Page 44 of Coach Me
“Was that supposed to have a double meaning?” I laugh.
“Wasn’t intentional, but I’m coining it now for this exact reason.”
I fold up the napkin and shove it into my purse. “Anyway, how are things going at the tattoo shop?”
Jensen falls back against her chair with a major eye roll. “I’m so ready to get out of this apprenticeship. Hank is the fucking worst. How Tally stays married to him is beyond me.”
“Doesn’t he hit on you constantly?”
Jensen throws her hands in the air. “Literally hits onanyone with a nice rack! I don’t know if she doesn’t see it, or just doesn’t care. I’m honestly scared to bring it up to her but he’s been breathing down my fucking neck and getting real touchy.”
I hate this for her. Jensen works constantly, and this apprenticeship is the last thing she needs to be officially licensed. “How many hours do you have left?”
Jensen sinks a little lower in her chair. “I’m finally under five hundred. Nearly two years. I’ve endured his backhanded comments and sleazy pick-up lines this entire time. Now I’m this fucking close, and he starts this shit?”
I can’t bring myself to keep the disgust off my face. “Jen, I’m so sorry. Do you think there’s any chance you could tell Tally and there not be backlash?”
Jensen lets out a deep,deepsigh. “With none whatsoever? No, I don't think so. I need this apprenticeship, Luce. I push through to get my license, then I’m out of there.”
I get it. I’m not happy about it, but I get it. “Swear to me, Jensen, if it escalates, you’ll say something.”
She holds out her pinky. “Pinky promise, Princess Peach.”
Chapter 15
Dex
I have many regrets. So, so many from today. Starting with letting my son see that damn bedspread being delivered. Lucie needed something for the bed and I had nothing on it because I let Kate take whatever the fuck she wanted when she moved out.
Yellow wasn’t the only color that was deliverable today, it just reminded me of Lucie. It reminded me of how beautiful she looked in her yellow sundress the first day we met. Finding out it was her favorite color wasn’t a total shock, but thanks to my son, I had to come up with a lie on the spot.
Then there was that mishap in the hallway that I’m sure will haunt me for all eternity, but the other main regret of the day was taking the phone back from Miles when he said, “Mommy wants to talk to you.”
Again, I should have known that my no-filter son would talk about the new nanny moving in today.
I get that while Kate gave up all rights to decision-making involving Miles, she would still have questions. Despite the short notice, I did get a general backgroundcheck on Lucie—again, another small abuse of power using the Blues’ legal team.
Should I have been the one to tell my ex instead of Miles? Yeah, probably. I definitely got an earful on that one. I’d already had to answer a million and one questions my own mother had about hiring Lucie, but Kate’s came with more unnecessary questions. What does Lucie look like? Is she pretty? How old is she?
Answers to those are ones I did not want to give, so it probably made matters worse, but I reminded Kate that none of it really mattered because Lucie’s here to stay.
My stress from the phone call must have carried with me throughout the rest of the afternoon, or our run-in in the hall has kept Lucie at a generous arm’s length. Which is for the best. In spite of her joke in the living room this morning about being fired after these first two weeks and my attraction to her—I need a nanny and a homeschool teacher for Miles to be able to travel with me.
For the entire plane ride, Lucie gave all her attention to Miles, and while I’d catch her eyes wandering toward me a time or two, her eyes carried more concern for my quiet demeanor than anything else. Not that I should want to see something more in her eyes, that’s beside the point.
When our shuttle arrives at our hotel for the week, Miles yawns and holds his arms out for me. “I’m too tired to walk.”
I chuckle. “All that sitting for the last couple of hours has worn you out, huh?”
“Travel is exhausting,” Miles huffs.
Lucie comes around to my side. Her lips turn up when Miles rests his head on my shoulder. “I second that, bud. I think I’m going to crash as soon as I hit the bed.”
Miles giggles and lets out a very fake yawn. “Me too.”
Lucie doesn’t look exhausted, though. She still shines just as bright with her blonde hair falling loosely over her shoulders and in her damn yellow. It doesn’t matter that it’s a crewneck, it could be a yellow bag and it would complement her so well.
My hand starts to move to brush some of her hair back behind her shoulder, but then I realize how fucking weird that would be and play it off as if I wanted to scratch Miles’s back.
