Page 25 of Off Limits Daddy

“I doubt he had a code word,” I said.

“But you still would hide in the car, right? Maybe when you were afraid?” Veronica prodded.

Aiden’s shoulders rose like he was trying to hide like a turtle.

“Does it matter?” I asked her.

“It might.” She let out a sigh. “I know this is hard, Aiden. But it’s important to know if you drew that picture from memory and what it involved.”

Aiden looked up at me, his blue eyes filled with tears, his lips quivering. My heart tore in two. “That’s enough for now.” I reached over, pulling him into my lap and hugging him. “You’re safe now.” I looked at Veronica over his head.

She was watching us. There was irritation in her eyes, but also resignation.

“The best way to do this will be to take time. If you’re still willing to help me, you can move in. Or not.” It was dangerous to act like I didn’t give a shit what she did. I needed her help to convince Aiden’s social worker that I offered a traditional home. But the truth was, I didn’t want her here. Not if it was going to traumatize the boy.

She let out a long sigh. “I have some things to deal with at work, and then I’ll go home and pack a few things and return here.”

I hated that the tone of her voice sounded like it would be such an inconvenience. Sure, she was having to leave her home, but she was also clearly all about the job, so she should be used to such inconvenience.

I pulled Aiden’s cookie toward us. “Eat your cookie. There’s nothing like a sweet treat to make you feel better. It worked inHarry Potter.”

“That was chocolate,” Veronica said.

I pursed my lips. “It’s a sweet treat, right?”

She gave me a look that told me it wasn’t the same. What did it matter, anyway? Aiden probably hadn’t seenHarry Potteranyway.

She stood. “I’ll see myself out.” She left the kitchen. Once gone, my guilt ratcheted up. She was going to help me and so I couldn’t be a dick. Especially if we ever had to act like we loved each other.

“I’ll be right back. You eat your cookie, okay?” I set Aiden down in his chair.

He looked at me with concern.

“I just want to say goodbye to Veronica. Then I’ll come back, and we can have a cookie dunking contest, okay?”

He nodded. I hurried out of the kitchen and to the front door. “Hold up.”

She’d put her hand on the handle but turned to look at me.

“I’m sorry I was a jerk.”

She shrugged. “You’re protective, I get it.”

“Still, you’re going to help me.”

“And you’re going to help me.”

I couldn’t explain why this situation irked me. She was right. We were helping each other. Perhaps it was because she looked at me like I was a job, a thing, a means to an end when at the gym, she’d looked at me with hunger, a craving that drove me mad. It was wrong of me to be annoyed at this change. And yet…

“Is this how you are when you work, or is there something about me that is repulsive?”

She let out another sigh. “You’re not repulsive. But this is my job.”

“If you looked at me like you did that night in the sauna, the social worker wouldn’t have any doubt about us.”

She tilted her head to the side. “Is that what’s got your boxers in a bunch? I’m not lusting after you.”

Well, yeah, a little. “I’m just saying…”

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