He smushed the piece I broke off for him between his fingers and smeared most of it on his face.
“The point is to get it in your mouth.” I demonstrated with my own piece, and he giggled.
This time he spread the banana on my cheek.
“You’re a silly man.”
“You two are having too much fun for this hour.” Patrick strolled in, dressed and ready to kill in a crisp navy suit.
“What is that noise?” I asked as he grabbed a couple of mugs from the cabinet.
“Noise?” He pulled his phone from his pocket. “It’s called T.I. And he’s awesome.”
He turned up the volume and sang along while he filled our coffee cups. I accepted the one he offered, but nearly gagged when I got a whiff.
“Take this back.”
“Did you poison it?”
“No, you ass. It’s making me nauseous.”
“Ass!”
“Wonder where he picked that up?” He set my cup back on the counter. “I thought you felt better.”
“I do. Did. That just—” I turned my nose up and stuffed another bite of banana in my mouth.
Patrick kissed Blake’s head and stole his own bite from what was left of the fruit. Of course, Blake giggled. This kid.
“Want me to call you a cab to get to your dad’s?”
“I need to talk to him. I hadn’t asked him to take Blake today, and I didn’t hear from him last night. Which is weird,” I said with annoyance. I was still angry that he hadn’t called me about taking Blake to Patrick’s office. What was that about? Dad was normally very honest and forthcoming.
“That’s odd.” I rolled my eyes, something I seemed to do a bit around Patrick. “But you know he wouldn’t have asked me to take Blake and Ella if he hadn’t been needed by Mrs. Quinn.”
That was the problem with talking to a lawyer. They always looked for a reason and justification for someone’s actions.
“He should have gotten a message to me.”
“Agreed. But he knew Blake was in safe hands. And . . . well, Mrs. Quinn is good for him.”
“There was a time he’d never ditch his grandson for a woman.” I hated the words as they came out of my mouth. My dad did deserve to be happy. Deep down I knew that, but I was still hurt and angry. Would that ever go away?
Patrick took another sip of his coffee—making me envious—and propped his hip against the counter. I felt like I was about to get a lecture, so I grabbed a Kleenex and started wiping banana off Blake’s fingers. I needed to get a wet towel. I needed to get out of—
“What would make you happy, Wicked?”
For my life to go back to how it used to be.
“Nothing.” I pressed my lips to Blake’s temple and whispered, “I love you.”
“He’s what you live for.”
I glared at him. “That’s how all parents are.”
He gave me an unimpressed look. I knew from first-hand experience how true and false that statement was.
“It’s too bad if yours weren’t,” I continued, in full defense mode.
“You don’t know anything about them.”
“Because you never talk about your family.”
“What needs to happen here?” He took Blake from me as if he handled children all day long. “Do you want him changed? Or something?”
I struggled to keep the shock off my face. Did I continually see the worst in him because that was what I wanted to see? And what was I supposed to do with his kindness? And why did it bother me that he'd avoided talking about his family?
“Um, yeah.” It was the best I could come up with.
He swiped his thumb across my cheek. “You’ve got a little something here.”
Blake mimicked him, his chubby fingers grazing my face. “How. Ass.”
How I ended up being an ass all the time was my sentiment exactly.
Chapter Twelve
Patrick
Mr. Dixon gripped the edge of the door when he opened it.
His eyes darted from me to Marlow and back again. I was as surprised to be here as he was to see me. Somehow, when I’d helped put Blake and Wicked in the cab, I’d ended up in it too.
“Your son is supposed to bring the stroller and playpen,” I said.
He cleared his throat. “Come in. I just made a fresh pot of coffee.”
“Everything go okay with the emergency?” I asked.
“Yeah. Two more ladies came in yesterday and Audrey had a huge program scheduled. She needed help managing both.”
“They need legal help?” I shook my head when he offered me a cup.
“I don’t know, but I can ask her. See if they do.”
“She doesn’t tell you why they come?” Marlow arranged Blake into a bouncy chair set up in the kitchen.
“Audrey would never betray their confidence,” he said, affronted.
“Are you sure it’s no trouble for you to keep Blake? I’m sure Holt expects I won’t show up at some point.” Resentment radiated from her.
Where was the woman I could make tremble from my touch? The one who let herself be a little bit vulnerable?
“If you need my services again, you know where to find me.” I slapped the counter twice.
“You thinking of hanging up that law degree? Forging a new path in child care?” Mr. Dixon winked.
“Ella and Blake seem to be about the only children I can tolerate. The rest—” I shivered. Kids. They terrified the shit out of me.
“You’ll change your mind when you have one of your own.”
I gulped down air. “What?”
“You’re young. Still have plenty of time to settle down and start a family.”
“Um, I’m not that young. And I think that’s my cue to go to work.”
“You always do that.” Marlow gripped the back of a kitchen chair. Her hair looked like shit. There was still some dried banana on her face. But damn if she wasn’t beautiful.
“Do what?”
And then she opened her mouth. “Run away when conversation shifts to topics you don’t like.”
“I learned from you.”
“I don’t do that.”
“Let’s talk about Jack.”
Her knuckles turned white, the glare she shot me fierce. “I have to get to the garage.”
I gave her an insincere smile. “My point exactly.”
“I’ll bring lunch by.” Mr. Dixon rubbed his hands together. “Are you going to make it, Patrick?”
“Not today. I have a lot of work to catch up on.” I held up my fist and he bumped it. “Later on, Mr. Dixon.”
“Later on.” I was almost to the entryway when he spoke. “We’ll see you on Sunday, right?”
“Wouldn’t miss it.”
I threw my pen across the office. Gerard ducked.
“I will only tolerate so much,” he said stoically.
“Sorry. If I’d known you were coming in, I would have thrown it over there.” I chunked another pen toward the bookcases to prove the point.
“What’s wrong with you?” He remained just inside the door.