Page 3 of Nothing to This (Nothing to… #8)

Their daughter was faster than him.

Sky leaped to her knees on her seat and grabbed JD’s wrist before he could stand up. “Daddy!”

Lowering back into his seat, the caught JD surrendered to his fate. “Yes, Sproutette?” he asked, opening his mouth to pop the ear Sky had attempted to deafen.

Their daughter was arranging her remaining pasta into a row, not letting any pieces touch, and then eating them in order. “Are mermaids good?”

“Are mermaids good?” JD asked and glanced at her for direction; she gave a discreet nod. “Uh, yes, Sproutette. Mermaids are excellent. I love mermaids.”

Kye blew a raspberry.

“Kye,” Rylee warned. “We don’t mock each other’s interests. Your sister doesn’t make fun of your mural, does she?”

Each of the children had chosen murals for their bedroom walls based on things they loved.

“Mermaids are for girls,” Kye said.

JD’s head tilted. What was he thinking about? His children’s reactions to each other or the seashell bikinis?

It was left to her to play parent. “If Daddy likes mermaids, that should be proof enough for you, son, that mermaids are not only for girls. Daddy’s not a girl, is he?

” Perfect opportunity to have a little fun.

“I tell you what, sweetpea,” she said. “If everyone clears their plates, Daddy will watch all The Little Mermaid with you, Sky. How does that sound?”

Her daughter gasped, glittering with excitement. “Really, Daddy? In my bedroom? You’ll watch the mermaids?”

JD took his turn to glare at her, but she just plastered a grin on her face. She always wished he’d spend more quality time with the kids and wouldn’t snub the opportunity to encourage him.

“He’ll watch the mermaids,” she said, blinking at him with innocence. “You did say you were free tonight, right? And you want to embrace your daughter’s passions.”

“Maybe I could take Kye to the park, toss the ball around and—”

“It’s too late for that,” she said. “Kye will watch the movie with you.”

Though her son would bluster and gripe, it wasn’t such a hardship for the little guy. He sang the songs and quoted the dialogue just as well, if not better, than Sky. Whenever she noticed him singing along, she’d never point it out or make him self-conscious, it was too sweet to interrupt.

Seeing their children happy and enjoying themselves was the greatest pleasure for any parent.

As it should be for JD too. He’d stood up to presidents, met monarchs, and been locked in merciless negotiations with some of the most ruthless executives.

He’d face any of those situations and come out on top.

Yet thinking about watching animated movies with a pair of four-year-olds made him tug at his collar.

Rinsing her hands, she dried them again and went to stand next to where he was sitting, facing him.

Propping her ass against the table, she bent over to loosen his tie. “The Great Mr. Jamison Dawes,” she murmured. Sliding the tie free of his collar to toss it over her shoulder, she unfastened the top two buttons of his shirt. “Afraid of bedtime?”

“Me? Afraid? No, I’m not afraid. I do this all the time.”

Had he forgotten how well she knew her children and their routines? All their routines, even those that didn’t happen under her roof.

“Your mom doesn’t let them watch movies at bedtime. Usually, I don’t either, but since you’re here, I’ll allow you to rebel with them.” She leaned forward to whisper. “I won’t tell your momma, I promise.”

Sky climbed off her chair, drawing the parents’ attention from each other. Their little one reached up to take her empty plate from the table and went past them into the kitchen to put it into the open dishwasher. Amazing.

“Can we have popcorn, Mommy?” she asked.

So much for their little bellies being full.

“Yes,” she said, going to her daughter to crouch to her level and kiss her. “Sky, sweetpea, you’re a good girl for putting your plate away. Are you trying to impress Daddy?”

“Daddy need to know the plate washer,” Sky said, touching Rylee’s hair. Her tresses always fascinated her daughter. “He didn’t know.”

“And Daddy will need to know where it is, so he can put his dirty bowl in the dishwasher, that’s true. Good thinking, Sky,” she said. Standing to smile at him, she ran a hand down their daughter’s hair. “When was the last time Daddy did any kind of chore?”

JD didn’t answer and probably didn’t appreciate her smirk, though he didn’t let it show. Funny how they kept locking eyes in a battle to maintain their poker faces in front of their children.

“Grama makes him,” Kye said.

Ha! She snorted a laugh. “Your mom?” she asked. “Your momma makes you do chores? Oh, and I thought I couldn’t love that woman more.”

“I’m housebroken, Ry,” JD said, rising to take his empty bowl to the dishwasher.

She twirled a strand of Sky’s hair around her finger. “I wouldn’t know.”

“No, you wouldn’t,” he said, meeting her body with his as she turned toward him.

Their little one’s soft hair drifted from her digit.

Up close to JD was just an extension of the staring.

Neither would break and back away. “I’m surprised, it’s a turn on to hear you call me Daddy.

Where are we on that fetish these days?”

If he thought flirting or talking sex would rattle her, he’d misjudged his audience. “That’s what you are to my babies,” she stated. “That’s why I call you it.”

“You gave birth to my children,” he said. “That’s why it’s a turn on.”

Much as she’d love to push this to its limit just to triumph, and she would triumph, she chose to be critical instead.

“Said babies are in the room, JD. One day you should read a book about responsible parenting. You get them on audio now, so you don’t have to tax yourself. Do you talk like this when your mom’s around?”

He smiled. Sky’s little fingers moved into her hand and JD’s at the same time. Their daughter swung each parent’s arm.

“What’s a turn on?” Sky asked.

Her lips curled in triumphant satisfaction. “Daddy will explain it to you, sweetpea. Why don’t you get the movie set up and Daddy will bring the popcorn?”

Sky kissed each of their hands and then spun around to run to her room.

“I’ll explain it?”

“Just be happy she didn’t pick up on ‘fetish.’ By the time you go through with the popcorn, she’ll have forgotten about it. She will have a list of a thousand things to tell you in her room. Be careful what you say around them.”

“Usually I’m worried about what I say in front of my mom, so I don’t have to worry about them.”

She retrieved the popcorn and put it in the microwave to cook. “She’ll love showing you her room,” she said. “The mural isn’t fully painted, but the outline is there.”

“They both have murals? If the guy’s slacking, I’ll call him and—”

She laughed and went over to bag the carrot sticks in individual portions. “I’m doing it myself,” she said, taking the baggies across to the other side of the room.

“Momma, I don’t want the carrots!” Kye whined when he saw her putting them in the fridge.

“I know, baby. Sky likes carrots. Mommy made apple snacks for you and you’ll both share the grapes.”

“I like the grapes.”

“So does Sky,” she said, going back toward the island. “You have to share. Besides, why are you whining about tomorrow’s snack when you haven’t even finished dinner? Sky’s all done, and you’re still at the table, little prince.”

“Daddy sat with Sky,” Kye whimpered.

She prodded JD in the ribs. “Go sit with your boy.”

“We have to talk about work,” he murmured.

Stepping back, she met his eye, landing a scowl of disapproval on him. “That’s why you came here? Work? Not to see your children?”

His eyes narrowed. “You’re judging me.”

“Always,” she said and prodded him again.

Judging? Yes. Surprised? No. JD was the way he was.

That was that. Getting upset or starting a fight wouldn’t change anything.

With most people, JD got away with a lot.

Money did that. While she wouldn’t necessarily start a war with him, she would never be one of those sycophants.

If she was unhappy or questioning, she wouldn’t hesitate to let him know.

“Help Kye finish so he can watch the movie with you. Otherwise we’ll be here all night. ”

“Will you be watching with us?”

Laughing, she moved the last of the daycare snacks to the fridge. “No, I have a ball-buster of a boss. I have work to do.”

He propped himself on the counter beside her. “Want me to talk to him?”

She rearranged a few things in the fridge. “Ha! Yeah, right.”

“Daddy!” Sky shouted from her room.

“We don’t shout, Sky!” she called, closing the fridge to lean back and yell toward the mouth of the hallway beyond the end of the table. “Daddy is helping Kye with his food. They’ll come to your room when he’s done.”

“I’m done,” Kye said, pouncing out of his chair. “Let’s go, Daddy.”

“Uh, if your sister can do her plate, you can too. Come on,” she said and went to take the popcorn from the microwave to put it in a bowl.

Kye put his plate away. “I pick the next one.”

Smiling at their son, she bent to kiss his head. “Of course, little prince.” Straightening to take her amusement to JD, she handed him the popcorn. “Enjoy, Daddy. Between the two of them, they have almost every kid’s movie ever released. You’re in for a treat.”

Kye took his daddy’s hand to lead him toward Sky’s room. JD looked back as though seeking escape, but he was only playing.

She’d known how her children felt about that man all their lives, while she’d spent most of that time judging him for his lack of involvement.

Her family had a routine. Her family and his. Why had JD suddenly decided he wanted to be a new cog in a machine that didn’t need any spare parts? Their lives had been working just fine without him for years. Why was he choosing now to mix it up?

***

Noise from the movie quickly faded into the background as she got lost in her sketches.

She needed to pee and—eleven p.m. With an inhaled shriek, she leaped from her desk to dart through the apartment into Sky’s bedroom and came to an abrupt stop.

JD was asleep on Sky’s bed with their drooling daughter sprawled on his chest. Kye was tucked under his father’s arm, against his side, as dead to the world as the other two.

Her heart slowed as it swelled. They were adorable. There was love there; she could feel it thick in the air. She’d never seen this, had never seen her children share such an intimate moment with their father.

Maybe JD wasn’t playing and had been telling the truth when he said bedtime was familiar.

Though, from what she’d been told, he only showed up for half his scheduled visits, and his mother dealt with most of the parenting during that time.

The children didn’t mind because they had a great time with his family.

Could be this was their ritual in the times he did show up.

Not knowing something about her kids’ lives was disconcerting, but she’d always been happy with her and JD’s limited contact.

She never saw him, it never occurred to her to want to, yet there he was, sleeping in their daughter’s bed with their babies in his arms.

Shirking the ridiculous sentimentality, she crept over to the TV and turned the movie off. When the light from the screen faded, the nightlight came on automatically.

Retreating without making a sound, she took JD’s crumpled jacket from Sky’s armchair and backed out of the room slowly, closing the door behind her. It didn’t usually get closed, but she trusted JD to deal with the kids if they woke up afraid.

He’d come to talk work, and she’d roped him into being Dad for the night.

If nothing else, he’d have learned his lesson about randomly showing up at her apartment.

Kids had a way of hijacking anyone’s agendas; her children were particularly good at it.

There were times, like that night, she didn’t mind giving them a helping hand.

Maybe they didn’t get all their wiles from their father.