Rachel hesitates, looking between us as if she’s trying to solve a puzzle. “Are you sure?”
“It’s just dishes, Rachel.”
She nods, already lifting the phone to her ear as she heads down the hall. “Fred? Hey, sorry, I couldn’t...”
Her voice fades away, her tone noticeably brighter.
And then there were two—suddenly, it’s just me and Silver alone in the kitchen.
I inhale a shaky breath and force myself to focus on the task at hand, twisting on the sink faucet. I grab the dish soap and squirt a generous amount on the first dish while Silver takes up the space on my left.
“You wash, I dry?” he asks, picking up a dish towel. “Is that what we’re going with?”
I shrug, eyes set on the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and only on the dirty dishes in the sink. “Sure. Whatever.”
A couple seconds of silence pass between us as we find a work flow. The silence becomes so unbearable I can even hear my own heartbeat thumping inside my chest.
Silver seems to feel the same, because he clears his throat. “So… you’re babysitting my kids now.”
There’s a hint of accusation that makes me defensive.
“I didn’t know they were your kids. I mean, I didn’t know Rachel Roberts was your ex-wife,” I say honestly. I scrub harder, focusing on a nonexistent spot. “I saw the listing online and applied to, like, twenty different jobs because I’m broke and desperate. Rachel responded within a couple hours, invited me for dinner, and it all happened so fast I didn’t even think to connect the dots.”
His jaw squares, looking more angular than usual. I’m sure he’s about to tell me to leave. To get out of his ex-wife’s house and stay away from his kids. That it’s way too weird he was answering my crisis the other day and now I’m here with his family.
But then he releases a slow breath, shoulders dropping.
“Pulsboro’s a small town,” he drawls. “These things happen. Everybody crosses everybody eventually.”
The guilt sits heavy on me. He’s clearly uncomfortable, and I’m making his already complicated divorce situation worse just by being here.
“I can turn down the job,” I offer, finally glancing at him. “If it’s too weird, I mean. I don’t want to cause problems.”
He sets down the dish he’s toweling off, glancing toward the hallway where Rachel’s muffled voice carries, then he takes half a step closer. Close enough that I catch his woodsy cologne. Nothing like the aggressive body spray Kel drowns himself in.
I find myself turning toward him, my eyes flicking up to find his gaze already on me. His eyes are so intensely blue that, combined with his shock of silver hair and rugged face, it’s a lot to process all at once.
Silver’s the kind of man that renders you breathless without even trying.
“Keep the job. The kids already like you,” he says. Then he pauses, studying my face with such curiosity that a shiver racks down my spine. Usually, no one pays close attention like this. No one ever studies me or notices small things about me. But he does as he lowers his voice and asks, “Are you alright? You still seem upset. I noticed at dinner.”
I try to pull up my usual fake smile, the one I’ve been wearing like armor lately. But as soon as I give it a try, I realize it won’t work.
I won’t fool Silver. He actually sees me, actually picks up on the details like no one else in my life.
Uncle Eddie’s always too caught up in club business. The same goes for Moses. Kel only notices me when he wants his hands on me. My friends only see “blackout” now, not Solana.
But not Silver.
He’s the opposite. This man who I’ve only been around a couple times sees things everyone else misses.
I swallow against the sudden lump in my throat and admit the truth. “Things… aren’t okay. They’re not okay at all. Things are... very hard right now.”
Silver’s brow furrows and he leans even closer, ’til there’s almost no space left between us. His lips part as if he’s about to probe further, clearly concerned.
“How are the dishes coming along?” Rachel asks suddenly, strolling into the kitchen at a brisk pace. She still has her phone in hand, her energy much lighter than it’s been the entire evening.
Silver and I jerk apart like guilty teenagers. I hadn’t realized how close we’d gotten, both leaning in at the sink. I grab another plate, scrubbing furiously. He picks up the towel again.
