“Are you okay?”
I hoped he wouldn’t notice my heated cheeks. “I’m fine. But I don’t think a swimming pool is a good idea.” My panic made me sound bitchy.
He sighed and looked out the window, then turned back to me, eyes narrowed. “I’m teaching Max to swim, you know. And I’m a certified lifeguard. They’ll be fine.”
How many secrets could a person keep inside before they came shooting out like a geyser? “I just…just don’t want to.”
A long silence stretched between us.
“Fine. We’ll do it your way.” He stood up and stalked to the family room, where he plopped on the couch.
I felt awful. But I couldn’t bring myself to apologize for snapping, or to explain why I didn’t want to go to the pool. I didn’t want his pity.
The only sound was the muffled giggling from the kids playing upstairs.
Slade’s phone pinged and I watched him text someone. Alex? A girl? Girls? I wondered what he was texting. Probably, Save me from the psycho Bird Brain.
Footsteps thudded on the stairs, then the kids streaked into the kitchen. For real. Neither one of them had a stitch of clothing on.
“Gillian! Max!” I pointed toward the hallway. “Both of you. Get dressed right now or we won’t have any fun today.”
“What are we doing, anyway?” Gillian asked.
“I’ll tell you after you’re dressed.”
She and Max looked at each other. Neither of them moved.
Slade sauntered over, looking completely unfazed by the naked kids. He leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re going to watch a movie. But only if you’re dressed.”
The kids jumped up and down. “Movie! Movie!” Max shouted. I’d never seen him so excited.
“What movie?” Gillian asked.
Slade shot a wary look at me then smiled at the kids. “It’s a surprise. Go get dressed.”
They tore out of the room like Olympic racers and thundered up the stairs.
“It’s not too late, Trina. You can still change your mind. Watch the boring documentary, or swim?”
Why was he so stubborn about getting his way? I shook my head. “If you’d bothered to crack the binder I gave you, you’d know that swimming is nowhere on the schedule.” I glanced at my watch. “In fact, we were supposed to start the film fifteen minutes ago.”
His grin was disgustingly sexy, even when he rolled his eyes. “I feel sorry for your future husband. You should come with a warning label stamped on your forehead.”
Anger flared in my chest. “You need a warning label, too,” I shot back.
He cocked an eyebrow, still grinning. “Yeah? What would mine say?”
Warning: Player. Slacker. Smart-ass. Lazy. Sexy. Wait, what? “Never mind,” I muttered.
He laughed softly. “You really need to lighten up, Clemons. I’m just messing with you.” He took a step toward me. “So, how about a swim?” His eyes scanned me from head to toe. “You could work on your tan.”
I crossed my arms protectively. “I don’t tan.”
His eyes, full of challenge, locked onto mine. “So I noticed.”
I swallowed. “I’m not interested in getting skin cancer.”
He took another step toward me, and I caught a whiff of his scent. Was that cologne? Soap? Whatever it was, it smelled really good. My legs suddenly felt wobbly.
“What’s up, BB?” He stood way too close. “What aren’t you telling me? I can tell you’re hiding something. You’re acting weirder than usual.”
A gasp escaped me before I could stop it. “Did you just… Are you calling me Bird Brain to my face?”
He smirked. “Not exactly. But you’re getting the general idea.”
My hand itched to slap him. But the way he was looking at me set off an internal fire, and not an angry one.
“Movie!” Gillian shrieked at the top of her lungs, screeching to a stop right between us.
Max walked calmly into the room, carrying a stuffed pink dinosaur. “Can we have popcorn, Trina? Please?” His voice was a whisper, and he bit his lip.
Was Max scared of me? My heart thudded to my feet. I dropped to my knees and looked into his big brown eyes. “Yes, of course we can, Max. What’s a movie without it?”
He gave me a tentative smile. I reached out to touch his dinosaur. “What’s his name?”
“Her name is Peggy. It’s short for pegasaurus.”
I glanced at Slade, who studied me closely. I turned back to Max, flustered by Slade’s intense gaze. I didn’t want him trying to figure me out.
“I thought pegasauruses had wings?”
Max nodded, his face serious. “Hers haven’t grown in yet.”
“I see. Let’s make some popcorn, okay, kiddo?”
He gave me a tiny smile and nodded.
I stood up and glanced at Slade. “Any idea where the popcorn is?”
He shook his head, those cat eyes of his still fixed on me. He hadn’t been lying before—he knew I was hiding something. Damn him.
“It’s in the pantry,” Max said, tugging me into the kitchen.
Once the popcorn was ready, we all settled on the big couch in the family room.
“I hope it’s not a princess movie,” Gillian said. “Cuz I’m tired of those.” She pulled Spike onto her lap and rubbed his belly.
“I’m too little to watch Jurassic Park,” Max announced. “Even though I really want to. My dad said it’s too scary.”
“He’s right,” Slade said. He reached over to punch Max lightly on the arm. “Maybe when you’re double digits.”
Max frowned and Slade turned to me, laughter in his eyes.
“When you’re ten, buddy,” he explained.
“I’m going to drive a car when I’m ten,” Gillian announced.
Slade and I shared an amused glance, but I looked away quickly and queued up the documentary.
“Before we start,” I said, “I want you to know this movie is very important. After we watch it, I have some coloring worksheets for you, so pay attention.”
A snort of laughter from Slade made the kids jump. “Worksheets? Seriously, BB?”
Gillian looked back and forth between us. “Who’s BB?”
I narrowed my eyes at Slade. “I am.”
He mimicked my expression, narrowing his eyes. “You sure are.”
I wanted to smack that smirk right off his perfect, acne-free face. This wasn’t the guy whose smile had me reaching for more lavender oil. This guy needed to get fired. ASAP.
“What’s the movie, Trina?” Max asked, digging into the bowl of popcorn on my lap.
Turning away from Slade’s mocking expression, I hit play. Everyone sat quietly while music played over a montage of oceans and deserts. Gilly kicked off her shoes and leaned against Slade.
Traitor.
“Even though approximately seventy percent of our planet is covered by water, many parts of the earth still struggle with drought.” The narrator’s smooth voice filled the room.
“It’s not a cartoon,” Gillian said, sounding disappointed.
I could feel Slade’s self-satisfied gloat from across the couch, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of eye contact.
“No, it’s not. But it’s more important than a cartoon.” I passed her the bowl of popcorn. She took a handful, but gave me a sour look.
I darted a glance at Slade. He raised his eyebrows at me and mouthed “Worksheets?” then rolled his eyes.
Just wait ’til I typed up my report on him tonight.
We made it through another ten minutes before Gillian slid off the couch. “This is boring,” she declared, hands on her hips.
Max glanced up at me. “The popcorn’s good, BB. But we like cartoons.”
Oh great. Now the kids were calling me BB?
“Yeah, BB. Let’s watch Despicable Me.” That came from Slade. I glared at him, but he just laughed, tucking his hair behind his ears.
“Yay! Minions! Minions!” Gillian shouted.
Max slid off the couch and joined her in the minion chant. Slade added his own voice, extra low.
I dropped my head to my hands. Once again, I’d been undermined by my supposed partner.