Page 37 of The Secret

“Yeah, did you hear that?” Rafe cupped his hand around his ear.

I couldn’t hear anything beyond the chatter of other diners. “Hear what?”

“Hearts all over the city starting to break now The Tuesday Club has lost a member.”

“Oh, fuck off,” I grinned, shaking my head and nodding to Bell. “We haven’t lost a member, we’ve gained one.”

Penn started opening up Bell’s bag one handed, pulling out a burp cloth, wipes, and her bottle of milk. “Dude, even if Bell wasn’t around, you are so far off the market and you don’t even realize it.”

“I assume you’re talking about Kit, in your not-so-subtle way. And no, I’m not off the market, I’m on hold. I’m not doing anything about Kit. She’s not mine, she’s Bell’s. I’m not fucking this up for Bell. I’m not.”

I was fully aware of the fact that I sounded like I was trying to convince myself more than anything else. Penn rolled his eyes while he started laying Bell’s things on the table.

“I don’t see what the big deal is. So what if you have the hots for her?”

I sighed heavily, admitting what was really bothering me. “We bumped into Foggerty the other day. He was his usual obnoxious self, and she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. She has this bright-eyed, innocent teacher thing about her, and I don’t want to sully it. Even if Bell wasn’t around, I’m not going near her.”

Penn pointed the bottle of milk at me. “I don’t like that guy. He’s a dick. You’d better not be comparing yourself to him.”

“I concur, also,” Rafe scoffed hard. “Is this because she bakes? No teacher I’ve ever known was that innocent. They act like it, but you know once the school day is over they all have stockings and suspenders on under those fucking tight skirts, because it’s easy access.”

“No, it’s not because she bakes, idiot. She looks after my daughter. She’s sweet and kind and gentle.” I crossed my arms over my chest, just before I told him she sang in the shower too, which would open up this conversation to further scrutiny about her being in the shower. I had no intention of conjuring up that visual for anyone besides me. “And you’ve watched too much porn.”

“No such thing. AndI’mspeaking from experience.”

“You always say I shouldn’t let my dick make my decisions. I’m simply trying to take your advice,” I replied pointedly.

He lifted his glass up to me. “Touché.”

Ally returned with three portions of Eggs Benedict and a huge plate of crispy bacon, placing them down in front of us, the tangy, vinegary smell of the Hollandaise causing saliva to pool in my mouth. “Can I get you anything else?”

Penn shook his head. “No thanks, sweetheart. We’re all good.”

She smiled at him, glanced down at the baby and walked off.

“Do you want me to take her?” I nodded to Bell, still in his arms, eyes wide and watching everything he was doing.

“Nah, I like having her.” He smiled, reaching for the hot sauce and smothering his eggs in it. “Plus, I’m getting my time in now. I need to shoot off after this.”

“Why?” I cut into my own breakfast, the bright orange yolk spilling all over my plate, and forked a big mouthful in.

“Need to go over to my grandparents’ place.”

I looked at the date on my watch. “Are they back already?”

Penn’s grandparents owned several houses around the world, but the winter months were always spent on their island in the Bahamas, and, according to his grandmother, winter didn’t stop in New York until April first. It was only March seventeenth, and Penn’s grandmother was nothing if not a stickler for a schedule.

“No, but there’s a new Picasso exhibit coming to the Met next month which the family is sponsoring, and Gramps is loaning out three of their collection. Apparently I’m the only one available to supervise the museum curator removing them from the wall or something. Only fucking dumbass to answer the phone is more like.” he grumbled.

I reached over and grabbed a slice of bacon, crunching down on it. “Kit’s been all round the Met. She told me she’s seen everything.”

“Everything? All of it?” Rafe’s eyes widened as he picked up his own piece. “Even the boring stuff?”

I nodded. “Yep. Impressive, huh? She did it while she was at Columbia, took a couple of years she said.”

His eyebrows rose in confirmation that he was correctly impressed. “What else do you know?”

I dug through the memory of what she’d shared, and what I’d noticed, because those nuggets I wanted to keep all to myself. Like the way she added Half ‘n’ Half to her coffee until it was to the brim and nearly always spilled when she lifted it to drink; or that she only seemed to braid her hair on Tuesdays and Thursdays; that I’d deduced her favorite color was green because it was what she wore the most…

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