Page 66 of The Model

“No, dear. You’re a guest in our house. Besides, you’re carrying my grandbaby, so you sit back and relax.”

“I’ve got it.” I kissed my mom on the cheek as I passed by to get the plates down.

Placing a plate down in from of Lexie, I kissed the top of her head. Lifting her head to look up at me, she spoke quietly so only I could hear. “Is this what I can expect from you?”

“This, and so much more. I’m going to spoil the shit out of you.” After my mom uncovered it, I took the pan from her. “You’re going to love my mom’s lasagna. It’s the best I’ve ever eaten.”

“He’s being kind. I’m pretty sure he’s only ever eaten mine.”

I shook my head as I sat the pan down. My mouth was salivating at the smell. “I’ve had others, and I choose to only eat yours now.”

My dad sat down and cut himself a big piece and flopped it on his plate. Before anyone else could get their food, he was already shoveling his food into his mouth. Lexie didn’t seem to notice how rude he was being, but my mom sure did. With him acting so strange, I had to wonder if everything was okay between him and my mom. I knew her being sick had been hard on them both, but I thought things were looking up. Was he acting like this because there had been bad news at my mom’s last appointment? I’d have to get her alone to ask her if she was still feeling okay or if this was all an act.

After both my mom and Lexie had a piece on their plates, I dug in. I had restrained myself long enough. It had been too long since I’d had a good home-cooked meal. I’d either have to work out extra while we were here or remind my mom I couldn’t eat like this every day, but for now, I’d enjoy it.

Lexie let out a low moan that shot straight to my dick. If she kept that up, I’d never be able to leave the table.

“I have to agree with your son. This is one of the best lasagnas I’ve ever had.”

“Thank you, dear. I’m glad you like it. It’s a recipe that’s been handed down generation after generation. I’ll share it with you before you leave so you can make it for Ryder. I’m sure he’d love it if he could eat it more than once a year.”

I would, but I couldn’t afford to eat like this regularly. My mom seemed to forget that when I was home.

“I’d like that. I love to cook, but it’s lonely cooking for one, so most of the time, I order out or have my assistant bring me something to eat.”

“You’ve got your own assistant?”

“Mom, I told you Lexie has her own company. She’s famous for her photography. You should see the amount she negotiated for the job I did in Vegas.” I wouldn’t mention how much she made on the few pictures she sold of us together in Rio.

“So you’ll be living in LA now?” my dad asked with an annoyed tone.

“That was always the plan. I’ve been saving up so I could afford an apartment that isn’t in a bad neighborhood. I want to base my modeling in LA and not around the world.”

“My place isn’t big. Only a studio apartment since I didn’t think I needed more room, but now I’m going to have someone come in and add another bedroom or two and a bathroom.”

“I thought you said it was small?” My dad’s brows rose like he’d caught her in a lie.

“Well,” Lexie started hesitantly, “I only did a small portion of the second floor since it was only me, but there’s room for more. I was impatient and didn’t want to wait any longer before I moved in.” Her gaze turned to me. “Maybe if you want, we could even put in a gym so you can work out at home.”

I chewed my bite of food slowly. I didn’t feel I had the right to tell her what she could and couldn’t do with her money. Our dynamic had changed so much in the last week, and we were still trying to find our places. It was strange to think that I was planning on staying here for the next month and then was going to hit the road again, but now I had a wife and a baby on the way. I had no idea what I was going to do, but I knew I couldn’t keep traveling the way I had.

“That would be great, but expensive. Plus, I know you never planned for that to be your forever home.”

“It’s not, but who knows when a place will open up at the beach and have everything I need, so I’ll make this place be what we need, and if you want a gym, it’s a possibility, that’s all I’m saying.”

“We can figure it out later.”

For the rest of dinner, my mom gushed over Lexie. They became fast friends, and I knew my mom already considered her a daughter. Nothing had changed with my dad. He was still acting out of the ordinary, and I wanted to find out why. I wasn’t sure if I should corner him or my mom to find out what was happening. Deep down in the pit of my stomach, I felt something was off, and when I woke up early the next morning to go for a run and found my dad sleeping on the couch, I knew my intuition had been right.

Slipping out the front door, I ran longer than my normal thirty minutes. I couldn’t get the picture of my dad on the couch out of my head—or the way he’d acted the day before. My arms and legs kept pumping, pushing me faster. When I arrived back at the house, it had been a little over an hour. My legs felt like noodles as I leaned forward with my hands on my knees and tried to catch my breath. I spotted movement inside and saw it was my dad folding up the blanket he’d slept on. I hoped everyone else was asleep because we were about to have a serious talk.

Quickly I stretched as I kept my eye on my dad moving around inside. No one else seemed to be up as I walked in. He was at the counter, pouring himself a cup of coffee and jumped when he heard the front door close, causing him to spill his coffee on his hand.

“Shit,” he hissed. Moving over to the sink, he held his hand under the water.

I went to the fridge, pulled out a bottle of water, and drank half of it down in one slug. Leaning my hip against the counter, I waited. Every minute that went by, I got madder as he kept his back to me with his hand under the water. I knew he didn’t burn himself that bad and was only trying to avoid me.

“Enough.” I finally gritted out. “Turn around and face me like a man.”

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