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I just hope she can have everything she wants too.
Even the things I can’t give her.
At six o’clock, I’m dragging myself out of Lily’s bed and getting dressed in yesterday’s clothes, which are not quite completely dry yet, so I can go home, feed the cat, and make myself a little less freshly fucked before driving back down to Ashland to meet up with the Tripletts. We both check our phones, and I hear Lily gasp at the same time that I see a text from Kate.
“She had the baby yesterday!” Lily exclaims. “Oh, he’s so cute!”
I stare down at a photo of a tiny newborn. “She sent you a text too?”
I watch as she pulls the sweatpants that were on the floor back on, without putting on underwear. She seems a little offended that I’d even ask her that. “We’ve been in touch almost every day since her last day of work up until her water broke. She kept checking in on me because she was bored. I’ll have flowers sent to her for you. Are you going to visit her at the maternity ward?”
I watch her put her T-shirt back on, without a bra, and rub my scalp vigorously, trying to shift out of sex mode. “When are visiting hours?”
“Eight to eight.”
“Yeah. Sure, I can go on my way to Ashland.”
“Okay, well, I want to visit her before work too. We should probably visit her together.”
“No. We shouldn’t. If she’s on painkillers, she’d probably tell everyone we showed up together. We go separately.”
She stares at me for a second, giving me a look like I’m an idiot for not listening to her, and then smacks her lips together. “Okay. How about I go right at eight, for like fifteen minutes, and then I’ll let you know when I’ve left so you can go?”
“Okay.”
“Okay! And we’ll both order from her Amazon baby registry. Separately. Of course.”
She is so excited for my former assistant that she’s known for like a week. I don’t know why I’m always surprised when I’m reminded that Lily Barnes doesn’t have the same complicated relationship dynamic with the rest of the world’s population as she does with me. I mean, as sheused to havewith me.
She stands on her tiptoes and puts her hands around the back of my neck, pressing herself against me. “Don’t forget to wash your hands before you touch the baby.”
That is not a sexy sentence right there. Sex-mode switched off. “I will definitely wash my hands before touching the baby. And before I forget, I’m going to forward something to you from Tina. I need you to look into a property that’s about to go into foreclosure, but don’t give it to Chris. We’ll keep it between you and me for now.”
She grins. “You got it, boss man. What else are we gonna keep between you and me at work?”
I screw up my face. “Everything? Nothing. I don’t understand the question. Obviously we will be discreet and keep our hands off each other in any work situation.”
She rolls her eyes. “Ya think?”
“I’m serious. If you want your dad and everyone else there to take you seriously—”
She crosses her eyes. “I do, boss. I want everyone to take me seriously.” She drops her hands from my neck, spanks me, and skips out the door. “I’m gonna give you the bluest balls, boss man. I almost feel bad for you,” she says in a sing-song voice.
I don’t doubt it.
And I have no doubt that it will be worth it.
I’ve been in Kate’s hospital room for a grand total of thirty seconds, and all I’ve done is shake hands with her husband and peek at the baby in his basinet, and Kate is already grilling me about Lily.
“When did it happen? Does anyone else know? Have you told her you love her yet?”
“Hello, Kate,” I say, kissing her on her forehead. “Shouldn’t you be drugged-up and out of it?” I look over at her husband, who shrugs his shoulders and leaves for the cafeteria.
“Drugs don’t do anything for me. You know that.”
“No, I didn’t know that. How would I know that?”
“Don’t change the subject.”
