Jordie leans closer, and I can see a few freckles dotting her nose as her voice lowers to a conspiratorial whisper. “When you say you took off your underwear, did you put your pants back on, or were you standing there with your ass shining?”
“First of all, thank you for acknowledging I have a shiny ass. It does indeed have quite the lustrous sheen.” She rolls her eyes. “Second of all, what kind of uncouth brute do you think I am? Of course I put my pants back on while I was attempting to give this unfortunate man a bit of dignity.”
“So you’re completely offended by nudity?”
The smile that creeps across my face is pure mischief. “I didn’t say that. I enjoy nudity very much when it’s the right person who has disrobed.”
Hey, don’t blame me for throwing out innuendos. She started it.
“Noted,” she says, her voice sounding a little breathier than usual.
Am I picturing Jordie naked while her breathiness is for a completely different reason? You’re damn right I am. And so is my penis, which is now going rogue and thickening inside my navy-blue boxer briefs. I reach a hand down and press my palm against the length.
Jordie clears her throat and changes the subject. “You said Reece was being a pill this morning?”
My deep sigh is laced with amusement. “She decided to make breakfast for me while I was upstairs getting dressed.”
Her eyebrows rise slowly. “Don’t tell me she set the kitchen on fire.”
Chuckling, I shake my head. “No, she knows better than to use the stove or oven. Or the toaster,” I add dryly. “So she made me untoasted toast.”
“Soooo, just bread?”
“You got it. But she slathered it in butter and strawberry jam.”
“Did you eat it?”
“Of course I did,” I say, feigning offense. “And then I spent thirty minutes cleaning up the butter and jam that she managed to smear all over the kitchen. And herself. She required another bath before we could leave because she was all sticky and greasy.”
Jordie nibbles on her bottom lip. “I guess being a single parent is hard, huh?”
“It’s not for the faint of heart, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” I tell her honestly. “I really lucked out with Reece’s nanny. I can go to work and not worry about her being taken care of because Lorraine is amazing. And a lot of credit goes to my family for keeping me sane. One of them keeps my kiddo on Tuesday nights while I…” I stop myself and finish with, “Have a night to myself.”
Her eyes shine like aquamarine stones. “I hope this isn’t too personal to ask, but did her mother die?”
I do my best to keep the coldness from my voice. “No, she chose not to be in Reece’s life because of her career.”
Jordie goes silent, and her eyes shift to the side for a long moment before she admits, “Same with my mom.” Her gaze comes back to me, swimming with something I can’t define. “She came back earlier this year.”
“Oh,” I say in surprise. “Is that a good thing?”
Her eyes drop for the briefest of seconds. “Sure.” But she doesn’t sound so sure.
“When was the last time you saw her before she came back?”
With a bob of her shoulders, she says, “I don’t remember ever seeing her. I was a baby when she left.”
“Reece’s mom never even looked at her,” I say quietly. “She left the country without saying a word to me. I mean, I knew she was going toleave, but I guess I at least expected her to say goodbye or good luck or fuck off. Anything.”
“God, I’m sorry, Phoenix. So she told you during the pregnancy that she changed her mind?”
My smile holds absolutely no humor. “She told me on our wedding day that she was pregnant, didn’t want the baby, and was going to give it up for adoption so we could move to Japan for her new job opportunity.”
Jordie’s neck cranes forward, her lips parting. “You’re shitting me.”
“I assure you, I’m not. I obviously opted out of her plan and made one of my own. With just me and Reecie.”
“I know this sounds weird to say, but I’m proud of you, Phoenix. That couldn’t have been an easy decision.”
