Page 38 of Ex in the City
‘Yeah, I leftyoutolook afterthem,’ he reminds me. ‘It’s him, isn’t it? He’s done this to them. How dare he?—’
‘How dare he entertain your kids all day, because you were too busy?’ I interrupt him. ‘Bloody hell, Rowan, they’re temporary tattoos, they’ll wash right off – they’re already fading away on their own.’
‘Where have you been?’ he asks me. ‘Not to Jungle Jim’s, I can tell you that, because I went there to find you and you weren’t there.’
‘We took them to a recording studio, to see?—’
‘He took them to a recording studio?’ Rowan snaps. ‘Nicole, they’re children, what are you playing at?’
‘I’m not understanding what the problem is,’ I reply. ‘You want me to look after them, entertain them for the day, so I do, but I’ve done it wrong?’
‘Why is he hanging out with my kids?’ Rowan asks. ‘He’s here, he’s living onmystreet, he’s takingmykids to God knows what kind of environment, he’s muscling his way in at the school – don’t think I don’t know about that – and he’s got you completely distracted, because you still managed to put the red sock back in the wash with my white shirts, and now they’re totally ruined. Oh, and the icing on the cake, he’s giving you long, lingering hugs on my doorstep. I should beat the shit out of him.’
My eyebrows shoot up.
‘Wow,’ I say simply. ‘I mean, just as an FYI, for a guy who spends so much time in the gym, you are not intimidatingat all, so you might want to work on that. And you need to grow up.’
I turn around and head down the driveway.
‘Where are you going?’ he calls out. ‘To him, I bet.’
‘Yep, to him,’ I call back as I walk away. ‘For another long, lingering hug.’
My blood boils as I make the short journey across the street. How dare he talk to me like that? How dare he complain about me giving his kids a great day? Honestly, he’s lucky I’m still here, still helping out, still cleaning up the messhemade. That’s the only reason I stuck around, to get the money back that he stole from me for his stupid scheme, to make sure no one else was caught up in it, and to make sure that I left him with his reputation, his job and his house intact – all for the sake of his kids. It’s mad, that he would ever dare to question if I care for them. I love them, and if Rowan will let me, I’ll always be there for them in some way.
I march up to Dylan’s front door and knock way harder than I intended.
‘Hello,’ he says, his smile dropping when he sees my face.
‘Hi, can I come in?’ I ask him.
‘Of course,’ he says. ‘What are neighbours for, huh?’
I follow Dylan through the house, into the kitchen.
‘Coffee?’ he asks.
‘Do you have anything stronger?’ I ask him.
‘I haven’t exactly been shopping,’ he says with a laugh. ‘I can see what Mr C left in his cupboards.’
Dylan pulls out a bottle of whisky.
‘Irish coffee?’ he says with a smile.
‘Perfect,’ I tell him.
I take a seat at the wooden kitchen table and place my head in my hands.
‘What the fuck is wrong with everyone?’ I ask him, not expecting an answer.
‘By everyone, I’m guessing you mean your fella,’ Dylan replies.
‘How did you guess?’ I say, dropping my arms like a stroppy teenager.
‘What can I say? My intuition is justthatgood,’ he tells me. ‘Also, you were in a great mood when I left you, about fourteen seconds before you knocked on my door, and he’s the only person you had time to interact with.’
I laugh.
