“Zero asked you about work. What you thought you might like to do.”
My shoulders relaxed; my biggest fear was that I was muttering Derek’s name out loud. That would have been really bad form for a date. Even if this was supposed to be a non-date.
“Oh, I haven’t really given it much thought to be honest. I’ve been kind of just taking it day by day.”
“What did you do before you moved to the clubhouse?” Zero asked.
“Mostly anything that would pay in cash,” I replied with a shrug.
Frankie was old enough to remember what life was like when we moved around. And she was old enough to remember moving to the clubhouse, so it wasn’t like I could hide that from her.
“What about when you were married?”
“I was home with Frankie. My ex-husband worked to support us so I could stay home.”
I smiled at Zero and then turned my head and froze. Apparently, you didn’t need to say someone’s name without spaces or words or thoughts between them; you just needed to say it four times instead of three.
Because there he was, with Jack and Sam and their kids. He carried Charlie on his hip, and I couldn’t help but think how freaking sexy he looked carrying a child. His eyes swept from me to Zero to Frankie.
Then they returned to me, and the anger I saw in them burned me to my soul. Jack and Sam stopped to say hello; however, Derek kept on walking. He placed a hand on the stroller Sam pushed, holding her twins, and mumbled, “I’ll see you at the table.”
I glanced at Frankie and saw her eyes well up when Derek passed by without a hello, and I remembered instantly why I hated him.
Chapter Nine
Derek
“Uncle Derek!”
Charlie ran at me full force, causing me to brace my feet to prevent falling on my ass. Her reaction when I walked in the door was always the same and great for my fucking ego. My hands reached out to catch her; the momentum throwing her into the air.
She was strong for a five-year-old.
“Where’s the fire, Cupcake?”
She scrunched her little brows together and said, “There’s no fire.”
Sam chuckled from the other side of the room, knowing I’d have to spend the next five minutes explaining the saying.
“Why are you so excited?” I asked her, settling her on my hip.
“Daddy said we can go out to dinner.”
“He did? Where are you going?”
“You are coming too,” Charlie insisted.
“I am?” I asked, looking over at Sam. She had a small smirk on her face that immediately made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. She was planning something.
I sat Charlie on the counter and asked, “What’s the occasion?”
Sam shrugged. “Rough day with the girls, so I told Jack I was too tired to cook.”
My eyes narrowed as I studied her. I’d known Sam since she was seventeen years old. I knew her tells. I knew when she was scheming.
“I had a long day at work, so I think I’ll stay home.”
“That’s up to you,” she replied, and then Charlie piped up, “Uncle Derek, you have to come.”
