Page 35 of These Pucking Boys: Part Two

“Right. Sorry. But that’s great news. We’ll book your flight to Baron as soon as we come back from walking Winston.”

Her brows shoot to the heavens. “You want me to walk that dirty mop?”

“You don’t have to walk Winston. You’re keeping me company.”

She grimaces. “Can’t I stay?”

“Nope.”

The last thing I want is to leave April alone in my apartment. She’ll snoop around for sure.

CHAPTER 16

JUNE

Iusually like to arrive at work early, but I had to drop off April at the airport first, and I barely had time to grab a cup of coffee in the teacher’s lounge before heading to my classroom. April kept me occupied throughout the rest of Sunday, and I didn’t hang out with the boys like I had planned.

Sick and tired of eating in my classroom but not wanting to discuss my private life surrounded by other coworkers, I invite Katrina to eat lunch at a café near the school. After the waiter takes our orders, she continues the conversation we started on the way here.

“I’m glad that the situation with your sister resolved itself. I hope the scare makes her think twice about spreading her legs the next time.”

I snort. Sometimes, I love Katrina’s lack of filter. “No kidding. I still can’t believe she slept with a boy she barely knew. But that’s April. She never had to worry about the consequences of her actions because there were never any really.”

“Teens these days are so much hornier, it seems.” Her eyes go out of focus, and a moment later, she laughs. “Who am I kidding? I was a ho at fifteen.”

My bite of sandwich almost goes down the wrong pipe, giving me a coughing fit.

Katrina eyes widen. “Are you okay, there?”

I punch my sternum lightly and croak, “Yeah. You can’t say shit like that while I’m eating.”

Her lips curl upward. “You should be used to my crass language by now.”

“If you were a ho at that age, when did you trade in your V-card?”

“Oh, not until I was seventeen. But I wasn’t a saint beforehand.” Her expression grows serious. “Lavinia will be a teen soon. We’ve had the talk, but I’m not sure it will be enough. My next step would be to put the fear of God in her, but that didn’t work on your sister.”

I shake my head. “Nope. It worked on me, though. So it really depends on the kid.”

“Lavinia is sassy.”

“I don’t think you’ll have to worry too much about her. Your parenting style is completely different than my folks’ style. You have an open door. I could never talk to my mother about anything in the relationship department.”

Katrina’s stance relaxes. “That’s true. My kids know they can talk to Beau and me.”

My phone rings in my purse, and I get all excited, thinking it’s one of the boys calling. They have a busier schedule than usual today. Thanks to the plane scare, the entire team needs to be available for interviews and psych evaluations.

“It’s Melissa,” I say, a little disappointed.

“You can take it. I don’t mind.”

I press the accept button. “Hi, Melissa. Is everything all right?”

“Yes, everything’s great. Busy today, but I had a quick chat with Jake, and he told me you’re official now.”

The butterflies in my stomach wake up, making me all tingly and excited. “Right. But only to my little sister. We asked her to keep it a secret.”

“She’s a teenager, right? There’s no chance she won’t tell a friend. I’d like you to be prepared just in case. When can you have the media training we talked about?”

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