“Are you feeling okay, sweetie?”Dadasks.
“Uh yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. How was the—” Oh no. Again. No. “Uhhh—” Heavy breaths consume me as I look around the room, finding not only Dad, but a woman I haven’t seen before, and Sam, Daniel, and Dylan. They’re all giving me a glare as if they know I’m doing something inappropriate, but at least Dylan is way too young to understand how inappropriate adults can be. Deep breath. Deeeeepbreath.
Ohh, thatfeelsgood.
“How was the parade?” I manage togetout.
“Oh, it was fantastic,” Dad says. “I wanted to introduce you to Eloise. We met the other night, and I ran into her at the parade.” Dad places his arm around her shoulders and gives her a quick squeeze. Oh my gosh, he’s actually introducing one of his lady friends to me. She must be different than the others, and at least her name isn’t part of the Mambo #5 song. So, that’s good. Could his timing be any worse,though?
“Dad,” I say with excitement, for a couple differentreasons.
“Aren’t they adorable?”Samasks.
Dad blushes but looks at Eloise the way she’s looking at him. There’s a connection there, that’sforsure.
“It’s so nice to—to, oh no,oh,oh—”
“What is going on?”Dadasks.
“Smelly socks. Rotten seafood. Nothing, nothing ... sorry,” I tell Dad, squeezing my legs together.” Shit. Shit. Shit. “It’s—ah—it’s nice to meet you, Eloise.”“Likewise,” she says, smiling oddly at me.“Tell her,” Daniel says to Dad. “Tell heralready.”
Tell me what? Liam’s hand squeezes my hand, and I squeeze back, ready to break every one of his fingers. I can’t stand here much longer, and he still hasn’t said a wordtoSam.
“Yes, so I have some exciting news for you, Jelly-Bean.” Dad looks over at Daniel and gives him a thumbs up.“Oh? Ohhhhhhhh.” Ohno,stop.
“Well—” Dad begins, narrowing his eyes at me, silently telling me to cut the shit. “Daniel here offered me a job I can’trefuse.”
I’m having the hardest time focusing, but I know he just said something about a job and working with Daniel. “Job?” Iutter.
“Yeah, I’m going to help him manage some of the lots in Ogunquit during the summers and help out with the financials in the off-season. Honestly, I love it here, and I think this might be the best thing for both of us, sweetie. Would you be up for sticking around a littlelonger?”
Making out every other word as I rein off another wave of amazingness, I try to hold my focus on Dad. “Wait, so you want tostayhere?”
“That’s what he just said,” Liam mutters intomyear.
“I think so, Jelly-Bean. I’m hoping you’ll want tostaytoo.”
Stay? I need these balls out. I don’t know what I’m thinking or agreeing to right now. I just have balls onmymind.
“I was thinking you could keep nannying, and I know you’re going to be looking for an editing job come this fall, but we can take things one day at a time,” Samoffers.
I did manage to hear every word of that, now that I’m feeling crampy between my lower stomach and thighs. I’m tightening my jaw, trying to act like I’ve just heard the most incredible offer in the world because it is, and I’m sort of dying a little at the same time. I’ve been dreading the thought of going back toIndiana.
“Really?” Igrunt.
“If that’s what you want. You know, you could even write at night, or when Dylan is at school, and work on those books you were telling me about,” Samcontinues.
“I think—ohwow.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy about it!” Samexclaims.
“Oh my God, oh boy, wow, yes ...” Stop, stop, stop. More tingling, more pulsating. I tense my butt muscles, trying to make this stop as I grip the edge of the couch. “I would love—ahhhhhh,ohhh.”
“Good, that’s fantastic. You got yourself a deal, girl.” I can’t stop the thrusting of my hips into the side of the couch as if I were a dog humping a guy’s leg. “OhGod,yeah.”
“Julia,” Liam scolds me. “Can you uh . . .” He places his hand gently on my back, and the sensation is like a feather tickling betweenmylegs.
“Don’t touch me,”Isnap.
