Page 15 of Against the Clock

Eight

Roman

10 Days Ago

The morning starteddifferently than I had anticipated.First off, I woke up with a stiff neck from sleeping on the couch.Second, I was overly exhausted from the lack of sleep because my mind was going a mile a minute.And third, I couldn’t shake the excitement that I felt when Quinn walked in on me in the bathroom.

Thankfully, I had already showered and was covered when she burst in, but that didn’t stop my dick from stirring at the sight of her skin blushing as she tried to look away.Had Rosie not been there, I probably would have entertained dirtier thoughts than I already had.

While Quinn showered and got ready, I started a pot of coffee and searched through my cabinets to find something suitable to make for them for breakfast.I couldn’t imagine that many five-year-olds began their day with protein shakes, and I definitely didn’t have any sugary cereal or Pop Tarts lying around.

Rosie woke up right before Quinn came out and stumbled into the living room, rubbing her eyes as she tried to wake up.

“What time is it?”she asked sleepily.

“Just after six-thirty,” I answered and poured myself a cup of coffee.

“Do I have to go to school today?”

“I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t.”

“I don’t want to.”She sat down on the barstool beneath the counter and pouted.

“Why not?”

“It’s boring, and we don’t do anything fun.I would rather stay here with you.”

“Well, I don’t get to stay home today.I have to go to work.”

Speaking of which, I still needed to text Trevor and let him know that I would be late this morning.I hadn’t talked to Quinn about it yet, but I was also planning to escort her to work after we dropped Rosie off at school.I knew that Quinn wasn’t worried about herself right now because Rosie felt like the only threat, but I wasn’t willing to take any chances.

“Will I have to work when I’m an adult?”Rosie asked as I finished my text message and pressed send.

I set my phone down on the counter and smiled as Quinn walked into the room.

“We all have to work,” Quinn answered, sliding past me to snatch the other cup of coffee from the counter.“And you need to go brush your teeth so we can get going.I’ll grab you breakfast on the way.”

“But Mom,” she whined.

“But nothing.”Quinn brought the mug to her lips, the steam billowing over the top.Her eyes narrowed as her brows raised.Rosie plopped off the barstool with a loud sigh and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom.

“They say it’s supposed to get easier the older they get,” Quinn sighed before taking a sip.“I find that hard to believe.”

“I can imagine,” I laughed.“She’s a great kid, just a whole lot of her mama’s sass in that little, tiny body.”

“Hey,” Quinn protested with a chuckle.“That’s not all me.Justin contributed some too.”

“Yeah, the good stuff.Like doing well in school and listening to anyone but her mom.It reminds me of someone I knew who was an unruly and rebellious teenager.”

She groaned and closed her eyes, holding the cup between both hands.

“Oh, God.It’s only going to get worse, isn’t it?”

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