Page 40 of Whiskey Wednesdays

He looked up at the ceiling. “So he gave you the expensive, aged, single malt Canadian whiskey to take to the party with those three fuckers. As a thank you.”

Elodie piped up. “Five bucks!”

I struggled to keep my face straight. “Jonathan and Ramone were there too.” I didn’t tell him they were a happily married gay couple.

His left eye twitched again. “Good to know.”

“And I gave Zeke a big hug for being a cynical bastard.”

“I bet he enjoyed that.” His voice had gone soft.

“Yes, I think Zeke did. And they all enjoyed the whiskey.”

I glanced at Elodie and shut up. She watched us curiously as she stuffed grapes into her mouth. We finished eating, and Elodie ran to her room to get her swimsuit coverup.

Connor leaned over and circled my wrist with his fingers. “Do you know what corporal punishment is?”

Nodding, I swallowed hard. His light, firm touch made my pulse skyrocket.

He raised my hand to his lips and nipped me lightly. “I can make you like it.”

My nipples tightened, and I shivered slightly. “You need to behave.”

“Only if you do. And Bella?”

“What?”

“Trying to make me jealous isn’t behaving.”

Elodie ran back in, wearing her coverup.

I tried to change the subject. “How do you like your dance class?”

She plopped back down and shoved another grape in her mouth. “Good. And you know what?”

I smiled and brushed strands of hair back from her face. “No, what?”

She swallowed her grape. “My teacher likes Daddy.”

I cleared my throat. “Yeah? It’s good somebody does. How do you know that?”

“She touches him a lot and laughs funny.”

My eyebrows shot up and I tried not to smile. “Does she do that with the other dads?”

“Nope.”

“You might be right. Do you like her?”

“Yeah, I think so.” She didn’t sound too sure.

“Does your dad like her?” I tried to sound uninterested.

Elodie looked at me funny. “No, Belly. He likes you.”

I shifted a little and avoided Connor’s gaze. “That’s nice. I like him too.” I hoped my face wasn’t as red as it felt. “And he can like her as well. You can’t have too many friends.”

Elodie watched me curiously. “Uh-huh.” She stuffed another grape in her mouth.

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