Page 22 of Eleven of a Kind

“Hold on a second. I’m going out tonight.”

“With who?”

“This woman I know.”

“My dad has a date?” Her brow arched.

“It’s not a big deal. Anyway, I don’t want to leave you alone, so you’re going to stay at Uncle Grayson’s house.”

“I’m fifteen. I stayed home alone all the time when Mom went out. I don’t need a babysitter. In fact, I am a babysitter. I babysat the kids that lived next to us.”

“I don’t feel comfortable leaving you home at night.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Besides, if anything happens, I have an entire beach full of people.”

I stood and stared at her. “Fine. But make sure you lock all the doors.”

“I will.” She began to walk out of the room, stopped, and turned around. “Don’t forget to bring a condom with you.” She smiled and walked out of the room.

“Knock it off, Riley!” I shouted and shook my head.

CHAPTER8

Piper

When I pulled into the parking lot of my boutique, I saw my friend, Tara, getting out of her car, holding a cup holder with two coffees in it.

“You are a lifesaver.” I smiled.

“Long night with Jack?” she asked as I unlocked the door.

“Yes, and I won’t be seeing him anymore.” I turned on the lights.

“What?” Her eyes widened as she handed me a coffee. “He said it, didn’t he?”

“Yep. He sure did.” I brought the cup to my lips.

“Damn.” She shook her head. “I was waiting for that. He really likes you, Piper.”

“I know.” I sighed. “And I like him. Why did he have to go and ruin things?”

“So, what did you say after he said it?”

“It was awkward as hell. I waited a while and then told him I wasn’t feeling well. Then I went home.”

“And another one bites the dust. When are you going to tell him that you’re kicking him to the curb?”

“I’ll wait a few days. Anyway, I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We have to unpack those boxes that came in yesterday.”

I was the proud owner of Primrose—a clothing boutique in Santa Monica. A clothing store that did very well since opening its doors two years ago. It was the only thing in my life that I loved and devoted all my attention to. I was a happy, single, successful businesswoman who knew what I did and didn’t want out of life.

Jack was a guy I’d been casually seeing over the past couple of months. Unfortunately, our time had to come to an end after those three words came out of his mouth last night during our date. I hated those words; anyone who knew me knew why. I never said them, and I didn’t want to hear them.

As I was steaming the clothes Tara unpacked from the boxes, my phone pinged with a text message from Jack.

“How are you feeling? I was thinking I could come over tonight and take care of you.”

“Not a good idea. I don’t want you to catch whatever I have. Sick as a dog this morning and just going to sleep all day.”

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