Page 30 of The Infiniteness of Yesterday
I swivel my gaze back to them. “I have no idea who you’re talking about. You must have me mistaken with someone else.”
One of them holds up a phone and I grind my teeth at a picture of me with Spencer, a young toddler version of Monroe in his arms.
“That’s you.” She points at the screen. “I’m not dumb. Is Spencer here?”
All the girls look around the sandwich shop, their heads on a swivel like those little meerkats on Animal Planet.
I narrow my eyes. “If you’re such big fans then you’d know we’re not together, so no, he’s not here and even if he was, it’s not your business. He’s a person like anyone else. Have some respect.”
Rude of me? Probably. Do I care? No.
Thankfully my order number is called, and I grab the bag, getting out of there as quickly as I can and attempting to put the awkward encounter behind me. The door closes harder than necessary behind me in my attempt to get away in a hurry.
“Here we go.” I set the bag down, pulling out the wrapped sandwiches and passing them to Roe and Jae.
As I sit down, he grabs my wrist gently. “Are you okay? It looked like something was going on in there.”
I blow out a breath. “I’m fine, it’s just … you know. The usual.”
Monroe exhales in exasperation. “You don’t have to talk in code around me.”
I laugh, unwrapping my sandwich. “Sorry, Roe. Those girls just recognized me because of your dad.”
“Oh.” She gives a tiny shrug. “That happens all the time when I’m with him.”
My chest gets tight. Of course it happens when she’s with him, but it doesn’t mean I have to like it. Is it wrong of me to not want my daughter in the spotlight? Strangers talking to her like they know her? Random paparazzi taking her photo?
I feel Jameson’s eyes on me, trying to gauge if I’m okay. I don’t want to let this little incident sour my mood. I only get one weekend a month with Roe, and I want to enjoy it.
A dog and its owner walk by and Roe watches their progress, a smile on her face. “I want a dog. Can we get a dog?”
Leave it to Roe to change the topic completely. “You see Perry all the time,” I remind her, referring to my parents’ aging golden retriever. When I was pregnant with Roe he’d lay on my bed with me, his head on my stomach waiting for her kicks.
“Yeah.” She rolls her eyes. “But that’s Grandma and Grandpa’s dog. I want my own dog. A cute white fluffy one or a kitten.”
This again. I shouldn’t be surprised. My girl loves animals.
“Remember, Roe, we just talked about this. We can’t have pets in the apartment. Maybe when I can afford to buy us a house we’ll talk about it then.”
She huffs. “But that’ll be forever.”
“Attitude,” I warn.
“I don’t know why you won’t let Daddy buy you a house. He said he would.”
My fists clench and I know my face is bound to be turning red. “I don’t need your dad to buy me a house. It’s a thoughtful offer, but I want to buy my house myself.”
Jameson eyes me thoughtfully. “Or we could buy one together.”
“What?” I blink at him in shock.
We’ve talked about living together, briefly, but never seriously, and he’s choosing now to spring this on me?
“Just a thought.” He bites into his sandwich like this is the most casual conversation ever.
Men, I swear.
“Hi,” Roe says suddenly, and thoughts of houses flee my brain.
