Page 107 of Scandalous Contract

“Our little No Limit Soldier always uses me as her first line of defense.”

I chuckled. “I’m glad she has someone she trusts to go to when she can’t come to me.”

“You know it’s not like that, Stef.”

“No. I know. I’m serious, Ronnie. I get it. It’s how I was with my mom. But I didn’t have another adult to go to when I needed someone to talk to. India does. So, thank you. I know if you were worried about her or thought this was a bad idea, you’d tell me.”

“You know I would. I even called the coffee shop to verify that she had a job there. I’m not letting our little porcupine just be out here in these streets. Oh, and she told her new boss that she needs a few days off around August first so that she can celebrate her birthday with her mom. She didn’t forget you.”

“Gee, thanks. Glad I made the birthday list.”

Ronnie chuckled gently. “We were the same way. Remember when we spent that summer working for my aunt in Florida?”

“Yes. I was sunburned and smelled like fresh shrimp for three months.”

“Your dad finally gave you permission, and your mom cried like you were leaving her forever.”

I laughed. “My poor mom. I thought she was being so dramatic. I’m paying for that now.” I stared up at the ceiling. “We had fun that summer.”

“And did! We thought we were so grown, making our own money. We made memories that lasted us a lifetime. And your dad actually took a couple of days off work to come down and see us with your mom. Your dad never took time off work, so that was a big deal.”

“I know, right. We all went swimming, and my dad went fishing with your uncle while we went shopping with my mom.”

“I lost all the pictures we took years ago. But those memories are still fresh.”

I sighed. “I get why she needs to do this. You did your job, messenger. I’m not going to force her to come home. But it still hurts. First spring break, now this.”

“I know, Stef. Another bit of good news is that our little firecracker plans to come home for the Fourth of July. And she said she’d call you right after I let her know you’re not going to kill her for this.”

“Tell our little faraway fairy that she can call me now. I’m not mad. But I do have some rules. And tell her I plan to come visit at least twice a month.”

Maybe more.India was growing up, but she wasn’t grown. She couldn’t do whatever she wanted.

“Will do, my little mermaid princess.”

“Talk to you later, my little king of the sea.”

Laughing, Ronnie rushed to say, “Wait. Don’t hang up yet.”

“Please don’t tell me there’s more. I can’t take anymore.”

“I wanted to tell you that this would be a great time for you to work on your book and seek sexual inspiration for research purposes.”

My mouth dropped open. “What?”

“I’m serious.”

“I know!”

“Just think about it. I saw your post about flowers on your social media. And I also saw the little thank you note about the coffee and muffins. You may be able to fool India, but you can’t fool me. Something's going on and I’m here for it. Live it up. But put it in the book because I need the tea.”

“Bye, Ronnie.”

“Bye, babe. Happy fucking!”

He ended the call before I could reply.Crazy ass.A summer alone. I haven’t had a summer alone in seventeen years. I guess fate was really pushing me onto the path of self-discovery.

I now had no choice but to work on my romance novel. I had no choice but to spend some time alone and learn to be happy with myself. I sighed and stared around the kitchen.