Playing the Player(33)

Partners. That’s all we could be, or should be.

Nothing more.





Chapter Fourteen

Trina

Sunday, June 9

Desi and I sat by the fountain, munching on free pretzels. Since it was a hot Sunday afternoon, the mall was packed with people in need of free air conditioning. Screaming kids crawled over the indoor playground equipment.

“This is like a work day for you, right?” Desi asked. “Surrounded by screaming kids?”

“Not really. I just have two kids to deal with.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re not counting Slade as kid number three anymore?”

“Um, I guess not. I think maybe he has…potential.”

“What type of potential? Are we talking personal or professional?”

I knew how I should answer. Strictly professional, of course. But a teeny voice in my mind whispered both.

Desi and I didn’t keep secrets from each other. It was our number one rule. But I’d been sitting on a giant secret, about the double salary and the secret mentoring. And now it felt like I was keeping another one, about my feelings for Slade.

“I think you just answered my question.” She beamed at me. “I knew it! I knew you didn’t have total immunity to the Slade spell.” Her smile morphed into a wide grin. “It’s perfectly understandable, you know. There’s not a girl alive who can resist him for long.”

I jerked upright in my chair. “It’s not like that. Just because I don’t totally hate him doesn’t mean I’m…” I took a deep breath. “I told you before. Slade and I have decided to alternate planning the days for the kids. So, to answer your question, the potential I see in him is strictly professional.”

Desi didn’t say anything. She worked on her pretzel, taking lots of small bites. Then she patted her lips with her napkin.

“Remember fifth grade?”

I blinked at her. It wasn’t like I had a highlight reel in mind.

“Remember Jack Wilson?”

Oh. That highlight reel. “What about him?”

Her lips quirked as she watched me squirm. “Just how you spent the whole year complaining about him and ragging on him, and then on the last day of school, I found you two smooching under the slide.”

“We weren’t smooching,” I protested. “He kissed me once. On the cheek.”

Her eyebrows shot up. “That’s not what I saw. I definitely saw a lip lock.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’d hardly call it a lip lock. It was more like a peck.”

“Anyway…” She strung out the word to at least five syllables. “I’m just saying.”

“Saying what?”

Desi stood up suddenly. “My break’s almost over. But we will continue this conversation later.”

“Or not,” I muttered, standing up and gathering our trash.

“Oh, we will.” She put her hands on her hips, looking down at me. “You should know by now that you can’t keep any secrets from me.”

I bit the inside of my lip and turned away.

If she only knew.





Chapter Fifteen

Slade

Monday, June 10

Gilly was playing with her action figures when Max and I arrived. She’d tied them to the banister with a tangle of yarn and was trying to force her dog to rescue them. Trina watched her, looking perplexed. Sometimes I wondered if she’d ever been a kid.

Trina gave me half-hearted wave, but she looked tired, and paler than usual. Maybe it was a good thing we weren’t going indoor skydiving today. I’d expected a lecture for arriving late, but she didn’t say anything.

Gilly squealed at Max. “Maxie! Come help me. My heroes were kidnapped by aliens. They need to be rescued but Spike won’t help.” She glared at her non-heroic dog, whose tail wagged as I knelt down to pet him.

“Is there any coffee?” I asked. I’d wanted more at home, but hadn’t wanted to listen to another round of my parents’ never-ending debate about my future.

“Sure,” Trina said. “Mrs. Forrester brewed a fresh pot before she left for work.” She made a sound between a laugh and a sigh. “Guess I must look as tired as I feel.”

“Late night?” I teased, following her into the kitchen while the kids played on the staircase.

She paused, then turned around to hand me an empty cup. “Yeah.” Her mouth curved up. “It was a wild party. The cops came.”

I paused mid-pour to stare at her. “No way. Whose party?”

She actually laughed. She should do that more often. It would help her social life. A lot.

“I’m kidding.” She glanced out the kitchen window over the sink. “My mom works nights sometimes, and I don’t always sleep well when she’s not home.”