Page 42 of Lyrical

“So, she didn’t acknowledge you in school. At all. But yet she was so excited to be reunited with you?”

He plowed his hands through the hair that refused to stay down. He looked innocent right then with his rumpled T-shirt and pajama bottoms. Boyish and corruptible.

And I was the mama bear with razor-sharp claws, ready to gouge the honey from Cassie’s saccharine smile.

“Mom, I’m not sure what you’re trying to get at. Maybe she didn’t pay attention to me in school, but so what? She remembered me enough to recognize me, and I definitely recognized her. Were you the same person in high school as you are now?”

“I barely even remember high school, Daniel. Hardly the same thing.” I went over and leaned against the counter next to him. He had a valid argument, but only if Cassie were taken out of the equation. “I’m just concerned because you barely know her.”

“But she told me she’s worked with Chase for over a year. And she knew you. I like her, okay? I’m not sure what the problem is.”

The problem was… where did I start? I didn’t trust her. Period. But I couldn’t tell that to Daniel without backing it up. Everything had come together too easily to be coincidental, but a feeling wasn’t proof.

“When Chase and I were first… seeing each other”—yeah, we’ll call it that—“Cassie was interested in him too.”

“I know. She told me.”

“She told you?”

He shrugged. “If that’s what you’re basing everything on, that’s not that big of a deal. So she was interested in him briefly when she started at the school. She soon realized he had feelings for you instead, and that was the end of it. She doesn’t even think of him as anything more than a colleague now.”

Oh, she was good. Heading it off at the pass. Even more reason to keep her in fucking lockdown.

“Just be careful, okay?”

“I’m still not sure what you’re so worried about, but sure. I’ll be careful. Now, I’m really wiped out, even with that coffee in me. I’m gonna lie back down for a while. We can grab dinner together later?”

I kissed him on the cheek. “Yes, go. Dinner sounds great.”

He returned to the bedroom, and I was left trying to figure out if our conversation had been a success or a train wreck. I decided it was a ‘to be determined’ and went into the family room. I had a junk drawer I’d been meaning to clean out for five years.

Nope, all those runaway paper clips could hold onto their freedom a while longer. I zeroed in on Sasha instead, running circles around a tree. Not far away stood her owner, dragging on a cigarette.

I slipped on my coat and shoes and went out through the patio door. Michelle saw me and waved. I waved back. I wasn’t even really mad anymore, more blown away at her audacity, but I still wanted a good explanation. And I wanted her to know boundaries, because obviously her open-concept model was not going to work for me.

I stepped over to the fence that separated our yards and called her over. I could invite her inside, but it wasn’t something I wanted Daniel to wake up and overhear. She shuffled over, the glowing butt staring me down, and slung her arms over the metal wire.

“Hi, Jillian. How’s your day going?”

“Not sure yet. Hey, I didn’t see you around again yesterday. You didn’t come back to the party?”

“I did, but just for a second to get my shoes.” Shoes? Sasha ran over, and she swooped her up. Oh yes. She’d left without shoes, but since that wasn’t by far the strangest thing she’d done that day, it wasn’t even worth asking about. “Henry wasn’t feeling well all of a sudden, so I needed to sit with him. Pain in the ass but ‘in health and sickness’ and all that. You know how it goes.”

“So, Chase helped you out all right? Got all that salt down for you?”

She puffed out a ring of smoke. “Oh, yes. He was very helpful. Thanks for letting me borrow him.”

“Sure. Say, I’m curious about something, Michelle.” I gripped the cold links of the fence. “What in the hell was going through your mind when you asked my boyfriend for a sperm sample?”

“Is he gonna do it?”

“What? No.”

“I can pay him for his time. I’d only need him once, twice a week, depending.”

Depending on what? She was acting like she wanted to contract him to plow her driveway.This is beyond insane. I really should start listening to Perry more often.

“Are you listening to yourself here? How can you possibly think it was even okay to ask him something like that? And to tell him I gave my blessing?”

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