Page 51 of Who's Your Daddy
“I’m just teasing.” Cal’s tone is too light for the situation. “I’d never take a judge out on a date. It was her clerk. Anyway,” he says, oblivious to how little that distinction helps his case, “trust me, this will be great. Come on, give her a try.”
He pulls the door open, and I begrudgingly follow him to the lobby where Amy is staring up at the ceiling, her long beach-waved hair falling almost to her waist.
We all follow her gaze and, as if on cue, there’s a thump above us.
“Will it, like, fall?” she asks.
“No,” Cal says. “That’s just Sebastian. Our ghost.”
It takes everything in me not to scoff.
Of course he’s bought into Madame Esmeralda’s idea of a ghost.
“Cool.” Amy smiles, just as easily convinced. “I want to meet him.”
“We don’t have a fucking ghost,” Sully shouts from his office. “Stop saying that or I’ll never get Sloane and T.J. to move in.”
“Sully,” Cal says, “the ghost is the least of your worries when it comes to that.”
Sully lumbers down the hall, face red. But before he can continue his rant, Cal plucks a small orange basketball from the lobby desk and tosses it at his brother’s head.
Sully catches it and glares.
“Just trying to cheer you up. We need to see the frowny upside downy.”
With a huff, Sully disappears again, his door slamming a second later.
“Think the ghost will invade our bodies and give us superpowers?” Amy asks. “That would be so cool.”
“See, she’s going to be great.” Cal smiles at me.
I can’t believe this is my life.
Chapter 16
Cal
“That’s what I’m talking about.”
With a grunt, my brother swings at the Ping-Pong ball. He misses, and as it bounces across the floor, he glowers at a gloating Brian.
I grin. This is exactly why I got this table. Everyone’s been so bloody tense since we moved to Jersey. We’re three single lads living together. Sure, we’re also dads—well two of us are—and we’re kind of disasters at the dad thing, but we can still make the best of the situation.
“Brian.” Lola’s angry voice is choppy coming from the walkie-talkie.
Truly this system is bloody brilliant. I brought the men upstairs to blow off steam and to give Lola a little peace. But she can still reach us if she needs to.
Immediately his shoulders straighten and he drops the paddle. “Yes?”
“Judge Gasper called. Instead of sending the letter to the court on Friday, Amy mailed an empty certified envelope, so our objection was not filed in time. If you have any chance of winning Peterson’s case, you better get down to the courthouse right now.”
With a glare at me—as if this is my fault—he holds down the button on the side of the walkie-talkie and grunts. “How the fuck did she do that?”
“I don’t know.” Lola’s voice is robotic. “When I asked, her response wasthat’s so weird, right?”
I grimace. Amy is definitely not Lola’s favorite person.
“Need me to get the orange suit?” I offer when Brian sets the walkie-talkie down.
