Page 96 of Man Advantage

“Reading?” Bryan eyed me. “This kid basically taught himself to read. What’s he struggling with?”

“Honestly? I think he’s bored with the story. He comprehends the sentences and words just fine, but he’d rather eat glass than read it. I had him read something else that was about the same level, and he blew through it like it was nothing.”

Bryan chewed his lip. “That doesn’t bode well for reading textbooks later.”

“Probably not.”

“Great. Well, I’ll talk to Trev about it. We’ll figure something out.”

I nodded. “Maybe we can each take him to the library. Let him pick out some books that interest him. He’ll have to slog through stuff he doesn’t enjoy later, but we might as well encourage him to read what hedoesenjoy.”

“True.” After we’d touched base on a few more things, Bryan walked with me to the front door. As I put my shoes back on, he asked, “So how is it, working for Trev?”

I shrugged. “It’s been great. The kids are a lot of fun, and he got me out of a really bad spot.”

“Yeah, seems like a pretty sweet deal for you, isn’t it?” There was an odd edge to his tone that hadn’t been there earlier, and it brought me up short.

I met his gaze. “I mean, yeah?” I shrugged again. “It’s a great deal.”

He grinned knowingly and nodded. “Well, I honestly wasn’t too surprised when I met you. When I told him he had to get full-time childcare if he wanted to hold on to joint custody, I kind of figured he’d hire someone he could bang, too.”

I jumped like he’d slapped me. “I—excuse me?”

Bryan laughed in that condescending,oh, you sweet summer childway. “Ah, so you don’t know him that well after all, do you?”

Irritation tightened my chest alongside confusion, and the confusion made the irritation worse. I’d been with Daniel long enough to know this game—he was trying to keep me off-balance. Gaslight me into thinking I was the idiot for not knowing the “truth” that he was making up. I hated that it succeeded in keeping me off-balance; not because I thought he might be right, but because I couldn’t figure out what his angle was. What was he trying to do? Shame me into admitting I wassleeping with Trev? Weaponize that relationship against his ex-husband? Just fuck with my head?

Keeping my voice calm and devoid of that irritation, I said, “I haven’t seen him in almost a decade. You were married to him.” I half-shrugged. “You probably do know him better than me at this point.”

The concession landed exactly the way I’d hoped—now Bryan was the one off-balance, staring at me and shifting his weight.

“So what made you think he was going to hire a nanny he could bang?” I asked as conversationally as I could. “Because it’s news to me.”

Bryan narrowed his eyes slightly, as ifhewere trying to figure outmyangle. Then he schooled his expression. “I mean, we all know what Trev’s number-one priority is.”

“The twins.”

Bryan huffed a laugh. “You would think. But… no. That man’s life is and always has been hockey.”

Anger surged through me, but I tamped it down. I wasn’t going to take his bait.

“Hockey is his passion,” I said evenly. “But he still?—”

“Hockey is hislife,” Bryan cut in. “And now that he’s hired you, he’s got all his bases covered.” He started ticking points off on his fingers. “Someone to watch the kids. The house is taken care of. He keeps joint custody so he doesn’t have to pay me child support. And he doesn’t have to put any time or effort into meeting a new partner or hooking up.” He made a sweeping gesture at me and smiled coldly. “All-in-one, leaving him able to focus on hockey. What’s not to love?” Before I could reply, he gave a dry laugh. “I don’t blame you, honestly. He’s hot as hell, and I’d bang a hot rich guy who was paying me to live in a million-dollar house.”

“Ah. Well.” I gestured around the condo. “That explains a lot, then.”

The fury that crossed Bryan’s face was deliciously satisfying. “Excuse me? I moved in with him because we’re dating. Not because?—”

“Mmhmm. And I moved in with Trev because I’m working for him. But if you can make crass, obnoxious assumptions about our arrangement, then…” I shrugged as flippantly as I could. “Fair’s fair, amigo.”

He stared at me, face full of equal parts shock and anger.

Then he rolled his eyes and muttered, “Go fuck yourself,” before closing the door in my face.

I chuckled on the way down to the car. As I drove out of the parking lot, though, my amusement and satisfaction ebbed. I was still angry and irritated, sure, but another feeling started to worm its way in, and I couldn’t get comfortable.

I knew Bryan was wrong about me. I hadn’t taken this gig so I could jump into bed with Trev.

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