“No,” Atlas said without sparing my daughter a glance.
I raised a brow at him in question. “What’s that all about?”
“She thinks the kitten needs a name.”
“The kittendoesneed a name,” Laurel said, theyou fucking idiotsilent.
“I mean, I agree with her,” I said. “Now, someone fill me in on what’s going on.”
“That’s all you, Daddy Grump,” Laurel called.
I snorted a laugh as Atlas shot her a scowl, but he didn’t put any heat behind it.
He blew out a sigh as he turned back to me. “The company I usually use to winterize the pool had some issues, so I had to hire someone else.”
“And?”
“Andthey’re incompetent fucks, because while they were draining the pool, they managed to flood the entire cottage. It ruined the floors, the drywall, the furniture. Everything needs to be replaced.”
“Great. So, what you’re saying is, we’re fucked.”
“My conclusion exactly,” Laurel said.
“What about our stuff?” I asked Atlas. We weren’t pack rats by any means and always traveled light. But that just meant the items we did keep were important to us.
“Laurel packed a bag, and I grabbed some things for you. We can go back and see what’s salvageable after it’s been drained.”
This was a whole fucking lot to take in, and I had no doubt I was still in the shock phase. But my mind was spinning, trying to figure out a solution for Laurel and me.
“Okay. How long before it’s livable again?”
He rubbed a hand along his jaw and eyed me. “Depends on supply chains, work schedules, and how much money I throw at the contractors to get it done.”
I leaned against the counter, crossing my arms over my chest. “How long, Atlas?”
“Best-case scenario? A few weeks. The more likely scenario? A couple months.”
Breathing out a laugh, I shook my head as every contingency plan I’d come up with vanished. “Great. What the hell are wesupposed to do until then? There are literally zero rentals in Starlight Cove. Where are Laurel and I?—”
“You two can move in with me.”
His words hit me just as hard as they had last week when he’d demanded the same thing.
I narrowed my eyes at him, my gaze pinging across his stony expression. “Youmadethem do this.”
He glanced down at me, his brow raised. “I made them flood my own guesthouse so I could shell out tens of thousands of dollars to have it redone, just to have you move in with me?”
Well, when he said it like that, itdidsound over-the-top ridiculous.
“It doesn’t have to be a big deal, trouble.”
Was that true? Maybe sharing a home with the one man I couldn’t seem to get out of my thoughts—the very same man who made my knees literally weak—wouldn’t be a big deal.
And maybe if I just continued to repeat that to myself, it would eventually be true.
I glanced around Atlas toward Laurel. She lounged on the couch, the kitten curled up on her chest and a soft smile on my daughter’s face I hadn’t seen in far too long. “What do you think, Lolo?”
She shrugged. “My room has an en suite bathroom, and it’s downstairs, all the way on the other side of the house from your bedrooms. Which means I’ll be saved from any sex noises bleeding through the walls.”
