If Jacob was okay with a sleepover, I was too. “Fine, but I’ll be waiting on all those numbers.”
He nodded. “Of course. I’m Jacob by the way.”
“Laurie.” I pinned him with a glare, taking a step forward so I would be able to speak to him without the girls hearing. “If that little girl comes home with so much as a scratch, I don’t care how much of a big-shot lawyer you are. I will destroy you.”
He smirked, cocking a brow at me again. “And how would you do that?”
I gave him the cruelest smile I could muster. “I’ll tell every man, woman, and other person in this city that you have the tiniest cock I’ve ever seen, but that you can’t even get it up. I’ll write a book series all about you and it won’t be flattering. Then I’ll publish it in the woman’s fiction category on every website out there and dedicate every book to you. Off the top of my head, I’m thinking a modern-day retelling of the little engine that couldn’t might work.”
His smirk had started slipping when I’d said the word “cock” and he was stone-faced by the time I was done. I could see the gears in his head turning, but this time, I would finally be the one who got to walk away first.
“Come on, honey.” I reached for Katie’s hand, smiling at her and then at her friend. “Granny and Grandpa are waiting to congratulate you outside. Bye, Allie. We’ll see you soon.”
Chapter 10
Jacob
Well, what do you know? The angry lady has some balls on her. Ever since she’d delivered that threat at the play, she’d been sneaking into my mind every so often. I didn’t give a damn what she said about me around town or even about whether she really did end up writing that book.
It’d surprised me that she had that kind of mouth on her, and then it had turned me on. In an effort not to give anything away, I’d kept my expression carefully neutral afterward. It didn’t bother me if she thought it was because I was fazed by her so-called threat.
Our doorbell rang, jerking me out of my thoughts. Allie squealed and ran down the stairs to get it. She’d been as excited as I’d ever seen her this past week, and apparently, it was all because of Katie.
The two had grown to be fast friends, spending every minute they could together at school. They’d gotten to know each other because they’d been put in the same group for the play, and it seemed to have been a match made in heaven.
Now I only had to figure out what to do about Katie’s mother. They were prompt, at least. It was exactly four p.m. when Allie yanked the door open and threw her arms around her friend.
Before I even reached the entrance hall, I heard Katie saying goodbye to her mother. “I’ll see you tomorrow, honey. Love you.”
“Love you too!” the little girl called when Allie dragged her in before she’d even pulled out of Laurie’s hug.
“Wow, this is your house?” Katie whispered to my daughter, her eyes wide as they went for the stairs with their arms linked. “It’s so big and fancy. Are we allowed to play here?”
Allie laughed. “Of course, we are. Dad’s really cool. Let me give you a tour. My bedroom is on the second level. We’ll start there.”
Katie barely had time to wave hello to me before they were disappearing around the corner. I chuckled as I leaned against the doorframe, my gaze coming to a rest on Laurie’s bright green one.
She was dressed casually again in fitted jeans, white sneakers, and a white oversized jersey. Her dirty-blonde hair hung in a ponytail down her back, but tendrils of it had come loose to frame her face.
Her pink lips were plump and inviting, but when they parted to say something, I knew I had to get what I needed to say out there first. “I’m surprised you’re letting your daughter hang out with mine. I got the feeling you hated me.”
It was more than a feeling actually. Her fire and dislike of me were as obvious as it was amusing. It stood to reason that the one beautiful woman I was genuinely curious about wouldn’t want anything to do with me.
I definitely felt a bit of chemistry between us, but I couldn’t quite tell if I was the only one. Somehow, I didn’t think so, but on the other hand, that could also only have been my ungrateful, immodest ego making me think that way.
“How I feel about you doesn’t matter.” Laurie sighed, her expression not completely hostile for once. “Katie needs friends, and by some miracle, your daughter seems like a nice kid.”
“It is a miracle,” I agreed. Considering everything she’d been through, I wouldn’t have been surprised if she’d ended up being distrustful and closed off.
Laurie might know about that, or she might not. Most people in town knew at least some of what had happened with Shannon. There’s no stopping the grapevine.
“Would you like to come in for a cup of coffee or a drink?” I asked. “We can get to know each other. I make a point of getting to know the parents of my daughter’s friends.”
It hadn’t been very difficult so far. Allie might not be distrustful and closed off, but she wasn’t a social butterfly either. She stuck up for other kids on the playground and didn’t tolerate bullies, but she mostly kept to herself.
So far, she only had a handful of close friends who she’d actually invited over. Katie was only the second one she’d wanted to sleep over. It had surprised me, but it also made me that much more curious about her and her mother. Which was the other reason why I’d invited her in. I found that I really did want to get to know her.
She obviously didn’t feel the same way. “No thanks. The girls are friends, but that doesn’t mean we have to be. Thank you for sending me all those numbers. Allie also told Katie you could send me some photos of them throughout the night?”
She fidgeted with her fingers while she spoke, and I nodded. “Sure. You don’t have to worry about her here. We’re not going out and I’ll let them use my phone to take some pictures for you. It’s no problem.”
For just a moment, her features softened and she let out a quiet breath. “Thank you. I’d really appreciate that.”
“Just a question, but do you really hate me so much because you hate how I drive?” I asked. I didn’t understand how I could have pissed her off so much that she didn’t even want to have a drink with me despite obviously being nervous about Katie sleeping over.
Her eyes narrowed, and gates slammed shut over the vulnerability she’d shown just a second ago. “It’s not only because I hate how you drive.”
“What’s it about then?” That was all there was. We hadn’t really interacted much outside of that.
She shrugged. “Honestly? It’s everything about you. The arrogant smile. The cocky attitude. The flashy car. The flirting with all those single moms at the school play.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “Really? For the record, those women have been trying to take me home with them for years. All I can do to prevent them from tearing me to pieces is to distract them. I wasn’t flirting.”
She rolled her eyes, a snort that wasn’t much more than a tiny huff of air through her nostrils escaping her as she took a step back. “It’s none of my business, but that’s not what it looked like. Anyway, why do you even care what I think about you?”