Page 39 of Play For Keeps

“I lied.” Then I gently smack the side of her hip with the tea towel.

“Jake!” She squeals, her hand shooting towards the polka dot tea towel as she tries to steal it from me. As she grabs hold of the fabric, my hands slip around her waist, pulling her back into my chest. We’re both laughing as she struggles to get loose. I must have close to 100 pounds on her, so she can wiggle all she wants, but she’s not going anywhere.

Our hushed laughs fill the kitchen. We’re trying not to wake up Birdie but we’re having too much fun. I squeeze her a little tighter. She laughs a little harder and squirms a little more, but it’s a half-assed attempt.

Everly’s laughter is like a song. I feel like I could listen to it for the rest of my life on repeat, volume on high in the car with the windows rolled down.

“Say it, Ev…” I hold her a little tighter.

“What do you want me to say?”

“You know what I want you to say.” This is the closest I’ve ever been to her. Her back pressed against my chest, the top of her head under my chin. I’m probably too close, hyperaware of her slender body rubbing against me and my eager cock. I wonder if she can feel that I’m sporting a semi in my shorts.

“Fine, fine… it’s a date, Jake.” She says through a laugh as I release the hold I have on her, my skin buzzing from the feel of her against me. “A date between friends. Birdie isn’t ready for anything more.”

I wish she didn’t tack on the word friends to the end of that sentence, but how can I argue? Birdie is always Everly’s main concern, and I admire that about her. She’s a good mom.

“We’ll go on a friend-date then,” I say, voice as steady as it can be. If it means I get another minute with Everly, then that’s what we’ll call it.

“Thank you, Jake. And thank you for everything this week.” Everly’s eyes meet mine. “It made all the difference that Birdie had tonight to look forward to. It’s so hard to see her upset. She’s my baby, you know? She doesn’t deserve to be put on the back burner, where her dad puts her. Then she breaks her arm.”

I clench my jaw before I say something about her ex and risk sounding like a total asshole. “She’s a good kid. She’s a handful sometimes, but she’s sweet and kind and she deserves to feel like she’s a priority.”

I can tell she’s upset by the way her shoulders tighten as she talks. My throat burns when I swallow down the anger I feel toward the man who somehow shares the same DNA as Birdie. How could any man neglect a kid like her? “Ev.” I tip her chin up, so she’s forced to look at me. “She’s amazing. And she has you. Everything is going to be okay.”

Her smile returns. “I may be slightly biased, but she is the best kid I know.”

I love the way she lights up when she talks about her. I think back to what I witnessed between Everly and her ex at The Dockside. The way he spoke to her, the terrible things he said. The way Birdie’s face crumpled when her dad left. I didn’t want to bring it up when Birdie might be able to overhear, but I feel like we can’t avoid talking about it forever.

“Do you want to talk about what happened at The Dockside?”

She flinches at my question. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“You’re sorry?” My tone turns gruff. “He should be sorry. Is he always that much of an asshole? Sorry, I don’t want to overstep. But I hated the way he was talking to you.”

She looks away and nods. I want so badly to pull her to me, to take her in my arms. But I don’t.

Instead, I hold out my hand to her and wait for her to take it. She makes eye contact for a moment, like she’s weighing something in her mind, then takes my hand. I tug her into the living room and we both sink down onto the couch, angling our bodies so that we’re facing each other.

“Will you talk to me?” I ask, her hand still in mine. “If it makes you uncomfortable you don’t have to. No pressure, but I’d like to be there for you.”

Everly swallows hard, her expression pained. I give her a hand a squeeze, my thumb rubbing over the tops of her knuckles. I sit and wait for her to tell me her story. We’re both silent for a moment, before she finally starts to talk.

“I married a monster.”

THIRTEEN

TROPHY WIFE

Everly

My stomach tightens the way it always does when I think about my ex-husband. I wasn’t planning to have this conversation tonight.

I listen for a moment to make sure there is no noise coming from the direction of Birdie’s room, but after the excitement of Jake’s visit tonight I’m sure she’s sleeping soundly by now. I look down, to where my hand is still intertwined with Jakes, and try to think of the best place to start. I may as well go back to the beginning. Grant was a self-centered jerk from almost the day that I met him.

“Grant was a total playboy when I met him, but I had no clue. We met at a party. It was at a mutual friend’s house. He was charming, confident, and handsome and I guess I was naïve and ignored the red flags.” I pause and take a deep breath. Talking about Grant isn’t easy, there is still so much pain buried in these memories.

“We were sort of a whirlwind right from the start, texting each other all day and all night. He told me he didn’t really want anything serious, so I guess I should have listened to him. But at the same time, he was taking me out to nice restaurants, introducing me to his friends and family. We spent all our time together. It felt serious. It felt so much like a relationship… I guess I forgot he wasn’t looking for one. I was stupid. I really thought he loved me until I found out later that I wasn’t the only one he was sleeping with.”

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