Fun With Rick and Jade (11 page)

“Kids are resilient.”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “I’m going to be like my meddling, overbearing, overprotective, bothersome parents, squared or cubed.”

“Your mom and dad never took a couple selfish moments for themselves?”

Still shaking her head, she said, “Pretty sure they didn’t.”

“That’s all my mother did,” he muttered. “Any romantic weekend getaways?”

She didn’t recall
any
public displays of affection. With a Jewish father and a Chinese mother, there must have been a love connection at some point. Neither set of grandparents seemed particularly keen on the union. “Not that I remember.”

“They must have been intimate.”

“Not to my knowledge.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I can’t even imagine. I don’t want to think about it. Can we change the subject?”

Jade lay sprawled beside Rick on the bed, her hair splayed out on the pillow. He’d had a helluva time talking her back to bed a few hours earlier. She’d wanted to stay on the futon near Coral. Or away from him. He couldn’t be sure which.

Hearing Coral cooing from the monitor resting on the nightstand, Rick pulled a T-shirt over his head and tip-toed across the hall to her room.

Leaning over the rail of her crib, he tickled her feet. “Hey, you. Whatcha got for me this morning?”

She gurgled and reached for her feet. He knew the drill, disposing of her wet diaper. He cleaned her up with a wipe and powdered her bottom before snugly fastening the clean diaper. This morning her pajamas were dry, so he didn’t risk dressing her inappropriately and suffering Jade’s ridicule for a job poorly done. Point was, he learned from his mistakes and improved on his past performance. By the time they divorced, he’d be a damn expert on diapering.

“Gimme a minute, kiddo.” Rick stepped into the adjacent bathroom and splashed a handful of water on his face. He brushed his teeth and decided he felt a little more human. A lot more ready to tackle the whims of a needy baby. How Jade did it looking like a goddess, he’d never know.

Down in the kitchen he heated up a bottle of breast milk and took a seat outside in the warm morning sun. Rick picked the same seat Jade had that first day he’d met her. He rocked the baby slowly. Her eyes peered intently into his. He detected a sort of all-knowing, all-seeing wisdom in her baby stare. She knew things. For example—she knew he had it bad for her mommy. But Coral wasn’t sharing her wisdom, spilling her secrets or his. Actually, lucky for him, she couldn’t spill any secrets until she developed some speaking skills.

“Good morning,” Trudy called out cheerily. She did most everything cheerily.

Turning his head toward her, he returned a greeting. She was already dressed for the day in tourist clothes. He suddenly felt a little naked in his pajama bottoms and T-shirt, but it was his house. Not so much his house as his brother’s house, but she thought it was his house. Close enough.

“Oh,” she cooed in her baby talk, “how cute are you?” Trudy poked the infant playfully in the belly. “Would you like some coffee?’ she asked in her regular voice, which was also sort of sing-songish.

“I’m sorry,” Rick said. “I should get it.”

His host skills left much to be desired, but Rick didn’t entertain often in his two-bedroom apartment. Occasionally an old college buddy would come to town. Not to see him so much, but to crash on his couch and avoid paying for a hotel. Together they’d usually hit the bars or a ball game. His buddies made their own coffee. It looked like Trudy would, too.

“No, you sit.” She hustled off to the kitchen.

“Black,” he called after her. He didn’t want any of that froufrou flavored creamer.

It seemed babies came in handy for a little extra consideration.

When she returned with the coffee, Trudy sat next to him on the bench seat instead of across from him, which struck him as a more preferable distance. Babies apparently gave people permission to invade the comfort bubble of whoever held them. She played with the kid’s toes and fired off little baby-like noises at her. Coral responded with mouth bubbles.

He’d wanted Jade to sleep in, but now wished she’d wake up and intercede on his behalf or entertain their houseguest. She played hostess far better than him.

“You’re up early,” he said, for lack of anything intelligent to say.

“To me it’s midmorning.”

Damn the jet lag.

She yammered to him about the sights they’d seen the day before, the weather and the flights. Very benign conversation in which he impressed her with statistics about average rainfall, fun facts on travel, and tourist trivia he’d never known he’d find a need for.

“You make such a cute family.” She beamed a terrifyingly fake smile at him through soggy eyes that threatened to leak tears. He feared she wanted to steal the baby. Or eat her. Instead, she brushed her fingers through the hair at his temples, which seemed to him weird and inappropriate. Her lips crossed clumsily and blindly toward his face on account of her eyes being squeezed shut.

Rick jerked right, then left, to avoid a facial collision. He wasn’t certain what she was aiming for, his lips, cheek, or forehead. If not for the baby, he would have sprung from his seat and sprinted away. “Mrs. Honeycutt, please.”

Her eyes popped open. He could imagine the horrified look on his face, which spoke volumes about rejection. Something he knew a little something about. Her hand flew to her neck. “I’m so sorry.”

“I…I love my wife…my life…my family,” he stammered.
Don’t even get me started on your husband and what kissing you would do for my economic future, not to mention my potential health
. “I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize my marriage. Ever. Under any circumstances.” Despite his lying disability, these declarations came tripping out of his mouth easily enough and with believable conviction. Without thinking.

“Of course…I…I’m so sorry.” She bolted up from her seat and scurried away.

Rick took a couple deep breaths. What if, in a moment of weakness, she told her husband? Why would she? What if she told her husband that
he
made a pass at
her
? He dragged his hand down the length of his face. What if she dangled the money like a carrot? What would he do for the money? His entire life’s work boiled down to this deal. He’d married a call girl to close this deal. What else would he do to make his dreams a reality?

“There you are.”

He jerked upright at Jade’s words. “I wasn’t…nothing…what…don’t scare me like that.”

“Jeez, Rick.” She sauntered over, wrapped from neck to ankle in a fluffy robe. “Get a grip.” She bent over to take a peek at Coral. “Good morning, sunshine.”

He liked that she didn’t go overboard on the baby talk. Rick zoomed in to steal a morning kiss from her plump, pink lips. Not at all like the way Trudy had tried stealing one from him moments earlier. Jade barely even flinched. She didn’t recoil in horror. On the contrary, a faint smile greeted him.

“Thank you for letting me sleep in.” She skimmed her index finger along the bridge of his nose and gave him a friendly peck in return, like you might kiss a gay friend. “You have no idea what an extra hour or two means to me.”

For a split second he wondered if he was the male equivalent of Trudy and Jade was him. He wondered if Jade was horrified, mortified, and traumatized by his advances, like he’d been about Trudy’s attempted hit-and-run. What if Jade was humoring him out of pity or some misguided sense of obligation, despite her claim of feeling no obligation toward him? Toward their sham marriage. Maybe the sex came so easily to her, it meant nothing. He meant nothing.

That wasn’t the case.
She likes me
. Jade obviously wasn’t as smitten as he was, but he could live with that for now.

Maybe forever.

***

Jade had no idea how much trouble houseguests could be, no matter how congenial and self-sufficient they were. Luckily her houseguests decided to take a scenic drive into the mountains and she faked a long-standing routine pediatrician appointment to get out of the fun. Rick insisted on coming along to the fake appointment.

He waggled his eyebrows at Jade. “What should we really do?” he asked once the Honeycutts were gone. He’d been acting weird all morning. Clingy. Enamored. A little guilty. All her worst fears and some of her secret fantasies.

“The sperm donor texted me.” She pecked out a reply to Ewan on her phone. “Wants to meet for coffee to discuss Coral.”

“Bad idea.” He attempted to peek at the screen of her phone. “I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure Bob would be one hundred percent against that.”

“Which makes me think it might be a great idea.” So many emotions swirled around in her brain. Guilt for using Rick and Bob for her own selfish means. Fear of losing Coral. She had so many unresolved feelings about Ewan. Anger. Revenge. Attraction. If she could strike a deal with him, that would set everyone free from her manipulations. She wanted to get on with the rest of her new drama-free life of playdates and children’s birthday parties. PTA meetings and parent-teacher conferences. Proms and graduations.

He rocked on his heels. “I’ll go with.”

“I don’t think so.” Rick would look good in court, like an expensive knockoff of a designer gown—to the untrained eye—and with a bit of luck, to a family court judge. But on close inspection, Ewan would spot his flaws. Like a loose thread, he’d pull until Rick completely unraveled into a tangled mess of synthetic scraps.

“Is that why you look so great?” His compliment spilled out more like an accusation. “Because you’re meeting
him
?”

Oh, dear Lord
. He was going all jealous hubby on her. “You think I look good?” she asked, to diffuse and distract from his real inquiry.

“Great.” He’d stopped rocking. “You look great.” His compliment landed with a critical
thud
.

Assessing her reflection in a mirror, Jade said, “Thank you.” Turning sideways, she noticed she still needed to lose seven to ten pounds if she wanted to revisit her waifish figure and also some of her favorite clothes. Clothes she couldn’t afford to replace with a larger size. The big breasts, she wouldn’t mind keeping.

“Well?” He raised his voice a smidge too loud for her comfort.

Some might think her profession lent itself to taking orders from men. On the contrary, she took money from men. Sometimes for giving the orders. “Well what, Rick?”

“Well?” His eyes were wide and wild. “Did you get dressed up for him?”

“How could I?” She refused to acknowledge his jealousy. He didn’t have the right. Responding gave his objections credence. “He texted me like fifteen minutes ago to meet him at Chili’s for lunch.”

His eyebrows arched severely. “So now it’s lunch?”

“If you don’t mind your attitude,” she snapped, “it’ll be lunch followed by room service for dinner at a five-star hotel and breakfast in bed the next morning.”

He thumped his chest with his fist. “I suppose I’m the babysitter.”

“Don’t bother,” she said. “My friend Krystal will watch her.” She’d only trust Rick for an hour maximum, although he’d proven himself not entirely inept so far. Anyone could get lucky, she decided.

Throwing his hands up in the air, he asked, “What am I supposed to do?”

“Grow up, Rick.” Time well spent.

She packed the baby in her car with a fully stocked diaper bag. Krystal was good for a couple hours when it came to caregiving. Hopefully, Coral would sleep all or part of the time. Rick planted himself like a tree on the front porch, arms folded over his chest, as she backed out of the garage.
Poor guy
. She didn’t give him a second glance as she eased onto the road, but couldn’t help sneaking a peek at him through the rearview mirror as the distance between them grew. If he were a cartoon, he’d have steam coming out of his ears.

After leaving Krystal with a list of detailed instructions and an even longer list of emergency phone numbers, Rick’s included, Jade sped to the meet-up. Freedom coursed through her veins, leaving her feeling giddy as well as guilty about a lunch date. Even if that date was with Ewan. Her last luncheon had been a baby shower. She’d been seven months huge in size, but had eaten her baby weight in food, so it was more like three or four lunches packed conveniently into one.

Good thing Rick had won their little game last night, or more to the point, she’d lost; otherwise she’d be in danger of dragging Ewan off to the nearest hotel, parked car, or dark alley.
Rick
. She inhaled the memory of his talented lips on her sensitive skin. She exhaled the reality that he would never in a million years date a call girl for real, much less marry one, if he weren’t in a desperate situation. Fuck one? Yes. Date one—no.

As an escort, Jade prided herself on punctuality. For this meeting she entered the restaurant fashionably late, not wanting Ewan to think he had her in any way worried. She held all the cards, after all.
Coral
. Of course he had the means of stealing her cards. She’d run all the possible scenarios through her mind. Clearly he wanted to bypass the lawyers and strike some sort of deal.
Works for me
. Jade feared the law would not be on her side once her sordid past was unveiled in court. And there were provocative pictures on the escort service’s website to prove it, although she’d begged them to remove them.

A shiver rumbled through her when she spotted
him
. An odd mixture of fear and desire and nostalgia folded together, creating a recipe for disappointment. She powered through the dizzying sensation to tower over him on shamelessly high heels that should have come with a warning label.

“Ewan,” she said flatly with a hint of disdain.

He brightened. “Jade.” He rose, reminding her momentarily of Rick and how well-mannered he was, too. Ewan indicated a seat and she eased into the booth. “Get you a drink?”

She glanced away, establishing her aloofness. “Ice water.”

“Twist of lemon.” He smiled. “I remember.”