“Hmm. Okay then. Thanks.”
“Sure,” Marla said.
Leslie sat down on the floor with the girls, enjoying watching them play. She picked up Ella and played with her a bit, eventually ending up with all three girls perched on her lap. They laughed and cooed at her, making faces as she made faces and noises to amuse them.
“Well, isn’t that the most beautiful sight in the world. My four happy girls playing in the floor,” Tucker said from the doorway.
Leslie looked up, alarmed. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It wasn’t even close to lunch. Once her initial surprise wore off, she considered his words and dismissed them internally, while smiling up at him as the ever-adoring wife. She never knew how much of what he said was heartfelt when expressed in front of others. It was all part of the ruse, as far as she was concerned.
“I thought you weren’t coming to pick me up until after lunch?” she said.
“I got finished early and came home to clean up before the confirmation. I won’t be long. You up for leaving a bit early and grabbing some lunch first? I’m starving and you spoiled me with that steak last night. I might have to hire a full-time cook instead of just someone to prepare frozen meals.”
“Lunch would be fine,” she said nonchalantly, doing her best to keep their distance. He had made it pretty clear that what they had shared meant very little and that he still viewed their relationship as one of paid convenience. She needed to do a bit better at controlling her feelings toward him, lest they get out of control and she lose herself in the process. It was time to keep her eye on the prize, and that was to walk out on the other side of this deal with enough money to buy a reasonable house, a car, and go to school to become a better provider for her girls than she could as an undereducated single mother.
Marla came over to help her move the babies back to their little pallets, so she could get up as Tucker disappeared from the doorway. She didn’t know how much time she had, so she took a quick shower and pulled her hair up in a messy bun before slipping into a simple summer shift dress and sandals. It was dressy enough for the ceremony but casual enough for lunch.
Sitting in front of her mirror, she kept her makeup simple. Just a bit of moisturizer, a light veil of powder to even out her skin and only a hint of mascara, blush and gloss. She had always preferred the natural look and had perfected the art of five-minute makeup after having the twins, as she was lucky to have that much time to accomplish any more than that in her old life. Standing to examine her overall appearance, she was pleased. She had lost most of the baby weight quickly, thanks to the breastfeeding. Though she wasn’t exactly svelte, she was comfortable in the curves that remained. She’d had them all her life.
There was a knock on the door and she called out for them to come in, assuming it was Marla. Instead, she found herself looking at Tucker. He was wearing a pair of black jeans, loafers and a crisp white shirt. Her heart skipped a beat, though she tried not to show it. He really was an attractive man. A flash of their night together skated across her mind, sending a chill down her spine at the memory of how he had made her feel. She just as quickly dismissed it, reminding herself to stay on track.
“You look stunning,” he said with a broad smile.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“You’re welcome. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes.”
“Great. I want to show you a place that I like to go often. You’ll love it there.”
She smiled, trying to stay casual with him, though a part of her was screaming at her to respond. She couldn’t. Something in her was broken now and she had done it to herself when she had mistakenly kissed his brother. Sure, she hadn’t known. There was no question about that, but she knew he had not taken it well. It wasn’t even about the night they had spent together or any feelings that might have developed, if that had ever even been the case. She was supposed to be pretending to be his happy wife and she had shamed him in front of his pack. That wasn’t something he could just overlook, no matter what he said. He might not have said it outright, but it was apparent in his rather businesslike way of reminding her that they were merely parties to an agreement.CHAPTER SEVENTEEN“What is this place? Is it a local hot spot?” she asked as they stepped inside.