Page 61 of Bonus Daddy
“No, I can’t,” I argued. “I’m about to relocate to another state, and furthermore, I would never risk our friendship. Having him back in my life has been such a blessing. And as a bonus, I got you two and the rest of your family. My kids are happy, and I’ve found the village I’ve always dreamed of having. I’m not going to mess that up by throwing myself at the guy I dated in college who probably isn’t interested.”
The two of them burst into laughter.
“Delulu,” Lo declared.
“You’re off your rocker if you think he isn’t head over heels for you.” Sloane patted my knee. “I promise, if I know Brian Machon, you’ll soon find you can no longer resist him.”
Chapter 21
Brian
Staying away felt almost impossible. Jess’s girls were here tonight while she and Sloane and Lo had a girls’ night. Asshole that I was, I stayed in my office, working through the Phillips trust reallocation, letting Sully and Cal handle babysitting duty.
But with each minute that passed, it got harder to remain in my office chair, focusing on work.
Through therapy, I’d learned to embrace my feelings.
But Dr. Johnson hadn’t warned me that once I opened up, a dozen emotions I’d never understood would come rushing out along with those I knew I was suppressing.
Desire and longing plagued me, along with the constant fear that I was missing something essential.
Despite my determination to keep my relationship with Jess professional, my mind wandered. And Madame E certainly didn’t help. She’d caught me late that night when Dammit and I were returning from our walk and had blocked me on the stairs.
“I must talk to you. The winds have spoken.”
I looked down at the damn cat, who looked equally confused by this insanity.
“They said it’s a great time for Lake.”
I blinked, I was tired, overworked, and annoyed that my feline overlord had bullied me into a late-night walk. “Great. Should I throw myself in this lake?”
She frowned. “Lake is not water.” Her bracelets jangled. “You need to open your third eye.”
“It’s almost midnight. I can barely keep these two open,” I quipped and her lip curled.
“You need to see, Brian. See yourself. See her.”
She thankfully moved, heading down the stairs toward the door. Where a seventy-something psychic was going at his hour was a mystery, but it was one I’d rather not solve.
Instead, I was left to obsess over her weird-ass predictions.
I’d never been much of a lake-goer, so I couldn’t begin to guess which lake she was referring to. We weren’t exactly surrounded by lakes in Jersey City. We had the Hudson River, but that was possibly the least romantic body of water in history.
So now I was spiraling about lakes, wondering if I should buy a boat, pick up life jackets, or research fishing. Fucking great.
It was almost midnight, and considering how quiet the apartment was, I assumed everyone had turned in. My stomach roiled, I wasn’t sure if it was from stress or the protein shake Greta had made me that included what tasted like an aggressive amount of cinnamon.
I hung the cat’s leash beside the door and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. Halfway there, I found Sloane pacing the living room with the baby.
“Brian,” she whispered. “We need to talk.”
I strode toward her, concerned by her statement. “Everything okay?”
Nodding, she held the baby out to me. “Burp her for me. I gotta get Lo.”
I cradled Tiaagainst my shoulder, patting her firmly and congratulating her when she let out a belch that would make a Big 10 frat boy proud.
When Sloane reappeared, Lo was hot on her heels, dragging a sleepy-looking Cal by the hand.
