Misadventures with a Manny Read online

  She giggles. “Nope, right mind, and I think it would do you both good.”

  “Do us both good?” I pause before lowering my voice. “Riana, we don’t even know each other. At this point, I don’t need any complications. Getting involved with Lincoln would be complicated. I just need sex with a willing man.”

  She scoffs. “Well, bet ya ten bucks you won’t do Dennis and think of Dennis. Your mind will be consumed by Lincoln. Do you know he has abs? Like thick ones. He’s the one who got Phillip in shape.”

  Information I did not need to know.

  “I am disgusted by you,” I say, pressing my hand to my chest. “This man is the caregiver of my children. He’s not just some piece of ass.”

  She’s too busy laughing. “Whatever. You watch. I’ll get to tell you, ‘I told you so’ in no time.”

  “You will not,” I say just as the train slows at my stop. “I’ll call you back.”

  “Drive safe!” she yells, but I don’t answer.

  I know I’ll hear about this later. I don’t need to think of Lincoln like that. Harmless fantasies are one thing, but giving myself false hope is another. Riana is encouraging my lust for the manny! Which blows my mind! Doesn’t she realize that if I did jump in the sheets, the boys would suffer?

  If I learned anything from my divorce, it’s don’t sleep with the nanny.

  Or manny.

  Whatever.

  Throwing everything in my car, I check and realize I have plenty of time to get home. After a short drive, I pull into the driveway beside Lincoln’s SUV. When I reach the door, arms full of work, he is waiting for me.

  His hair is tousled, like he has been running his fingers through it over and over again. The shirt he wears is loose-fitting but tight on his shoulders. His biceps are bulging, and when the hell did I start to think forearms are sexy?

  Breathless, I give him a smile as he reaches for the box.

  “I didn’t know you were coming home early,” he says.

  “Yeah, their father’s wife is coming to get them. I wanted to be here for that.”

  I point to the table. “You can put that there.”

  “Cool,” he says.

  I try so hard not to watch the way his back moves, but apparently, along with beards, I’m becoming attracted to backs.

  Get it together, Woods.

  Clearing my throat, I say, “You can go home.”

  “Oh,” he says, and then he points to the kitchen. “I was in the middle of cleaning out the fridge. I thought I had more time before you got home.”

  Unsure what to say, I stumble on my words. “Oh, that’s okay, I can finish it.”

  He points to the box, and with each motion he takes, a new whiff of his cologne almost knocks me on my ass. “Looks like you have a lot more to do than what I started.”

  Get your head right, Woods!

  Though he is right, I don’t want to admit it. When I meet his gaze, he is smiling, and I’m not sure how, but I smile back at him. “Okay—”

  But before I can finish, the doorbell rings.

  “Son of a bitch,” I mutter. I feel Lincoln move behind me to look through the peephole.

  “Ah, the wife.”

  I groan. “The wife,” I say before I reach for the door. “Boys, let’s go.” After I open the door, I move out of the way. “They’re going to be a second. I just walked in. I thought you wouldn’t be here until six.” Without waiting for her to answer, I head to the bottom of the stairs. “Boys,” I holler once more. I hear them moving.

  “I was over on this side of town, and Simon told me to come get them.”

  I don’t look at her. “Can you call next time?”

  “Yeah, I guess I should have,” Kaia says, her voice very unsure.

  My heart is heavy as I watch the boys run back and forth upstairs, gathering their things. I had hoped to have dinner with them before they left. This is beyond annoying, but this is my new normal. I have to remember that.

  “You were at practice.”

  I look back at the sound of Kaia’s voice to find her talking to Lincoln. She looks small beside him. Before, she was always so put together, hair always done and nails perfectly manicured, but that isn’t how she looks today. Her hair is a mess, and while she’s still dressed to the nines, I don’t miss the paleness in her face or that her nails are chewed to the quick. I shouldn’t find joy in this, but in some sick way I do, because the woman who stole my husband looks like shit.

  “Phillip’s friend,” she says, as a statement rather than a question.

  Lincoln nods. “Yup, that’s me. Lincoln Scott.”

  They shake hands before she looks back at me and then grins. It’s the way she used to grin at me when we found a guy good-looking on one of the many girl dates we had. We were so close, but she ruined that. Just as quick as the grin came, it is gone when I set her with a look. She looks away, threading her fingers over her growing stomach.

  Ugh, I’m so pissed.

  “Nice to meet you,” she purrs.

  I don’t usually want to throat punch people, but Kaia is high up there on my list.

  Lincoln doesn’t answer as the twins come running down the stairs. They’re dressed and ready to go, which is a surprise. Another sign of how Lincoln has changed things. I thought they’d take longer. Coming toward me, they drop their bags before they wrap themselves around me.

  Elliot squeezes me. “I thought we’d get to see you before we go.”

  “I’m sorry, love. Kaia was on this side of town and wanted to get you guys early,” I say, kissing their heads. “Don’t worry, I’ll be at the game tomorrow. And then Sunday, we’ll watch movies and eat loads of crap food that Lincoln bought.”

  Elliot smiles up at me. “Sounds like fun.”

  I beam down at their beautiful faces. Though their looks favor Simon, that would never change how much I love them. They are my little balls of sunshine. “What do you think, Louis?” I ask.

  Finally looking up at me, he shrugs. “I don’t want to go.”

  “I know, my love, but you have to.”

  “And we’re gonna have so much fun! We’re going to the movies tonight,” Kaia says. But neither boy looks at her.

  “Why? Isn’t Dad gone?” Charlie’s voice comes from the top of the stairs.

  I look up at him as the twins’ hands thread with mine.

  Three little squeezes taking my breath away.

  “Yes, but I thought we could go together,” Kaia says then, but Charlie doesn’t seem interested. He comes down the stairs, facing me.

  “I thought we were eating dinner first,” Charlie groans.

  “She came early ’cause she was on this side of town, no need to drive all over,” I tell him as the boys move. Reaching for my oldest, I pull him in close. “Please be good. Don’t be mouthy?”

  He scoffs at my neck. “I don’t want to go to the movies with her.”

  “I understand, but she is your stepmom,” I say, pulling back and cupping his face in my hands. “Be respectful.”

  His brown eyes mirror mine as he slowly nods. “I’ll try.”

  Well, I can’t ask for more. He is having such a hard time, and yesterday’s therapy session hadn’t gone well.

  “Thank you,” I say, kissing his cheek. He attempts to move away, but I get him anyway. Sending him a grin, I take his hand in mine and squeeze it three times. His eyes widen, but by the grace of God, a small smile fills his face. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the game. Call me if you need me.”

  “I will,” he says, moving past me, and when I turn, I see the boys are waiting for him. With his shoulders back, he walks with them toward Kaia. Clearing his throat, he says, “I don’t want to go to the movies. Do you guys?”

  Like I knew they would, the boys agree with him as they walk out the door, leaving Kaia behind. She looks back at me, dejection in her eyes, but I just stare at her with the fiery depths of hell swirling in mine.

  “Guess I’ll go,” she says.

&nb