excellent today. She participated in all the activities, but considering she is from the city, I wondered if she might have special needs. Perhaps her mother would know…”

Something flashed in his eyes, but his expression and voice remained neutral. "If at any point something comes up, I’ll be sure to let you know, and of course, I'm always open to your recommendations."

"Alright," I nodded and stabbed a piece of carrot with my fork. That attempt to find out about Anya’s mother sure fell flat on its face. Only recently, I’d finally managed to convince myself I could forget about him, but now that he was back in my life, I didn’t know how to resist him.

"Montana, are you alright?" my father asked.

I turned to him, startled by the question. He raised his eyebrows at me and it was only then I realized I was repeatedly stabbing a piece of carrot. I instantly corrected this by putting the mangled vegetable into my mouth and chewing vigorously.

"I'm great," I replied robotically. "Just a little tired."

"That can't be right," he said with a smile. "You're never tired. Your stamina is unbelievable."

This statement he directed at Cole, and I wished he hadn’t because I knew Cole would see my father’s innocent compliment in a sexual light. I couldn’t help but glance over at Cole, hoping he wouldn’t disappoint me, but he behaved true to form.

"She does seem like the kind to be able to go all day and all night," he said.

I nearly choked on the piece of carrot I’d been chewing for the last five minutes.

I fumed at him, but he smiled and winked at me. Quickly, I returned my attention to my father. Thank God, he was picking up his wine glass and didn’t notice.

Blissfully unaware of the undercurrents between Cole and me, my father continued. "She has loved the outdoors since she was a kid, and I think that's where her great energy mainly comes from."

I smiled then and rose to my feet. "I need to go check on something in the kitchen. I’ll be back soon, please excuse me."

"Of course," both men replied.

I gave Anya a much-deserved smile for stressing me out the least, then took my leave. I headed straight to my room because frankly, I needed to lie down. My head was swirling. Probably a mixture of confusion and grade-A lust.

I went out to the back porch, pulled out my phone, and face-timed Pearl. She was sitting on her bed eating ice cream directly from the carton. In the background, I could hear the faint sounds of the video game she was playing.

"My father made me wear a damn dress! And I swear this dinner is some sort of test. There’s a swarm of alligators waiting underneath to devour me if I lose my footing and fall," I grumbled when she answered.

"Wow, that’s unnecessarily dramatic," she said.

"It’s how I feel."

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