“You look relaxed.” He crossed his arms because he couldn’t think of what else to do with them and leaned against the edge of her door.
She smiled a soft smile. This one touched her eyes and her lips. “Well, the laundry is folded, and the tile is cleaner than I’ve seen it since we had it installed. You even got the grout. That’s impressive.”
Jack chuckled. “I did my best.” Also, the blood. He’d had to clean up Travis’s blood.
“And you’re here.”
“That I am.”
“And some guy with muscles asked me out for next week.”
Jack paused. “What?”
Any feelings of contentment vanished in a snap.
“Don’t worry. Simone and Kitty are vetting him before we get together.” April was smooth and calm and suddenly he…wasn’t.
He didn’t like this. And he didn’t have a reason not to like this. Yet, here he was, not liking it. Nope. Zero stars. Do not recommend.
“That’s good, then,” he said, even though he didn’t mean it, not one iota.
“It is.” She didn’t sound too excited.
He needed to figure out what the hell was going on with him. Because his reactions around April were totally wrong.
“I guess I should…uh…” He tilted his head toward the bathroom, toward his toothbrush. But he didn’t want to go.
“Night, Jack,” April said, her voice even.
“Night, April,” he replied, his voice even.
They stood there for a long second, neither of them saying anything.
But it wasn’t him who moved away. He didn’t seem capable of it.
It was April who smiled, shook her head the tiniest of inches, and knelt to roll her mat.
It took everything in him, but he moved his feet and walked away.
Chapter Twenty
“People are going to give you their opinions on everything. Listen politely, then do what you think is best. As long as you love your baby/child, and are doing what you think is best, then you are doing the right thing.”
—Elizabeth, Louisiana, United States
April
If she were being totally honest, the problem with Jack Gibson was that he wasn’t a dick. Life would be so much easier if he were a straight-up jerk. She was good at handling jerks. Practically a professional after going through the divorce. Instead, he was just a good guy helping to fix her reputation.
A guy who spent the whole night, and the world hadn’t collapsed in on itself because of the hot-guy-across-the-hall shift to her ecosystem.
She eyed the closed door of the guest room.
Her phone chimed.
Simone:So…
April:So…
