“Daddy, why so dressed up?” Aleesa asked.
While he answered her, I slipped into my panties while facing cans of vegetables. I held back a snort. This was comical. Hiding in the pantry from a toddler, all so she wouldn’t see her father’s penis or her half-naked nanny. I wanted to roll over and laugh at how ridiculous this was. But necessary. Definitely necessary. Javier most likely didn’t want to confuse Aleesa, and neither did I.
After my shorts were adjusted, I grabbed a box of Aleesa’s favorite fruity organic cereal and stepped out of the pantry.
“Tava!” Aleesa squealed, scrambling to get out of Javier’s arms. He placed her on her feet, and she ran to me, throwing her arms around my legs.
“Good morning, my darling,” I sang. “You want some cereal?”
“Yes, please!” She pulled away, clasping her hands together while batting her long lashes.
I laughed as I reached into one of the cabinets for a bowl.
Javier collected his breakfast sandwich again before dropping a kiss on her forehead. “I will be back.” Pulling away from her, he eyed me again. “Another time?”
I nodded, smiling. “Another time.”
I watched him go until he was out of sight. Briefly ... or so I thought. Aleesa made it seem like I’d looked after him for five minutes or more.
“Tava, I’mhungry,” she whined, tugging on the hem of my hoodie. “And I wanna watch Mickey Mouse.” She paused. “Please,” she added for good measure.
“Okay, okay. Working on it.” I cleared my throat, trying to rinse away the chaotically excited feeling bubbling inside me.
Goodness. What was this man doing to me?
Twenty
Javier
“And I could get kicked in the balls right now, and I bet you wouldn’t even notice.” Deke snapped his fingers in my face.
I looked away from the group of children in the middle of the gym to him.
“What?” I asked.
“What the hell is going on with you, man?” Deke laughed as he looked me up and down. “You’re over there daydreaming like we don’t have shit to do.”
“Uh, right.” I scratched the back of my head.
“Come on, man. We have basketballs to sign.”
I followed Deke to the center of the gym, where several volunteers were trying to keep the children calm. All of them had red-and-white-striped basketballs in hand—ones we’d ordered for this day. We were celebrating hitting $1 million in donations at Element, and the gym was packed with not only volunteers and children but also parents, photographers, and vendor stands.
As we approached, the children squealed and became rowdy. Deke grinned as he stepped right in front of them, wrangling a bunch of them into his arms to give them a massive hug.
They giggled, and as soon as he released them, they shoved their basketballs into his face, begging for signatures.
I waved at a few of the kids who approached me, gave them hugs and high fives, and began signing balls too.
“So what were you thinking about over there?” Deke asked, eyeing me before handing a signed ball to the kid in front of him.
“Nothing,” I lied, finishing off a signature myself.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” a woman to my left said. She held her phone in the air and waved it. “My daughter’s such a big fan of yours. Can I get a picture of you two?”
“Of course.” I smiled and lowered to a squat next to the girl. Once the photo was taken, the girl’s mother thanked me, took her hand, and shuffled away.
“It was definitely something,” Deke carried on, and I really wished he would let it go.
