Page 23 of Who's Your Daddy
Brian: We’re having a small issue at the office. Well, a lot of small issues.
I grimace. I shouldn’t be surprised.
Me: What’s wrong?
Brian: You don’t want to know. But Cal and Murphy are on their way to you. And I’ll be there as soon as I can.
Me: Great. I’m on babysitting duty.
Brian: Murphy’s easy.
Me: I was talking about Cal.
Without waiting for a response, I shove the phone into my purse.
“Loo-laa.”
At the sound of the singsong voice, my hackles rise. I swear the man exists to annoy me.
I take a deep breath, searching for a modicum of patience. There’s got to be a little left for him deep in my soul. When I come up empty, I spin, ready to tell Cal to go away. But the outfit stops me short.
He and Murphy are wearing matching navy sweat suits and bright red Nike’s. Blinking, I focus on the bold red letters on Cal’s chest.Big guy.With a scoff, I drag my attention over to Murphy.Little guy.
“Big guy.” Cal taps his head. “Little guy.” He taps Murphy. “See.” He beams, his chest puffed out. “Matchy matchy. Fatherand sonish right.Son.”
He gives the little guy a wink.
Before Murphy can respond—not that he looks eager to, Cal says, “Sssssooooonnn.” The word is long and drawn out, his voice low, like he’s saying some kind of odd chant. “Ssoonn.”
Beside him, Murphy has managed a straight face. This kid has talent, I’ll give him that.
“I think he meditates,” he explains, his expression still flat.
“No, it’s just a fun word,” Cal explains. “Try it.” He waves a hand at me like I’m going to join his chant. “Sssooonnn.”
“Seriously.” I fist my hands on my hips. “What iswrongwith you?”
“Nothing Lola.”
The name makes me cringe.
“In fact,” he says, his tone much lighter now, “pretty soon you’ll realize I’m your favorite person.” He steps up beside me and drapes an arm over my shoulders.
I duck, brushing him off. “Don’t touch me.”
“Oh but Lola you love when I’m close.”
Irritation bubbles to life in my chest. “I love when you’re close to leaving me.”
A tiny laugh escapes Murphy, but he quickly coughs to hide the sound.
“Come on.” I sigh. I’m stuck with Cal. Might as well get on with it.
And maybe it’ll help to focus on the silver lining here. Cal won’t care how much these apartments cost. He probably won’t even pay attention. With any luck, he and Murphy will entertain each other while I tour them.
From the outside, the building had promise. But despite the pictures I looked at online that made the lobby appear modest but not too small, there’s nothing but a tiny hallway with an elevator bank. That’s it. There isn’t even enough space for grocery drop-off. That will be annoying.
“You must be Miss Caruso.” A bubbly blonde with ahigh ponytail and deep scoop neck steps out of an open door on the right and scurries over. “I’m Christy, with a C.”
