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Raising her hand, she glides it over my chest seductively as she’s licking the ice cream. “I’ll see you there.”

I wonder if I can fake an illness that night? Maybe break my ankle or something. I’d totally go for a broken bone rather than go to that stupid fucking ball with all these rich, pretentious assholes in this town.

Grady tugs on my hand. “I want the salted caramel.”

I step toward the display case and tap Cash on the shoulder. “What about you, dude?”

He turns, his cheeks flushed, eyes low-lidded. “I don’t want any.” And then he flops himself in a nearby chair like he might pass out. He fucking looks like he’s going to pass out. “My stomach hurts.”

This is where I start to panic. Aly leaves me with her kids for a night and one passes out. . . . She’ll never leave them with me again. I mean, she’s got two, and they’re identical, she can spare out, but still. Don’t freak out. I’m totally kidding.

I touch my hand to his forehead. “You all right, man?”

Uh, now Idofreak out. He’s burning up.

I pull my hand back and motion toward the ice cream case, nodding to the guy behind the counter. “Hey, man, can we get one kid’s scoop of the salted caramel to go and one chocolate?”

When Grady has his ice cream, he stares at me. “My mom said you left town when you were younger, why?”

Shit. The man behind the counter even stares. He remembers me and I think he’s curious what I’m going to tell this kid. “I was young and dumb back then.”

He lets it go. Are you surprised?

Me, too.

We get the ice cream. Cash insists on me carrying him back to the house, which I do for some odd reason, and we literally get inside the door and he pukes on me. All over my fucking chest.

This isn’t exactly what I had in mind when I said I’d watch the boys for a night.

Grady plugs his nose and raises his other palm in my face. “I’mnotcleaning that up.”

Fuck.

I stare at Cash, trying not to vomit myself. “Feel better?”

He shakes his head. “Not really.”

I really hope that parent coaching doesn’t last long.