Chapter Seventeen
Daphne’s barely turned on her car before she says, “Sheldon’s always so mean to me now. Don’t you think? He doesn’t get me anymore at all.”
I look over at her frowning profile as she backs the car out of the parking spot.
“You know Sheldon,” I say. “He looks for openings. He wants to push everyone’s buttons. If he could irritate every human being on the planet, he would do it.”
“But he likes you still,” Daphne says, and it’s not until she says it like that, that I realize how much it hurts her. “Ever since I had kids, he thinks I’m no fun anymore.”
“You’re just really busy. You have a lot of responsibility, and that can make it hard to find a balance. I mean, I don’t know—I’m not a mother.”
“Not yet,” Daphne corrects me. “You will be, Olive. I know you may lose hope sometimes, but I just know that you’re meant to be a mother.”
I put my hand on her arm. “And I know you’re meant to be happy. You should hang out with us sometimes. Hire a sitter or have Todd watch Alec and Amy for a couple of hours. You need it, Daph. You need time for you.”
She sighs as we pull onto the street. “I know. Todd and I just don’t seem to enjoy being together anymore. We don’t enjoy much of anything these days.” She laughs a little, and I look at her in surprise. It’s been a long time since Daphne’s laughed at herself. “I can’t believe what a whiner I sound like! Jesus, how do you stand me, Olivia?”
I reach over and take her hand in mine. “You’ll be okay, Daph.”
* * *
We all hang out at Bernie’s until Daphne eventually starts yawning. I text Jenson that I’ll meet him at the bookstore, and I leave the coffee house.
I head across the street to the bookstore where I go over to the erotica section. I open the first book on the shelf and have made it to page ten when Jenson puts his arm around me.
“Maybe this will help us,” I joke as I show him the book.
He flips the novel to about halfway through and reads aloud, “As he grabs her by the small of her back and presses his cock between her legs, she moans and…”
I take the book out of his hands and slam it shut. “I don’t need a live read in public.”
His breath brushes my ear as he chuckles. “We’ll have more fun in private, believe me. My truck’s out front. It’s live parked.”
“Great. A quick getaway, just what I need.”
Once we’re inside the safety of the truck and Jenson’s pulled away from the curb, he reaches inside the console and flips a set of keys onto my lap.
I look down at them and then over at him.
“For my house,” he says as he stops at the light. “You ready to see it?”
“I’m ready. Let’s go.”
* * *
As soon as he pulls into the driveway, I jump out of the truck and have the door shut before Jenson’s barely opened his door.
“Hey, slow down,” he says as he hops out and shuts the door. He meets me in the driveway and kisses my head. “You nervous?”
“No!” I say too loudly.
His mouth tilts up. “You’re nervous.” He takes my hand and leads me up the front walk and toward the door.
Just a bit. Okay, fine—I’m freaking out. But I have no idea why. It’s not like this is our home. But it does mark the first time Jenson and I have lived in the same town since I was sixteen. And that’s significant.
His house is a one-story ranch painted pale green. Jenson insists that I open the door, but I toss him the keys.
“All you.”
