Page 14 of Play With Me

She pulled back, side-eyeing me. Why was she looking at me so funny?

“That’s exactly why I don’t like kids. They grow up to be loud, obnoxious, and stupid. They’ll empty your fridge and pockets at least three times a week. You hear that screaming up there?” She pointed to the window. “I call that perpetual chaos and at least half a million saved in my bank account. Kids don’t let you rest. They suck the life out of you like tiny little leeches. One minute you have this cute thing that you let nurse on your nipple, and the next minute it’s turned into a little Chucky who’s bound to you for the rest of your life.”

Was she seriously comparing infants to Chucky?

Jesus, I had a tougher job to warm her up to Sophie than I’d realized. Where was all this hate and anger toward children coming from? I was going to ask her why she was being so defensive, but she surprised me with her own question.

“How come you know so much about kids?”

“What do you mean?”

“How would you know it’s past their bed time?”

“Because it’s almost night time.”

That was partly true. And then an idea dawned on me. Why hadn’t I thought of this sooner?

“Also, my younger brother Jax has a daughter.”

“You have a niece?”

“I do. Maybe one day when you’re deserving you can meet her.”

“Why do you think I’m not deserving?”

“Well, you hate kids, and she’s very special. Wouldn’t want you to run away from me before I’ve finished convincing you how charming I am.”

“Charming? I don’t know. I feel like you’re trying to distract me right now with those pouty lips. It was just the way you said it:It’s way past their bedtime.” Her trying to imitate my deeper voice sounded funny. Still, her intuitionwasright.

“So? What are you doing in New York?” I asked.

“Visiting a client’s grave.”

A client?

“You’re obviously avoiding my question. Let me ask you something more interesting. Do you have a spare few days?”

“Days? Brook, all I have is hours. I can’t leave my client in Pace. I’m a ghost, remember? I’m supposed to be shadowing her 24/7.”

“So you flew to New York for the night just to come to a cemetery to pay a visit to a former client’s grave? Lola, you do know who you’re talking to, don’t you?”

If she was trying to pull wool over my eyes, she’d need to try harder than that. Suddenly I had the urge to comb through every grave in the cemetery to find out why she’d truly come here.

“I do, and I need you to drop this, Brook.” She reached out to my cheek, and I winced. It must have swollen from the punch, yet her touch there felt good. Lola was definitely good at distracting me. “You should ice that. Do you live far?”

“No.”

She bit her lip. Was she waiting for an invitation? I had Sophie sleeping soundly at my mother’s home, but everyone else was there as well: my brothers and my parents. Someone would definitely hear us fooling around. I couldn’t take Lola there, yet a hotel room didn’t seem special enough. But I didn’t want to lie to her again, either. One lie for tonight was enough. Make that two. Wait… three.

Shit. No more lies.

If I wanted a chance with this woman, I had to do it the right way. Or at least I had to figure out what the right way was. Feeling like I owed her at least a little bit of truth, I sighed.

“So since my brother crossed a certain someone—”

“Cortez,” she coughed into her hand, interrupting me.

I felt my brows narrow. “Since my brother crossed Aaron Cortez,” I corrected. “We’ve been forced to live with my mother. She’s a special snowflake who knows how to keep a low profile. Her house is the safest place to be at this moment.”

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