Season of Change(69)

                “And if you were just someone drinking the wine with dinner?”

                “I’d say it tastes good.” She grinned.

                It wasn’t beer, but it wasn’t bad, either. He took another sip, then started carving meat, while the girls set the table.

                “Grace. Faith.” Christine crossed her arms as she regarded them. “I haven’t seen you for days. You’re my pulse on fashion. What did you wear the past few days? Goth girls again? Punk rockers?”

                They giggled again. The sound filled Slade’s heart until he thought it might burst.

                “And I want a fashion show, complete with an announcer. If you don’t talk, I may fall asleep.” Christine gave Faith’s hair a gentle tug. “Seriously, after dinner, I want to see what you’ve been wearing and not as a unit. We’ll cover more ground if you each wear something different. If I get my fashion show and if your dad takes his tie off, I’ll show you how to French braid hair. Deal?”

                Slade held himself very still. Christine didn’t know what she was asking.

                The twins exchanged glances, and then Grace looked at Christine and said, “Deal.”

                Slade didn’t dare look at Christine or either of the twins.

                Maybe he was pitiful as a dad, maybe he was spoiling them, but there was a chance that he could improve. In order to do so, he’d have to bare his soul to Christine.

                And, if they were observant, his girls.





                                      CHAPTER ELEVEN

                “WHY AM I taking my tie off?” It was after dinner. Slade’s hands were shaking. He didn’t want to take his tie off. He was her boss. He shouldn’t have to take his tie off.

                Christine sat next to him on the small couch. She slowly wound a strand of hair between her fingers. “It’s after 7:00 p.m. You’re at home. This shouldn’t be a big deal. You still had your tie on the other night when I came by. Don’t you ever let your hair down?” She tilted her head and glanced at his crown. “Besides, you can show the girls they can break out of their mold by example. What’s wrong? Take the tie off. It’s not like I’ve never seen a man without a tie on before. I’m not going to stuff dollar bills down your collar.”

                The twins were upstairs changing. It was just the two of them in the somber living room. A breeze ruffled the curtains. He should tell Christine no. He should tell her she’d overstepped the bounds of the employer-employee relationship, that it wasn’t appropriate to undress him.

                Slade swallowed. “Uh...”

                “It’s not that hard.” Christine, who knew nothing of personal, or apparently professional, boundaries, reached over and loosened his tie.

                Slade couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop looking at her, noting the slight flush to her cheeks. He couldn’t help himself from feeling the warmth of her hands so near his secret. So near the reason Evangeline had given the court as to why their marriage wasn’t salvageable.

                Christine glanced up at him, a hint of a smile on her face, probably about to give him grief about something else. The horror he was feeling must have been mirrored in his expression, because she froze. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be touching you like this.”

                He captured her hands. “It’s not you.” Three rasped words. He was as hoarse as if he’d been shouting for days.