Play Fair(26)

“That’s what I want.” I let out a deep breath and ran my fingers through my hair. I had never been more relieved in my entire life. Even if Landry’s mom showed up, I could still fight for her. I still had a chance at keeping her. Three days. Three days with Landry and she owned my heart and soul. I wrapped an arm around Bryan, pulling her close to me for a second before turning back to Diane. “I want her. I want to keep her. Just tell me what I need to sign, what I need to do, and I’ll do it.”

“Believe me, I wish it was that simple.” Diane smiled. “Landry’s mom has a few days left before her rights are terminated. And in the meantime, I need to come in and observe your home. Observe Landry here. So, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. But by the looks of it, she’s doing well.”

We all turned, Landry was still sound asleep in her seat. Her cheek resting against Ello and her hands clutching a sandy shovel.





Chapter Twelve


Bryan

Landry was so exhausted from her day at the beach that she only woke up long enough to eat some yogurt, take a bath, and then crawl into bed. She was asleep in a matter of minutes. Jacks was downstairs filling the rest of the family in on the results from the paternity test, so I used that time to take a long hot shower. I had sand in places I didn’t remember putting it. When I got out there was a message on the mirror, written in the fog: MY ROOM with an arrow pointing to the door. I got changed and then went into Jacks’s room instead of mine. “You summoned?”

He was lying on the bed wearing nothing but a low-slung pair of shorts. His hair was wet; he must have showered in Luke’s room. “I did.” He patted the bed next to him and waited for me to climb on. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Okay…”

“The ticket I bought you to fly down here, it’s open-ended and I was thinking—”

My stomach sank. “You’re ready for me to go, aren’t you? I totally understand. You and Landry need some time together, time to get settled.” I was trying to be cool about this, but my heart was hurting. I hadn’t thought about leaving, not once, since I got here.

He chuckled, shaking his head. “No, baby doll. I’m not ready for you to go. I was actually hoping you’d stay for the rest of the summer.”

“The rest of the summer?” I sure as hell wasn’t ready to leave, but stay the rest of the summer? That was a huge commitment.

“I need to spend some time each day in the studio with the band. I can’t bail on this album. And I don’t want Landry to spend her days alone, or with some stranger. She adores you, and I know you feel the same way about her. I’ll pay you.”

I snorted, slapping his chest. His bare, toned, lickable abs. “You do not need to pay me to watch Landry; that’s ridiculous.”

“I know you usually work during your summers off, plus I’ll be taking time away from you trying to find an actual grown-up job. I already told the social worker you were here to help me take care of Landry.”

“Yeah, why did you do that? Why didn’t you just tell her we were friends?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know the rules here. I thought saying you were here to help me with her, to make sure she was safe when I couldn’t be with her… I thought that sounded good.” He reached out and took my hand in his. “Please, B, you’re the only one I trust with her. I need you.”

There were those words again. I need you. Was it wrong that I would rather hear him say “I want you”? I knew I was developing feelings for Jacks. More than friend feelings. The friendship was still there but now there was an undeniable tension between us too. My core tightened when I watched him play the guitar. I’d wanted him to kiss me on more than one occasion. I got chills when he touched me. We were either playing with fire or on the verge of something really amazing. And with my past? It was most likely fire. I needed to stay strong, for both of us, because I refused to lose him. “Of course I’ll stay.”

I giggled when he threw his arms around me and tackled me on the mattress. He kissed my cheek over and over. “You are the best! Thank you thank you thank you!”

“You’re welcome.”

Jacks pulled back but stayed on top of me. He brushed the hair off my face and rested his hand on my cheek. “I mean it, doll. You are the best thing in my life.” He smiled. “Well, you and Landry.” I closed my eyes as he sweetly kissed my cheek one more time before sitting up and pulling me with him. He pointed the remote at the TV and pressed play.

I started laughing when I realized that he’d found Buffy the movie on Netflix. We watched the whole thing snuggled together in bed. Well, except when I climbed out and did the dance with the characters in the opening present-day scene. Once Buffy climbed on the back of Pike’s bike and they rode off into the sunrise, I sat up and turned to Jacks. “Well? What did you think?”