To Hate Adam Connor

Adam

It had been almost a week since what we’d begun to call the incident, and I was still pissed. Pissed at Aiden for not listening to me. Pissed at Dan for not being on top of our security. Hell, I’d fired Anne that evening after I was able to get the whole story out of Aiden, yet I was still pissed at her too.

But more than anyone, I was pissed at myself. How I’d been so careless as to take my eyes away from my son—it didn’t even matter that he was a good kid, I was the one who was responsible for him. I should’ve been on top of things. I should’ve…I guess I should’ve done better.

The gates buzzed open, and I walked in hand in hand with my son. His little fingers squeezed my hand, so I looked down at him.

“Are you ready, Daddy?”

My lips twitched, and I nodded. “Are you?”

He nodded solemnly then looked up at me quickly. “Do you think she hates me?”

“Why would she hate you?” I asked distractedly as we neared the house.

“’Cause I caused big trouble. I think she hates me. I think she doesn’t wanna see me again.”

“I doubt it, buddy, but you’ll ask her yourself so you can be sure, all right?”

“She was very pretty,” he added quietly. “I hope she doesn’t hate me.”

I remained silent. I wanted to go and apologize to that infuriating woman like I wanted a bullet in my head, but from what I’d heard from Aiden and then later Jason Thorn, she had saved my son. Still, if Aiden hadn’t insisted on seeing her again, I would’ve never stepped foot in the house where she was staying.

Dropping the charges should’ve been more than enough for the little stalker.

God, thinking about her was making me crazy. Every time someone mentioned her name—and Aiden mentioned her name a lot—I was back in our backyard, scared out of my mind that some crazy stalker or reporter was hurting Aiden. I could still picture her stormy gray eyes glaring up at me as if she had a leg to stand on when I had her delicate wrist in my grip. I remember wanting to squeeze her pretty little neck with my bare hands every time she opened her mouth to talk.

Yea, seeing that my pulse was starting to speed, seeing her again wasn’t gonna be as easy as I’d thought it would be.

Before I could knock, Jason opened the door.

“Hello there. How can I help you two gentlemen?”

“Are you a movie star?” Aiden asked before I could explain what the hell we were doing at his doorstep.

Jason’s face softened, and he kneeled down in front of Aiden. “I am an actor, just like your dad. And you must be Aiden.”

Aiden’s eyes widened, and he glanced up at me. “He knows who I am, Daddy,” he whispered.

Jason chuckled and offered his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Aiden. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Aiden looked at his outstretched hand then up at me. “Can I, Daddy?”

“Go for it, buddy.”

He gave me a big smile and shook hands with Jason. “It’s nice to meet you too, mister. My daddy is a big movie star. He signs lots of things. Did you play in lots of movies too?”

“I did. And you can call me Jason.”

“Are you my friend?”

“Would you like me to be?”

Another glance at me. “Can I be friends with Jason, Daddy? I like him, and he lives so close to us, so we could play games.”

I gave him a short nod. “How about you tell your new friend why we are here before you make plans for a play date.”

“Would you play with me, Jason? Sometimes Daddy can’t.”

Oh, Aiden…

“Aiden…”

Finally, looking down at his feet, he murmured, “We came to see Lucy because I don’t want her to hate me.”

Jason straightened up, opened the door wider, and invited us in.

As we walked through the narrow hallway, Aiden’s eyes took in everything around us and I had to drag him with me.

“Lucy, you have visitors,” Jason announced.

“What?”

“Who?”

Two distinct female voices responded back at the same time.

And then the stalker appeared with a wooden spoon in her hand. She spotted me and her face fell, a small crease appearing between her brows.

The other one, who I assumed was Jason’s wife, appeared from behind her and smiled at me, covering her surprise very well.

“What are you doing here?” Lucy asked in a hostile voice. She was voicing my feelings exactly; the only difference was I couldn’t act hostile toward her, not when I had Aiden with me.

Christ! I still wanted to kill her, though. I ground my teeth to restrain myself.

“Trust me, I’m not all that fired up to see you either,” I admitted.

That got me an eyebrow raise.

“Then by all means, please leave,” she replied, gesturing at the door with a wave of her hand.

Both Jason and Olive were carefully following our conversation as they stayed silent and watched the interaction between us. I wished they’d interfere in some way; I would have much rather spoken with them instead of this madwoman who managed to spark something inside me. I narrowed my eyes at her and then felt someone pulling on the pockets of my jeans.

Aiden. Right.

“My son has something to say to you,” I said pointedly so she’d get that seeing her wasn’t my idea of fun. When Aiden decided to go all shy on me and hid behind my back, I was forced to take a step to the side so Miss Stalker could see the person responsible for our visit.

“Oh, hello. Hi there,” Lucy said, her expression softening when she finally saw Aiden. This time, instead of hiding behind me, he was hugging my leg to ensure I wouldn’t go too far away.

Aiden wasn’t normally a shy kid, but being around strangers wasn’t something he was used to. With all the media focus on us, we tried to keep our family life as private as possible, meaning Aiden wasn’t used to meeting new adults—not when we were so particular about his security.

“Hello,” he greeted in a small voice, giving her a small wave right before grabbing my leg and hiding his face.

Lucy took a small step forward, but when our eyes met, she stopped. I would’ve much rather taken my kid and gotten the hell away from her, but it was too late for that.

“Aiden,” I prompted so we could get it over with and leave. “What did you want to say to Miss Lucy?”

He’d been talking my ear off about seeing Miss Stalker again ever since I’d picked him up from his mom the day before.

“I want to ask her something,” he whispered.

“Go ahead then.”

“Can you ask her for me?”

“I would, buddy, but I have no idea what you want to ask her.”

“But I just told you, Daddy. On our way over here, remember?”

“Aiden, I told you—”

“Please, Daddy. Pleeeaaase.”

My lips twitched as he repeatedly nodded and widened his bright green eyes.

Without meeting Lucy’s eyes again, I said, “He was wondering if you hated him for getting you in trouble.”

She looked at me with eyes full of hatred, which was admittedly a look I wasn’t used to getting. It only accentuated those unique bluish-gray eyes of hers, eyes I had no place even noticing.

She shook her head as if she was disappointed in me. “Is that what you told him?”

Just as I was trying to figure out what the hell she meant, she handed the wooden spoon to her clearly amused friend and started sashaying toward us.

“Be nice, Lucy,” Jason murmured as he casually leaned against the wall and watched us.

Instead of answering him, she gave me a pointed look that pretty much said, Do you mind? and without waiting for an answer, lowered herself to sit cross-legged in front of me.

“Hi,” she said to Aiden again.

“So? Do you hate me?” he asked, his arm tightening around my leg as he waited for his answer.

“Nope.”

“Not even a little?”

“Not even a little. In fact, I’m very happy to see you again.”

Happy with the answers he was getting, Aiden let go of my leg and stood in front of Lucy. “You are?”

“Yes. I was worried about you after I left, so it’s good to see you here, standing strong.”

Charmed by her, Aiden threw his arms around her neck and awkwardly hugged her. “I don’t hate you either. I promise. Not like my dad does.”

That earned me another look.

Oh, the joys of having a very honest five-year-old.

“That’s okay,” she reassured him with a pat on his back. “I promise I don’t hate you like I hate your dad either.”

As if I cared. I rolled my neck to get rid of the sudden stiffness.

“Am I your friend now?” Aiden asked as he looked at her with a serious expression. “Jason just agreed to be my friend, so maybe if you are my friend too you can come and visit me with him?”

“Come on, Aiden. That’s enough,” I said, putting my hand on his shoulder.

Looking up at me, he asked, “Is it your turn now, Daddy?”

Goddamn it!

He was looking at me with such expectant eyes that I couldn’t deny him anything, not even an apology to the person I had pretty much loathed since the first moment I’d laid eyes on her.

When Aiden looked up at me, Lucy’s gaze flicked upward too. I met her eyes. I met her eyes and…couldn’t think of anything to say.

“Daddy, you promised we would do this together.”

I hadn’t made any promises about anything, but since we were already knee-deep in this…I took a deep breath and exhaled as Lucy got up from the floor and took a few steps back.

“Aiden told me what he did and what happened after,” I started in a rough voice. Hearing how scared he’d gotten when he’d lost his arm float and started swallowing water had been particularly difficult for me. “I don’t like what you did. I don’t like any of it.” Narrowing her eyes at me, she lifted her chin ever so slightly and crossed her arms against her chest, pushing her boobs higher.

Look away, Adam.

“Other than the fact that what you did probably saved my son’s life. For that and only that, I’m thankful.”

Suddenly her eyes softened, and she dropped her arms. She looked over her shoulder and sighed. “You’re right,” she admitted. “Even though I didn’t mean any harm, it was wrong of me to get up there and watch you. That being said, I’m glad I was there at the right time.”

At least she was honest enough to accept the fact that what she had done was wrong. I relaxed a little and nodded. “Thank you.” I looked down at Aiden’s smiling face. “Are you ready to go?”

“One more minute? Please?”

Curious as to why he needed another minute, I said okay, and he ran toward Jason, stopping only inches away as he tilted his head back. He whispered something I couldn’t make out, and Jason laughed.

“Yes, I know her. Would you like me to introduce you two?” Jason asked as he ruffled his hair.

Briefly glancing at Jason’s wife, Aiden nodded. Jason chuckled, and they walked toward his smiling wife.

“Looks like you have a fan,” he said to his wife.

“Hello, Aiden,” she said and leaned down to Aiden’s eye level. “I’m Olive.”

Aiden’s eyes widened and a surprised giggle escaped his lips.

“Olive? Like an olive?”

“Yup, just like an olive.”

Another giggle and I relaxed further, exhaling a deep breath. I was happy to see him having fun, but we’d have to leave soon so I could make it to set early to go over some last minute changes in the script.

Lucy looked at me over her shoulder with a smile on her lips, but when our eyes met, her gaze turned into a cold stare. So much for our truce. Since I wasn’t planning on seeing her again, I was completely fine with it.

“Would you like to have coffee?” she asked. “They have this complicated espresso machine; I’m sure you have something similar, so you’ll enjoy that.”

Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? I tilted my head to the side and studied her for a short beat. What exactly did she see when she was looking at me with those unwavering eyes? She didn’t look like a star-struck woman, that was for sure. She didn’t act like all the other women did when they had me this close. No, not this one. She met my gaze head-on, not even blinking under my hard stare. So then what the hell had she been doing watching me over the wall?

“No,” I replied curtly and watched as Jason leaned down so Aiden could whisper in his ear this time.

“Ah, little man, are you trying to steal her from me?” he asked, acting all wounded when Aiden was done with whatever he was saying to him.

Aiden shook his head and gave Olive another coy look.

Fuck me, but he was crushing on the man’s wife.

Jason lifted him up and sat him on the kitchen counter. “Tell her yourself. I’m sure she’ll love hearing that.”

“She will? You sure?” Aiden asked in a low whisper.

“Believe me, girls love hearing that.”

Aiden nodded and made his deep thinking face, considering what he’d just learned. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched him soak up all the attention he was getting.

“What? Tell me already,” Olive said, getting closer to them with an unsure smile on her face.

“You’re very pretty,” Aiden said, and I groaned.

“Aiden…”

“Isn’t she so pretty, Daddy?”

“Of course she is, buddy, but it’s time for us to leave now. I’m sure your new friends are busy.”

Ignoring me, he kept his eyes on Olive. “Would you like my daddy to sign a picture for you?” He glanced back at Jason. “Girls love that too.”

Lucy burst out laughing with Olive. Thrilled, Aiden started giggling too. Jason’s eyes were on his wife, and he was smiling at her.

I shook my head. Fool.

“Looks like you’re raising quite the player,” Lucy said when her laughter died down and the Thorns’ were busy talking to Aiden.

Sliding my eyes to Lucy, I raised my brow.

She murmured something inaudible, and I could’ve sworn her pink lips mouthed asshole.

“Whatever happened to the attentive nanny?” she asked before I could figure out something to say in response to that uncalled for remark.

I looked away from her lips. “Got fired.”

“At least you’ve done something right,” she mumbled.

“She was supposed to be out there with him. Contrary to what you believe, I didn’t leave him alone out there.”

“Oh, right. The nanny. Does she wipe your precious ass too?”

“What is your problem with me?” I asked, taking a step toward her. She was a short thing compared to me, and I easily towered over her.

Did she back up like any other sane female would? Of course not. Not this one.

“I could ask you the same question! What the hell is your problem with me? I even offered you coffee after you had me thrown in jail! What more should I do?”

“That’s called a holding cell. As much as I wish you would have, you didn’t make it that far. You weren’t even processed.”

“And I’m sure you tried your best to make that happen. I spent five hours behind those bars, thanks to you. And that’s what I got for saving your son’s life!”

Grinding my teeth, I got closer to her. “I told you I didn’t know Aiden was in trouble.” I glared down at her, and she glared right back at me. Oh, if I could just grab hold of her and shake some sense into her. Maybe that way her presence wouldn’t aggravate me anymore.

Her eyes dropped to my lips for a brief moment, and I realized how hard my breathing was.

Noticing the thick silence, I looked over her head and saw Aiden watching us with great attention.

“That escalated rather quickly,” Olive said to no one in particular.

I shot a look at Lucy, frowning when I realized how close we were standing, then addressed Jason. “I’m sorry for interrupting your day, Jason, but I think it’s time for us to leave.”

Giving Lucy a wide berth, I helped Aiden down.

“Goodbye, Olive,” he said shyly and waved at her. When Olive leaned down to give him a kiss on his cheek and invite him over again, he gave her a tight hug and thanked her.

“They want me to stay, Daddy. Can I stay?”

“They didn’t say that, Aiden. They invited you over for another time. I have to go to work, so we need to leave.”

“But you said Anne is gone, so who’ll stay with me?”

“I have to drop you off at your mom’s, Aiden. We already talked about it this morning, remember? She is meeting with her people at the house so she’ll look after you today.”

We’d almost made it to the door as Aiden chattered next to me, but when I mentioned his mom, he pulled me to a stop.

“Please, Daddy. Please.”

I looked back at everyone behind us and then got on one knee in front of him. “What’s happening here, Aiden?” While it was obvious he liked everyone in the room, the way he was acting wasn’t his usual behavior. He wasn’t a spoiled kid at all; something was wrong.

As soon as I was down on his level, he wrapped his arms around my neck and held on. “I don’t wanna leave you. Please. Can’t Dan stay with me?”

“Aiden, Dan has the day off.” I unwrapped his arms from my neck and looked at his red eyes. Shit. “You can’t do this to me, Aiden. I have no one to take care of you when I’m on set until I find someone new, little man.”

He wiped at his dry eyes and nodded. “I’m gonna miss you again.”

Lucy broke into our conversation by saying, “My heart is breaking.”

Right, because her fucking heart was so high on my list of things about which I gave a fuck. My jaw ticked. “Can you give us a moment?”

She talked right over me. “Since your heart is probably carved from stone, you can’t understand how that feels, but I just wanted to let you know that multiple hearts are breaking right now—not that it looks like you care about that.”

“Lucy!” Olive whispered heatedly from behind her.

“What?” she asked her friend as if she were as innocent as an angel. In my eyes she was more like the devil reincarnated. “I’m just telling the truth. Look,” she began, getting closer. “Olive and Jason have to leave for a meeting in an hour or so, but I don’t have any job interviews today. Why don’t you leave Aiden here with me? You’ll pick him up as soon as you get back from wherever it is that you have to go, and since we established the fact that I mean no harm to your son, seeing as how I already saved his life once…”

No. That was my immediate answer, but before I could voice my opinion, Aiden ran to Lucy and gave her a hug—or more like gave her legs a hug. Her naked legs. Her smooth, toned legs. I looked up and met her eyes, already shaking my head.

“I wanna stay,” Aiden repeated for the tenth time.

“She is right, Adam,” Jason agreed. “Olive and I will be back here in two hours tops. It’ll be fun. We’ll take care of him until you come back, don’t worry.”

I sighed and rubbed my eyes. “I don’t like this, Aiden. You can’t get your way every time.”

“But I like it here, Daddy, and if I stay here I can stay with you. You’ll have to come back to pick me up.”

“I always come back to pick you up, Aiden. And you’ve only been here for ten minutes.”

Since his play wasn’t working, he tried a different tactic. “I like Lucy.”

“And Lucy likes you, little human,” Lucy interjected into our back and forth and pointed at something I couldn’t see on the other side of the kitchen as she whispered something in his ear. When Aiden went off to check it out, Lucy walked toward me.

“Clearly he doesn’t want to go.”

“Clearly.”

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and I watched her lips press into a straight line.

“I’m sorry for watching you, okay,” she grumbled. “It was the biggest mistake of my life. You’re not even that hot from this close. If I could take it back, trust me, I would. You are nothing like what I thought you’d be.”

“Thanks,” I drawled. “And here I was hoping you were in love with me.”

Another fake smile. “I don’t do love, and you’re not my type anyway, sorry.”

Like I’d believe that after I saw the pictures she’d taken of me half-naked. “My heart is fucking broken, sweetheart.”

“As it should be, and don’t call me sweetheart.”

I chuckled and shook my head. The nerve.

“Anyway,” she continued. “How long will you be gone?”

I ran a hand through my hair, thinking. “At least six hours.”

“And you can’t pick him up from his mother?”

“She is leaving the city tonight. We already talked; if I drop him off, she’s not gonna wait around for me to pick him up again.” And why was I so willingly giving her all this information again?

“There you go. He’ll stay here until you come back.”

My eyes found Aiden, and I caught him showing Jason his arm muscles. I smiled. I couldn’t leave him there, could I? I knew Jason from the few times we had talked, and I definitely didn’t know this mess of a woman who was standing in front of me with an impatient look. But, if I gave him back to Adeline, I wouldn’t get to see him for another whole week. I was already missing him too much, and sending him away with Adeline so he could miss school and sleep in trailers…well, it didn’t seem like the better choice at that moment.

“Aiden, come give me a hug,” I said.

His head jerked to me and his face lit up. “I get to stay?”

“You get to stay. Just this time.”

He came running. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

“I love you, buddy. Be nice, okay?”

“I love you, Daddy. You can go.”

With that he let go of me, turned his back, and grabbed Lucy’s hand, pulling her away from me.

When she looked at me over her shoulder with a smile stretching on her lips…for a moment I thought she looked beautiful.

***

When you have a kid, everything changes. Your social life, work life, even the dynamics of your family shift. There was a time where I used to go without sleep for days on end to get in the shots we needed, but lately, especially after the divorce, I had to plan everything around Aiden. Make him my priority. Be a better dad. Be fucking everywhere. Be fucking everything.

It took me seven hours to wrap everything up at the studio. Our director, Matthew, wanted me to stay for another ten hours so we could shoot some of the night scenes I had left with Jamie Wilson, but because of Aiden’s situation, I had them reschedule everything. The last thing I wanted was for him to spend the night in a strange home.

“I’m really sorry about this. I’m sure you guys had other plans today,” I said as I walked through the door and into the hallway of Jason’s home.

“It’s okay, man. Olive and I just got in a few hours ago. Your little guy was already tuckered out.”

“He fell asleep?”

“Woke up when he heard us come in—or more like when he heard Olive’s voice—but he fell asleep again a little while ago.”

We walked into the open living area and my eyes were searching for Aiden as I noticed Olive come in from the backyard. She hugged Jason’s waist as she greeted me. “Hi, Adam.”

“Hi. I hope Aiden didn’t cause too much trouble.”

“Oh, he didn’t. We’re practically in love with each other. I might even consider letting this one go if he doesn’t up his game soon,” she said with a genuine smile as she patted Jason’s chest.

Jason put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer. “I’m gonna have to keep my eyes on your son, Adam. With the way he is flirting with Olive, I don’t think I have a fighting chance otherwise.”

I laughed and winked at Olive. “It’s good to know he has good taste in women.”

She blushed a little and looked up at Jason with a big smile. Jason groaned and shook his head in return. “You can head out back; he is outside with Lucy. I think I’ll keep my wife away from you Connors for today.”

How long had it been since Adeline looked at me the way Olive was looking at Jason? Years? When had everything changed to the point where she was barely looking at me at all? With those unwelcome thoughts, I stepped outside to find my son sleeping on a chaise lounge, arms and legs wide open, peeking out from under a soft nude-colored blanket.

Frowning, I looked around. Hadn’t Jason said Lucy was with him? I heard a faint voice coming from nearby, so I followed it to the side of the house.

“I told you I was staying with Olive, Catherine. No. Well, then I told your voice mail I was staying with Olive. No. How could I have known you wanted to do something for my graduation? You’re right, I’m sorry.”

The tone of her voice and the way her shoulders slumped forward were in such contrast to the woman I’d seen thus far that it made me stop in my tracks. Clearly it was a private phone call, and I wanted to give her privacy. I should’ve, but as far as I was concerned, turnabout was fair play. Instead of leaving, I leaned against the nearest tree and listened in on her side of the conversation.

“I’m actually helping Olive, Catherine. I didn’t say that. I know. I know.” She started pacing, and if she’d turned her head just a little she would’ve noticed me, but the night cloaked my presence. “That’s the problem. I don’t think I want to be an accountant. Yes, I’m aware of that, but the only reason I chose that major is because you wanted me to. I remember quite clearly the day you said you’d stop paying my tuition if I even thought about changing it. Yes, I know.”

She stopped, and I held my breath.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused you, Catherine, but I was just five years old when she left me with you. I had no say in the matter. I never did. I wish you could be proud of me.” A long pause. “I understand.”

She twisted her body and thanks to the moonlight, I was able to see her face more clearly. She was so fucking beautiful, even more so in the soft moonlight. Unfortunately, she was also a spirited lunatic—a beautiful one, sure, but still a lunatic. She tucked her short hair behind her ears and closed her eyes.

For a brief moment, I wondered how her skin would feel under my fingertips. Would her lips be soft? Would she smile at me like I’d seen her smile at my son? I remembered the day I found her in my backyard, dripping wet and fuming. If I was honest, I’d liked the feel of her body against mine, her breathing hard, eyes murderous. For a fraction of a second, I’d thought she was as hot as hell. If I’d met her on the street, in a coffee shop, or even on set, I wouldn’t have minded fucking her brains out. Shaking my head, I got rid of those unwelcome thoughts. She was the last person I’d ever consider being with. I wasn’t suicidal. There were millions of beautiful women out there.

“Sorry I turned out to be just like my mother, Catherine,” she said after another long pause. “Olive wants me to be her agent, but I’m still going to look for a job. Okay. Okay maybe I’ll go and talk to the firm you mentioned.”

A few seconds later she ended the call and rested her forehead against the side of the house. While I was okay with intruding since she’d done the exact same to me, somehow this didn’t feel right. Even so, I couldn’t walk away. I crossed my arms and waited for her to notice me silently watching.

To my surprise, it didn’t take her long to shake off the effects the phone call had had on her; as soon as she spotted me, her game face was on again—and by game face I mean the little dragon was ready to spit fire.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, coming toward me.

“Are you going to keep asking the same question every time you see me?”

“If you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be, yes, I think I will.”

“You actually enjoy this, don’t you?”

“What?”

“Making people miserable,” I explained. “Since you’re so good at it, I’m assuming I’m not the only victim.”

She kept her calculating eyes on me for a beat, then I watched her walk past me without a second look. “Everyone loves me, thank you very much.”

I had to laugh at that. She turned her head to look at me and her frown deepened. “Instead of sneaking up on me, you should’ve stayed with your son.”

“He is sleeping,” I reminded her. “Not to mention, once he is out, nothing can wake him up until he is ready to wake up. Should I remind you that you’re the one who left him alone?”

“I left him with Olive, and no matter what you say, he could wake up and walk right into the pool. You should take better care of him.”

I moved from my spot and caught up with her before she could make it to the opening where Aiden was sleeping. I grabbed her arm and spun her to face me.

“This is the second time you’ve insulted my parenting skills,” I said through gritted teeth as I lowered my head to her. “You won’t like what happens the third time.” How was it even possible that she managed to push my buttons almost every single time she opened her mouth?

“I dare you to try.” Her eyes narrowed on me, and she twisted her shoulder to shrug me off. “Take your hand off me.”

I was ashamed to admit that I had to force myself to let her go. I took a step back. God, she made me so angry. So far, every attempt at a civil conversation had brought us right back to where we’d started. “And to think I was considering offering you a job.”

Her forehead creased, and she tilted her head. “What job?”

“Who were you talking to?”

“What job?”

“Who were you talking to, Lucy?”

“What job, Adam?”

“Did anyone ever tell you how insufferable you are?”

“What can I say? You seem to bring out the worst in me.”

Our eyes locked, and we stood perfectly still. I decided to ignore how her gaze flickered to my lips twice and took another step back. I had a feeling if we stood too close to one another for more than a few minutes, she’d burn me right up with her.

We glared at each other. It was inevitable when she was around.

Then, she huffed and rubbed at her eyes. “You really do bring out the worst in me. I just don’t think I like you,” she admitted.

Such honesty. “I don’t think I like you that much either, so you don’t have to feel bad about it.”

“I wasn’t feeling bad, but thanks.”

Jesus, she was a handful.

She took a deep breath then visibly shook herself, presumably to relax her muscles. “I was talking to my grandma. We don’t talk all that much, so I’m a little…tense, I guess.”

“I gathered that. So you’re looking for a job?”

“I think so.”

“You don’t know?”

“I’m looking. I’ve been looking. I’m also acting as Olive’s temporary agent for the moment, trying to get a deal for her upcoming book or books, depending on the deal, of course. So far I’m not that impressed with what they’re offering.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what I’m doing, but she seems to trust me, so I couldn’t say no. I’m just trying to help, so I hope I’m not messing things for her.”

Since she was behaving like a fairly normal person, I relaxed into the conversation. “Sounds like you’re doing everything a good agent would do.”

Another half-shrug. “Maybe. I majored in business, not sure how good I’d be as her agent. Anyway, I accept,” she announced and waited expectantly.

“You accept what?” I asked, confused.

“I thought I’d save you the trouble.”

“What in the world are you talking about now?”

“Aren’t you gonna ask me to watch your son while you’re away on set tomorrow, or whatever it is that you people do? Jason spends most of his time on set, so I assumed you were—”

I lifted my hand to stop her mid-sentence.

“How did you—you know what, never mind. Actually, I was planning on asking you if you could look after him for a few more days. For some unknown reason he seems to like you.” I’d called twice to talk to Aiden during the day, and he couldn’t stop talking about how cool Lucy was long enough to even listen to me. Standing in front of me, Lucy gave me an overly fake smile, and I would’ve bet millions that she was cursing at me like a sailor in her mind, or quite possibly plotting my untimely death. Either way, I was starting to enjoy goading her. “I’m only asking because I couldn’t find anyone I want to keep long-term.” After the divorce, Adeline had kept our assistant, and I still hadn’t had the time to find one. “While I do see the irony of asking a stalker to look after my son, there is the fact that you already saved his life once, so I know you’ll keep your eyes open. That’s like stalker 101, isn’t it? Plus, I don’t have any other options right at this minute, not when his mother is out of town.”

“First of all,” she started, her eyes flaming. “Why do I feel like you’re expecting a thank you from me? I already apologized for being curious.”

“Oh, so that’s what we’re calling invading privacy these days, is that it?”

I doubted she even heard me as she kept talking. “I’m not gonna apologize over and over again, so stop calling me a stalker and I’ll happily be the temporary babysitter for a week. That’s all I’m being these days anyway. Temporary Lucy.” She turned around and started walking in quick steps. “As long as you’re not present, of course. I don’t like you very much.”

I followed her. “Have you ever had a boyfriend? Because I’m having a really hard time imagining anyone putting up with you.” As I was insulting her yet again, my eyes took notice of the way her dark jeans hugged her full ass. Nothing flat about her at all—not her ass, and definitely not her personality either.

She stopped, and I nearly walked into her. I also almost grabbed her hips, but we can skip that part.

“And I can see exactly why your wife divorced you, Mr. Connor,” she exclaimed, oblivious to what was going on in my mind. “I didn’t have a hard time figuring that out at all. When you have the time, please give me her number so I can call and congratulate her on making such a wise decision.”

Why did my dick jump when she called me Mr. Connor? Why did I even notice her ass in the first place? Regardless, we shared hostile glances and then kept walking as if we hadn’t just insulted each other while I was checking out her ass.

“Of course, I’ll be paying you for your time,” I continued.

“A glorified babysitter. Awesome. How much will you pay me? I’d like to remind you that I was emotionally scarred by those five hours spent in prison.”

I ignored the jab. “Dan, the head of my security—or bodyguard, whatever you’d like to call him—he picks Aiden up from kindergarten then drops him off at home, so you won’t be with him all day.”

“I can pick him up too if you need your bodyguard to protect you from your excited fans. God forbid they lay their eyes on you or anything. What will you do without him?”

I spotted Aiden’s sleeping form and, not too far away, Olive sitting on Jason’s lap. Since they were keeping an eye on him, I reached out to grab Lucy’s arm to stop her. I told myself it was only because I didn’t want Aiden to hear my voice and wake up. It was mostly because of that.

When I touched her skin, it was cold. She was cold. I dropped it before she could shrug me off.

“You’ll need to sign an NDA.”

She opened her mouth to argue about it as I expected, but then closed it without saying anything. Studying me, she remained silent as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. I could already see small goose bumps appearing on the length of her arms. “Let’s go inside, you’re cold.”

Why would I even think she would listen to me? She stood her ground and sighed. “I’ll sign it. I don’t plan on talking to anyone about you.”

“It’s not just about me. You can’t talk about anything you hear while you’re with Aiden to anyone. Not even your friends.”

She glanced toward her friends and something changed in her expression. I didn’t like it, especially those calculating eyes of hers. Nothing good would come of it.

“I’ll look after Aiden, and I’ll sign your stupid NDA, too, but I have a request of my own,” she said finally, her eyes meeting mine.

“I’m not hiring you to be his full-time nanny. You don’t get to have requests.”

“I do. And I’m requesting to sleep over at your place for the week. I’ll spend my time with Olive after you come home so you won’t see me, but I’m coming back to sleep.”

Genuinely confused, I frowned down at her and asked, “Why?” Didn’t Jason want her in the house? I mean, I wouldn’t blame him for it, but from all he’d said about her when he’d come to talk me out of pressing charges and getting a restraining order, I’d assumed she was somehow important to him.

“Look at them,” she said, motioning toward Jason and Olive with her head.

I looked and saw what I’d already seen just a minute before: Olive sitting between Jason’s legs as they smiled and whispered to each other. “And?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes. “They love each other.”

As if that explained everything. “I wish I understood your language, ’cause I’m thinking a lot of things would make sense then, but I don’t, so you’ll have to spell it out. Why the hell would you sleep in my home because they love each other?”

Those goose bumps made an appearance again, and she forcefully stuffed her hands in her back pockets, unknowingly thrusting her breasts out.

I snapped my gaze up.

“I was dating this guy and we were living together, but after we graduated he left the city.”

“He left you, you mean. Smart man.”

Her eyes shot sparks, and she pressed her lips together.

I smiled. “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. Go on.”

“My name wasn’t on the lease, so they wanted me out. Since you’re such a smart guy, I’m sure you already know that I’m not close with my grandmother. If I’d gone to stay with her…I don’t even want to think about that. Let’s just say, she drains me, of life, positivity, everything. So, of course, Olive took me in, and I’ve been here for more than two weeks now.”

“I still have no idea where you’re going with this, sweetheart.”

“Don’t call me sweetheart. This is the second time I’m warning you. I hate it when people use that word with that tone.”

Watching me intently, she shifted her weight from her left foot to her right, hands still secured in her back pockets, shoulders tensed and high up.

Before crossing my arms over my chest, I motioned for her to go on.

“Like I said, I’ve been here for more than two weeks now, and this is their home. Granted, they were in London that first week, but still, what if Jason wants to fuck her brains out in the kitchen?”

My arms dropped down.

“Well, he can’t,” she continued. “He can’t because I’m in the house. Not that I’m trying to listen in on them or anything, but I don’t even hear a moan at night and trust me, Olive is a moaner. Anyway, Olive waited a very long time for that guy, and she deserves to have loud, earth-shattering sex, so I’ll be staying at your place. That’ll give them a week to do whatever they want to do wherever they want to do it. I’m hoping to find an apartment as soon as I get a job anyway.”

Frozen in place, all I could do was lift an eyebrow at her. Had I lost my mind, thinking Aiden would be fine to spend a few days with her? Clearly satisfied with the eyebrow lift, she nodded and turned around to join her friends—only she tripped on something and didn’t have enough time to free her hands to balance herself. I caught her by her arm a second before she would have face-planted into an actual plant.

Did I get a thank you? That would be asking too much.

“Goddamn it, Olive,” she yelled into the night. “I’m gonna cut down all your bushes with my own hands!” Then she turned to me and shrugged me off before I could take my hand away. “And what is it with you and my arm for God’s sake? Every chance you get, you latch onto it. Do you have a fetish or something?”

I didn’t remember saying yes to her request, but she’d somehow managed to invite herself to stay at my place.