Relief flooded through Reece, but he scowled anyway. "Don't you knock?"
"I did." Amusement danced in Brent's eyes, illuminated by the soft glow of the lamp. In the bed, Jenna stirred but didn't wake.
"I knocked," Brent continued. "And my little girl answered."
As if on cue, Faith appeared beside Brent. She tugged on his The Fix on Sixth tee, then announced, "We watched wrist cats last night!"
"Did you?" Brent scooped his daughter up into his arms. "So I guess you're going to be a permanent fixture around here now?" The question was directed toward Reece, but Brent wasn't quite looking at him. Reece twisted in bed, glancing back over his shoulder to where Jenna was now propped up against her pillow, newly awake and looking delicious with her soft features and sleep-tousled hair.
She smiled at him, and he felt a pleasant kick to his heart.
"Actually," Reece said, turning his attention back to Brent, "I thought I might steal her away. My apartment's small, but cozy. And it could use a woman's touch. Lingerie drying over the shower bar. Face powder in the sink. That kind of thing."
"Jerk," Jenna said and gave his ass a little kick with the ball of her foot.
He laughed. "I stand accused," he said. "But what do you say? Want to move in with me?"
She rolled her eyes as she looked at Brent. "You see what I put up with?"
"I only see a live-in babysitter walking away from me."
"You're going away?" The thumb came out of Faith's mouth long enough for her to ask the question.
"Oh, sweetie. I won't go too far. You know I'd never leave you. Even when I was in LA, didn't we talk on the phone all the time? And now I live in Austin again, so I'll be around to babysit whenever your daddy needs me."
"Promise?" Brent asked.
"Promise?" Faith echoed.
"Sure do," she said, cocking her head toward Reece. "I might even bring a helper."
"Pinkie swear?" Faith begged. And in an echo of their childhood ritual, Jenna, Reece, and Brent knelt on the bed and pinkie-swore with Faith that Jenna and Reece would always be there when her dad needed them. Just like they'd always been before.
Chapter Seventeen
"That's another three hundred calendars sold," Tiffany said, practically skipping up to the corner table where Maia and Jenna were huddled behind Jenna's laptop. "One of the stores on South Congress said they want to carry them. They're getting them wholesale, but--"
"But nothing," Jenna said. "That's great. Thanks, Tiff."
"Are you kidding? You don't have to thank me. This is so awesome. Anything I can do to keep this place open. Not to mention my job," she added before bouncing back to the bar to pick up a tray that was ready. It was ten on a Wednesday night, and the bar was hopping at about ninety percent capacity with a local singer performing on stage, just him and his guitar.
"Pretty soon this place will be at a hundred and twenty percent," Maia said. "You've been kicking butt and taking names getting ready for this thing."
"I can't believe how fast the time has flown by. And how much we've gotten accomplished. Thanks for all your help. Seriously." Jenna raised her wine glass in a toast, which Maia returned enthusiastically.
"My pleasure," Maia said. "I wish I could do more. You feeling pretty confident?"
"I am. I mean, I think the calendar orders are a good sign that the contest will be popular. And we've almost sold out the door for the Mr. January contest. It should be a good event, too. We've had a lot of guys sign up for the contest, and the ones selected to compete are pretty hot."
"You're using local celebrities to pre-select from all the candidates, right?" Maia asked. "I mean, they anoint the ones who'll parade across the stage?"
"Exactly. And then the actual winner is chosen by customer ballots the night of. That way we vet the entrants, but the public feels involved, too."
"And our guys? Tyree and Brent and Reece?"
"They all said no. Bastards." Jenna rolled her eyes. "They claim they have a conflict of interest. I think they're grasping at excuses."
Maia laughed. "Probably. Too bad, though. I'd love to see Tyree parade across the stage without a shirt. That man is completely lickable." She tilted her head to the side, her lips slightly pursed. "I take it back. They're all three totally lickable."