Page 19 of Unexpected Love
Bright red fury blinds me.
I’m dangerously close to putting my fist through this damn door.
But as quickly as I have the thought, the wood swings open, and a contrite Jules stands in the doorway. Her hair is up in a messy bun; her makeup is gone. She’s wearing a slouchy sweatshirt that hangs off one shoulder. No bra strap in sight. My cock twitches at the tease of bare skin despite my exhaustion and frustration.
“I’m so sorry. The volume was still up when I turned my stereo on. I tried to catch it in time.”
Charlie shrieks over any response I might have. Kicking her legs, punching her little fists, and arching her back so hard I almostdrop her.
“Wow. That’s a temper.” Jules steps forward, arms outstretched.
And for reasons I don’t understand, other than I am at my wits’ end, I let her pull Charlie out of my arms.
“Hey there, little screamer.” Jules bounces and coos, and Charlie stops the tantrum immediately, her wide eyes shining with unshed tears.
“You little traitor,” I mutter.
“Come on in,” Jules offers. “I made this mess, so I guess I should help clean it up.”
I follow her inside like I’m being led to the gallows.
“She keeps crying at bedtime. Just when I think she’s down, she kicks it up a notch.”
Jules, still bouncing, smooths a hand over Charlie’s head, pressing her sad little face into her neck. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Mean old Jules woke you up by trying to have a happy dance.”
Happy dance, my ass. Despite her excuses, I think she was intentionally pushing my buttons. Charlie sniffles and burrows into Jules.
“You like snuggling, huh?” she says, turning away to bounce-pace across the apartment. “Do you like dancing too?” Her slouchy sweatshirt is paired with some oversize light-gray sweats. She looks messy and comfortable all at the same time.
I don’t want to wonder about the tease of a lithe body under those sweats. But the way the material shifts and moves as she consoles Charlie has piqued my stupid libido.
I blame Jules for my inability to make sense of anything right now.
“Uh-huh,” comes a little voice, sneaking in and knifing me right in the heart.
A thought pops up, and it’s one I’ve had amid many of these tantrums, but it’s written in bright, bold neon now.
“It makes sense,” I say under my breath.
“What does?”
Damn. Do I want to tell this truth to this stranger who’s been nothing but guarded and mean to me? But if we’re going to be neighbors, then maybe I need to be the first to extend an olive branch.
“Her mom left.” I keep my voice low and calm. “She must be missing her.”
Jules makes a slow spin to face me, her eyes tracking my face to see if I’m telling the truth. She must believe me because she presses a kiss to Charlie’s forehead. “Poor baby.”
Charlie sniffles, her eyelids doing that thing where they close, then pop open, and then slowly close again. My heart cracks wide open.
“She’s exhausted. I’m exhausted,” I admit. I’m so fucking weary, it’s no wonder I blew a gasket over some stupid antagonizing.
“And I made it worse by blasting my tunes. I’m sorry.”
I run a hand through my hair. “I’m sorry too. I should’ve handled things better this afternoon.”
Jules does the bounce-pace a little more. And Charlie is still doing the eyelid flutter. “I better take her and try to put her down before she falls asleep on you.”
But when I reach for Charlie, she whimpers and shies away. It’s like a dagger to my heart. Jules watches the whole thing, and I low-key hate being rejected in front of her. It’s embarrassing.
