Page 35 of James

“Two girls. Looking for you or Kade. I don’t think they cared which one they got either,” she says dryly.

“Sorry,” I say sheepishly. Sasha mutters something under her breath, about ‘having standards’ and then hands me a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” I say gratefully.

“How was last night?” she asks.

“It was good. The woman is at The Safe House, and there were no issues.” I explain to her the events of last night, loving that I can be honest and truthful with her.

“Okay. I gotta head to work,” she says as she puts on her sexy black shoes. I admire the curve of her waist in the tight skirt she’s wearing.

“Looks like it’s just me and you, little man,” I tell Jye. Sasha finishes getting ready, kissing both of us before she leaves. I take Jye into the kitchen and put him in his feeding chair. Sasha said I should cut up some fruit as a snack for him, so I pull out a banana, pear and some strawberries, and begin cutting them up.

After his snack, Jye is seriously grubby, so I give him a quick bath before heading outside with him to play. Having been absent in his life in the beginning, I’m never going to take being a father for granted. I know the most important thing you can give a child is your time, so I intend to spend as much time with Jye as I can. I know I can offer him financial security, for which I’m grateful. I already opened a bank account for him, and a certain amount will go into it every month. Let’s just say Jye is going to have an amazing car for his sixteenth birthday. The thought makes me smile.

After an hour and a half of playing, I lay Jye down for a nap. He falls asleep the second I put him down, tired from all the running around we did outside. I don’t think I need to work out either, having gotten more than enough exercise chasing Jye around. I make coffee and walk over to the answering machine when I see there's a message left on there. It wasn’t new so Sasha must have checked it. I cringe when I hear Nancy’s voice, instantly deleting the message. Fuck. What if she asks me who Nancy is? I don’t have it in me to lie. Evade, yes, straight out lie, no.

I call Nancy back and talk to her for about ten minutes, before heading into my office to do some business. I check on Jye at twenty minute intervals, just to make sure he’s okay. I’m on the phone with my accountant, when I hear a noise coming from Jye’s room. I quickly tell Keith I'll call him back, rushing to his room. I can’t help the curse that slips out of my mouth when I see what he’s doing.

“Jye, you’re not supposed to draw on the wall,” I tell him, taking the black marker from his small hands. I stand there and stare at his artwork, black scribbles covering the wall at around his height.

“Come on, let’s have some lunch,” I tell him as I lift him in the air, putting him so he’s sitting on my shoulders.

The day passes quickly, and I feel exhausted. I have a newfound respect for stay at home mothers, that’s for sure, and I didn’t even do any cleaning. Although I probably should have. I cringe as I glance around the messy kitchen.

“Come on, buddy, let’s tidy up before your mum gets home.”

I load the dishwasher, wipe down the counters, and sweep, all the while wishing that today was the day that Jillian, the lady that comes to clean the house, was in. Unfortunately it wasn’t. After all that is done, Jye and I lie down in my bed and watch Aladdin.

***

Chapter Fourteen

Sasha

I stare at my clock. Six PM. Both James and Jye are fast asleep, cuddling each other. I take out my phone and take a quick picture. They must have tired each other out. I smirk and head for the shower. I make a mental note to never wear these shoes again, because my feet are killing me. After I shower and change I call up and order some dinner for us all, since there's no way I have time to whip something up. There's a knock on the door and I run to answer it.

“Chase, hey, come on in.” I look down at Cole and smile, bending low to give him a kiss on his cheek which he instantly wipes away.

“Where’s Layla?” I ask. I thought she said she was gonna drop Cole off.

Chase’s lip twitches. “She is otherwise occupied.”

“That’s my cousin, you know,” I say without emotion. Chase smiles, and when his dimples come out I can’t help but sigh a little. Even though he can be scary, the man is sexy as hell.

“Where’s James?” he asks, his eyes darting around the house.

“He’s having a nanna nap with Jye,” I snicker. Chase chuckles.

‘Hey, where’s the pole?” he asks as we pass the living room.

“The pole is history,” I say smugly.

“How did you manage that?” he asks with a shake of his head.

“Well, James agreed, of course. And I told Kade I would let Grace dance on there if he didn’t take it down.”

Chase barks out another laugh. “I think you fit in with this family fine.”

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