Page 45 of The Hard Hitter

A knock comes again, and knowing I can’t just leave her out there, I unlock the door and open it.

Her eyes go wide for a second, but she pulls herself together quickly. “How is Daisy?”

I wave my hand toward the sofa. “Sound asleep. Like her daddy.”

“Seriously?”

I frown at that. “Yeah. I told him I’d take care of Daisy so he could sleep. He was up numerous times with her last night.”

“Wow.”

“Wow, what?”

“I’m just surprised is all. He only ever leaves Daisy with me or Celeste. She’s Daisy’s full-time nanny when Zander is on the road.”

“Oh, he probably trusts me with her because I treat her for her lisp. He leaves me with her in the clinic.”

“Yeah, that’s probably it,” she says with a shrug, and looks past my shoulder. “Coffee on?”

“Sure, come on in.” We walk quietly to the kitchen. “How’s Scotty?”

“No signs of chickenpox yet. He and his daddy are having a Sunday afternoon at that park. I wanted to stop by to see if Zander needed anything, but I can see you have everything under control.”

She helps herself to a mug and refills mine. I grab the milk and give us both a splash.

“Sit outside?” she asks.

“Sure,” I say, and follow her out, grateful that I also gathered up Zander’s clothes earlier and left them in the bathroom.

“Is that your car in the driveway?” she asks as she settles herself at the table.

“Zander arranged for it. He said he had a good mechanic. I’m going to pay him back though,” I say, not wanting Quinn to think I’m using her brother in any way.

“He’s a good guy.”

“He is,” I say. “He even agreed to go to my family’s annual Fourth of July BBQ.”

“Oh, really?” she says with a smirk.

“I was kind of in a bind. As you know, my folks and family are always poking their nose where it doesn’t belong. Zander agreed to come to get the heat off me. We’ll just pretend we’re a couple for a little while and that should have everyone backing off.”

“Pretend, huh?”

“Yeah.”

“So, Todd,” she says. “Has he texted you?”

“He did.” I cringe. “I appreciate you trying to set us up, but I’m not really interested. I want to text him back, but I’m not sure what to say.”

“Let me take care of that,” she says, and nods her head like she has it all under control.

“Really?

“Sure.” She gives a casual shrug and takes a sip of coffee. “I set it up, so I’ll see to it that he understands you’re with someone else now.”

Unease takes up residency in my gut, and I twist the hem of my sundress in my fingers. “I’m not really with anyone else,” I say. “Zander and I…” What do I say to my friend? Oh, I’m just fucking your brother. That sounds a bit crude. “We’re just friends.”

“Friends who sleep together,” she says bluntly, never a girl to pull any punches.

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