Page 71 of Somebody's Watching Me
Annabeth looked up at him, startled, and Rowan cleared his throat. He didn’t know why his voice dropped so many octaves just then, but he wasn’t about to have her apologize for being brave. Not when she’d come so far.
Harper stopped eating to whisper to her little sister. “This is getting good.”
“Yep.” Theo chewed another big bite. “Wees no stay home, Unc. Gots to see the penis.” She twisted around on her barstool to address Ben. “Yous boss man, Papa. Yous tell Unc we needs to see a penis.”
The entire kitchen went silent.
Samuel returned from dealing with Taylor, and frowned at everyone staring strangely at Theo. “What did I miss?”
“Your daughter said she needs to see a penis?” Abe arched an eyebrow. “Did you want to elaborate on that, Sammy?”
“I have an ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday,” Evie explained. “We’re hoping to see the baby’s sex this time.”
Penises were all great and good, but Rowan wasn’t done with Annabeth. “What party?”
She was back to not looking at him. “We shop owners are hosting an event at Firewater on Tuesday. It’s a costume party since Halloween is right around the corner, and I’ve been preparing myself to go. It’s the first time I’ve had the courage to attend an owners’ event.”
The disappointment in her voice didn’t belong there. Not if he could help it. She’d mentioned several times about practicing mental exercises to get ready for crowds, and her hard work wasn’t going to go to waste. Jamison was right. Fuck those cultish freaks. He would work overtime to track the rest of them down.
“I’ll take you to the party.”
“And I’m going with Annabeth for moral support,” Jamison said to the back of Liam’s shaking head. “I’m also going with my sister to her ultrasound appointment.”
Liam turned and handed her one of the two matching coffee cups he held. Rowan would have never pegged them to be one of those couples who did cutesy shit like having coffee mugs that matched.
But he liked it.
Maybe he would buy a set for him and Annabeth.
Or maybe not.
Flying his freak flag too soon could scare her off.
“I said no,” Liam told Jamison. “Rowan can take Annabeth, butyouare staying home.”
Rowan’s eyes went wide, unsure if Jamison Fairweather had ever been told no in her life. By the collected breath the room held, he doubted it.
“Excuse me?”
Samuel and Simone smirked at the absolute rage in Jamison’s voice, and scrubbing a hand down his face, Ben wisely sat with Abe at the table to stay out of the situation.
Liam studied her. “What is your deal with this?”
“No one is going to control what I do.” Jamison held her coffee with two hands, looking as if she might throw it in his face. “Not even you.”
“Ah, but you see, I actually do control what you do.” A condescending half smile spread across Liam’s mouth. “As the head of Fairweather’s security, I control everything all of you do, and if I say none of you can go anywhere, then none of you can go anywhere.”
Evie poked Samuel in the stomach. “Excuse me?”
“That’s why we hired him, but we’re going to the appointment,” Samuel told his wife as he continued to watch their sister’s growing fury. “And if you absolutely need to go somewhere else, I’ll be right by your side.”
Evie thought about it for a minute. “Me and my libido are totally on board with this plan.”
Harper’s hand shot up. “What does libido mean?”
Everyone ignored her.
“Same goes for you,” Rowan informed Annabeth, more than pleased with where this conversation was headed. “If you want to go to work, I’ll go with you. A party? We’re going together.”
