Page 47 of Whiskey and Regret

“Yeah.” Her answer was clipped.

“You seemed pretty upset when you left the kitchen. Are you okay, Frankie?”

“I’m fine.” Her flat tone said otherwise.

“So, what should I do if I don’t believe you? I don’t want to be pushy but I know you. Something is up.” She stopped putting clothes in her bag and turned to face me. Her eyes were red and her lashes were spiky and wet. My stomach sank. “Come here,” I said, holding my arms out for a hug. When she didn’t resist, I let out a relieved breath.

“I just wanted her to sit and eat and talk. Just to be normal for a few minutes and she always messes everything up because she’s so angry with Dad.” I stroked her hair and listened to her vent. She didn’t need me to fix it. “I want them to get along. I know Daddy tries but he still argues with her. She has this way of wrapping people up and making them angry like her.”

I wanted to tell her that type of person was called a vampire, but I didn’t want to say anything bad about her mother. “I don’t even want to go to her house now. I just want to stay home with you and Dad.”

“Hey, you know your mom loves you. I’m sure once you talk to her about things she’ll come around.” She wrapped her arms tighter around my waist then nodded. Her soft, fluffy hair brushed against the side of my face.

“I’m still pissed at her for not signing those papers. She can’t even come get me when she’s supposed to. I don’t know what the big deal is.”

“Me either, girl.”

“She probably thinks you like Daddy, which is cringe-worthy.” She pulled away from me and shuddered at the thought of me and her father. The tops of my cheeks grew hot knowing how bad I wanted to fuck Evander. Knowing how close I came to kissing him again.

“Very cringe-worthy,” I chuckled, wiping stray tears from her soft cheeks.

“Seriously, Xari. Promise me you’ll never ever mess around with Dad. I see the way every woman in the world looks at him. I hate hearing people call him the single senator. We’re best friends, right?” She asked, zipping her bag up.

“Um, hell yes we’re best friends. What have we been doing all month? I thought this was already established.”

“We are!” She smiled. “Okay so promise me you won’t be like every other woman in the world and go all crazy over my father.”

“I promise,” I said, placing my hand over my heart. Even if I did fuck Evander, I knew going crazy was out of the question. I’d never get sprung over mediocre dick.

“Good.” She tossed her bag across her body and walked to the doorway.

“Don’t go down there looking like you were crying. Never let them see you cry, Frank. You’re too tough for that shit.”

“I’m sensitive. I can’t help it.” She shrugged her shoulders and I smiled a little. I walked over to her dresser and picked up the jade skin roller.

“Let me de-puff under your eyes.” I rolled it under her eyes and over her eyelids then moved to her cheeks. I repeated it a few times the pulled back. It didn’t take all the redness away but it helped. “When you come home, I’ll do your makeup.”

“You will?” She squeaked, clapping her hands together.

“Yes, but it stays between us. When we have our next sleepover, I’ll give you a full beat. Lashes and all.” I touched the tip of her nose and she gave me the prettiest warm smile.

We went downstairs and I hoped I’d given Frankie enough strength to deal with her unstable mother. Evander looked at me then at Frankie. His eyes absorbed her as he checked to see if she’d been crying. “You okay, kiddo?” he quizzed.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Are we all gonna talk or is it time to go?” She asked her mother.

“We can talk.” Alexis’s demeanor had done a complete 180 after Evander laid her out.

“Good,” Frankie hung her bag on the back of a chair then had a seat.

“What do you want to say, sweetheart?” Evander asked, clasping his hands on the countertop.

“Mom, I want you to sign the pickup papers so Xari can drop me off and pick me up from school. Also, I want you to stop being difficult about her being my nanny. I love her. She’s so cool.”

“Youloveher,” Alexis scoffed.

“Let her talk,” Evander grumbled.

“That’s all,” Frankie said.