Page 23 of Enticing

Izzy holds the iPad above her face, inadvertently blocking me from Cori’s prying eyes, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“Uh-huh,” Izz agrees. “He plays real hockey at the rink too. Coach Cohen said Coach Leo is the fastest player in the league.”

Hero-worship much, Izz?

Yet another reason to keep Leo Sinclair away. I don’t need Izzy getting attached to anyone else. It’s not fair to her.

“Wait.” Cori’s voice changes, and I know that tone. Damn it. “Leo Sinclair?”

When Izzy and I stay quiet, Cori practically shrieks. “Holy shit, Izz-a-boo... Is your coach Leo Sinclair? Adelaide JuniperJames,” she screeches. “Get on this goddamn screen right the hell now.”

“Language, Auntie...” Izzy chastises Cori, but it doesn’t matter. I’m officially screwed.

“Sorry, baby. But Auntie needs to talk to Mommy.” Cori changes her tone, knowing my kid will make her put a dollar in the swear jar when she comes home in a few weeks.

“Sweetie...” I say softly to Izz. “How about you go get your book bag together for school tomorrow and pick out what you want to wear. I have to talk to Aunt Cori for a minute, then I’ll be in to tuck you in, okay?”

Izzy sits up and hands me the iPad, scowling. “Can we read another chapter tonight?”

“One, Izz.” I run my hand over her hair. “A short one.”

She puckers up at the screen and blows Cori a kiss. “Night, Auntie.”

I watch her skip out of the room, and my shoulders sink.

“Okay—pinning the whole Leo Sinclair thing for a hot second, but don’t think we’re not coming back to that, sissy—have you gotten her tested yet? You know your kid’s a genius, right?”

God, I love my sister.

“Coraline... I can’t afford to get her into a different school yet, so the test doesn’t make a difference. Her school doesn’t want to move her up a grade, and I understand it, but there isn’t much more they can do for her there, so we’re still doing extra here. She loves the extra homework more than any kid ever should.” They haven’t actually tested Izzy’s IQ yet because she’s so young, but it doesn’t matter. I don’t need a test to tell me my kid is gifted. She’s so much smarter than any typical five-year-old should be.

I may have been readingGoodnight Moonat her age, but Izzy and I are working our way throughThe Secret Garden.She’s been speaking in full sentences since she was three, and she sounded like she was ten instead of a toddler. She deserves more.

“I’m doing the best I can,” I whisper, scared if I say the words to myself or out loud one more time, I might finally break. And when that happens, I’m not sure what I’ll do.

Coraline’s face softens, and I take the time to really look at her. “You look tired, sis.”

“Finals are almost here. I’ve got one more semester left after that.” She shifts and sits back against her pillows. “I’ll be fine. Now tell me about dinner with Leo freaking Sinclair. And don’t leave out a single detail. Like, is he as hot in real life as he is on TV? Holy shit. I can’t believe he was at the house and I missed it.”

Coraline is a bit of a hockey fangirl. Unlike me, who avoided the sport and basically anything else that had to do with my dad for as long as I could, Cori loves it. She loves to skate. She loves the sport. And she loves the players.

“What’s left to tell? He’s one of Izzy’s coaches. My car wouldn’t start the other night after her first class, and he offered to give us a ride home. It was starting to sleet, and I didn’t want to keep Izzy in a car with no heat, so I took him up on his offer. Izzy invited him to dinner. He came. He ate. He went home. The end.”

Even I know I’m full of shit, and I’m aware enough to know I’m not the most self-aware person in the room.

“Slow down,” she stops me. “Izz invited him to dinner?”

“Yes. Mac ‘n cheese and meatloaf.” I attempt to make it sound as mundane as possible, not wanting to entertain her train of thought. Because if I know my sister like I think I do, her train is about to go off the tracks.

“And . . .?” she pushes, wanting more.

“And nothing.”

Yup. Totally full of shit.

“Adelaide . . .”

I lean the iPad against the arm of the sofa and adjust Lennox in my arms as she squirms. “What do you want me to tell you, Cori?”

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