She filled her lungs with a large gulp of air, grounding herself in her home. Allowing the feeling of each toe sinking into the carpet to become her foundation, starting with her pinky toe and ending with her big toe mound.
“Kids. Downstairs. Now.” Well, damn. April finally nailed the tone because Harmony, Rohan,andLola all hopped to and scampered down the stairs. Harmony grumbled something about her tea party invitation during her evacuation. April would figure out what to do about that later.
After Jack got dressed and the kids went to school.
She couldn’t put off the inevitable fixing Jack was so insistent he could accomplish.
Mayonnaise did not follow the children. She did, however, appear to give April a doggie version of stink eye.
The traitor.
“Was that the welcome committee?” Jack asked, his naked torso right on display. The heat steaming from him finished her off and melted her like a creamsicle ice cream cone, rendering her momentarily speechless.
“Because if we’re doing this officially with invitations to tea parties,” he said, “let me know next time. I should probably put pants on.”
Thank God he did not gesture to his pant-less legs because then she’d have had to look.
April swallowed hard and dropped the palm covering her eye. “I was just finishing my makeup when I heard the kids out here.” She sighed. “I was trying to get them to leave before you…you know…”
Jack’s eyes searched hers and held them to his. “Let’s get started on the agenda for the day. Talk about goals, how we’re going to get there, all that.”
“After you get dressed?” April asked.
He nodded. “Obviously.”
“Then I need to feed my children. Get them to school. Return home. Check my socials. Do the dishes. Check my socials again. Then we’ll talk about agendas and goals?” Hey, she was nothing if not the queen of deflecting.
“Can I hire a car to take the kids to school so we can focus?” Jack asked, clearly not liking that she had to continue with her life even though he was right there.
Right there in a towel.
Here’s the thing, Jack was perfectly decent. A white terry cloth towel covered his entire lower torso.
“You want to hire a driver to take my kids to school?” Not that she’d object, it just seemed like painting the fence while her house was on fire.
“And pick them up. So we can focus,” Jack added.
She shook her head. “Then I’d have to fill out a bunch of paperwork at each school for thisdriver.” That would take another half hour, at the very least. Probably more because they’d have to hire the driver, and then they’d have to get their information for the schools, and then the paperwork.
Jack let out a long breath. “Fine. Okay. Once you get back, we’ll get going.”
“Perfect.” April gave a curt nod.
“No more putting this off,” he said, softly. “Are we in this together?” The gentle way he said the words had her rethinking why she had become the queen of deflecting discomfort. She’d need to work on that.
“Yes.” She held out her pinky. “Pinky swear.”
He linked his pinky with hers like he did this all the time. She was certain he didn’t do that all too often.
Mayonnaise eyed Jack’s towel like it was one of April’s bras left in the laundry.
“Mayonnaise,” April said, releasing her pinky with a clipped, “Come.”
Mayonnaise did not come.
No, she seemed to study a droplet of water as it trailed between the hairs along Jack’s shins. For the record, Jack had excellent shins.
Clearly, Mayonnaise thought so too, because she reached her tongue out…and. She. Licked. It.
