Page 52 of Offside Devil

At least, that’s what I tell myself all morning.

It’s also what I tell myself when hours and hours pass without any response from Zane.

He might be offended, but that’s not my problem. Maybe if he was talking to me, I could have been delicate about all of this. I could have gently explained to him that Aiden would rather sleep in the hall closet than in the queen-sized bed in his room. But Zane won’t talk to me, so I didn’t have another choice.

Especially since his assistant is useless. So much for her handling his “admin shit.” She couldn’t even forward an important email about Zane’s own son.

Or maybe she did and Zane ignored it, just like Taylor said.

I know Zane doesn’t care about me, but surely he cares about Aiden…

Right?

Aiden is finishing lunch when my phone rings. I lunge for it and then quickly try to convince myself it was not because I thought Zane had finally messaged back.

I always dive for my phone at the slightest vibration. That’s normal.

But it isn’t a text from Zane. It’s a call from an unknown number.

Everything stops. My heart. My breathing. The whirr of Zane-related thoughts in my head. It all fades away and only one thought remains.

It’s happening again.

I squeeze my eyes closed and answer. “Hello?”

“Miss McNeil?” a male voice I mercifully do not recognize asks. “I’m calling to let you know your car has arrived. I’ll be out front waiting whenever you are ready.”

Before I can ask this stranger what he is talking about, my phone vibrates with a new message. This time, it is Zane.

I sent a car. Take Aiden shopping and buy him anything you think he’ll like. I trust your judgment.

I read that last line several times before it sinks in.

“Miss McNeil?”

I jolt, remembering all at once I’m still on the phone.

“Yes. Here. Sorry.” I shake my head. “I will… Er, we will be down in a few minutes.”

Aiden is watching me from the table when I hang up, a question written on his little face.

I give him a bright smile. “How would you like to go shopping?”

Bribing Aiden with stuffed animals works for about fifteen minutes before he’s whining in the cart. He keeps reaching out and grabbing onto the aisles, trying to steer us back towards the front of the store.

“We can’t leave,” I explain, pushing the cart down the center of the empty aisles of the home furnishings department. “We have to get some things.”

Weirdly, there are no other customers, but there are double the amount of employees, I swear. They stand dotted every twenty feet throughout the entire store and seem to be competing to see who can ask if I need help the most times.

What I really need is a slightly more patient four-year-old. I don’t think these people are trained in that department, though. Nor are they capable of wizardry.

“Boring,” Aiden whines.

“Wow! A new word.” It feels weird to celebrate his complaining, but I ruffle his hair anyway. “Nice job, kid.”

He frowns. “Boring.”

“I know,” I sigh. “But we can’t go home until we have everything you need for your room. It’ll be fun.”

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