Page 32 of Enemy Daddy Next Door

I know Trevor. Trevor is the CEO of Wynters Corp. Or should I say former CEO since now his son has taken over, apparently. Kira has always sung his praises. He was the one to take a chance on her and pull her into a male dominated company, allowed her to take the reins on projects and always backed her up when her male coworkers trounced her work. “Look, nepotism –”

“It’s not the nepotism that bothers me. Well, maybe a little. I mean, Orlie’s worked at the company for years, so –”

“Orlie?!!”

Kira chuckles. “Yeah. Short for Orlando.”

“I’m sorry, Orlie is a stupid name,” I reply.

“You always know how to make me feel better,” she says.

“Okay, sorry, just – Orlie, wow. I…” I sigh. Rich people and their crazy names. It’s not like we don’t come from money ourselves, but at least none of us are named Orlie. “Anyway, what’s your problem with…Orlie.”

Kira shrugs. “I’ve just got a bad feeling about him. I don’t think he really knows what he’s doing.”

“You said he works at the company, so –”

“Yeah, but it’s different. He’s just younger, and I just don’t think he has the drive or focus that Trevor has ever had.”

I smile sympathetically. “Maybe you can give him a month or so to prove you wrong?”

“No,” Kira replies curtly.

My eyebrows jump. “Okay….”

“I mean…sorry, I just –” She shifts in her seat. “I have a bad feeling about it. That’s all. And I can’t shake it.”

With Kira, it’s important to wait for her to ask for advice before you give it to her. That was my mistake. I’ll lay off and let her come to me with her problems as they arise. For now, though, she just needs a sister to hear her thoughts and say, “That sucks.” So, that’s what I say. “That sucks.”

Kira nods. “Yeah. It does.”

While the world is still alight with California twilight, the mood between us is rather dull now.

“I know what will fix this. Pizza. I’m going to order the pizza,” Kira says, clapping her hands on her thighs and getting to her feet. “What do you want, Ames?”

“Mushroom, pepperoni, and olive.”

Kira pulls a face. “Okay, one disgusting pizza for you and, Stella –‘”

“Just cheese!” Stella chirps. Tana giggles again and Stella digs her fingers against Tana’s cheeks, repeating, “Cheese, cheese, cheese!”

“Great, so three pizzas to satiate our eclectic taste,” Kira says.

“Satiate and eclectic? Are you sure you aren’t the writer in this family?”

Kira laughs, readjusting her glasses as she heads back inside.

I sit for a bit and watch Stella and Tana. I could get lost in it for hours. Kids…they’re just so special. I wonder to myself if I’ll ever have my own little one to complement this picture. Hard to imagine, given my lack of experience in the bedroom, that I’ll ever get to that point. But my body wants that. So bad.

My reverie is broken by the sound of the doorbell. I look over my shoulder through the screen door. Kira bolts off in the direction of the front door. “I’ll get it.”

Who could be coming by so late? Did Dad forget his key? Is the double date over already due to some unforeseen error? Neither of those make a good deal of sense.

I stand up from my chair and go to the door, looking over at Stella and Tana from time to time to make sure they’re alright. I watch as Kira clasps her hand on the doorknob and throws the door open.

My stomach drops when I see the man towering over her.

What the hell is Hunter Ricks doing here?

---