“That’s not really my style.”
“I know. You retreat from conflict. But this is your chance to stand up for yourself in a safe and controlled environment.” He winked at her. “So really, I’m looking after both you and Mom. I promise I’ll bring good wine.”
Alice felt unexpected sympathy for Hilary. “Sorry, Dan, but I’ve got plans this Sunday.”
He pressed his hand over his heart. “You can’t put some random bloke you barely know ahead of a good mate.”
She laughed, mostly immune to the repertoire of actions and phrases he used to get what he wanted. “I’m not standing you up for a random bloke. I’m keeping a promise to Holly Waxman. We’re experimenting with clay.”
Dan sighed and dished up the meal. “And this is exactly my point. Kids get in the way of everything.”
Alice appreciated it when Dan said things like this. It kept her grounded on the few occasions her post-sex hormones built castles in the air. “We could argue about that in front of your mother on Saturday night if you like.”
“You’re hilarious.” He twirled some noodles onto his fork. “Let’s workshop your first column so it kicks ass and encourages people to send in questions.”
Her heart gave an odd kick. No! She reminded herself this wasn’t Dan being supportive. This was self-interest—he was making sure she didn’t use their experience in the column. She was not going to be one of those women who let herself fall for a man who couldn’t offer her what she wanted. This was fun, pure and simple and right now she needed it.
“How about we eat fast and have sex instead?”
He shot her his best smile. “You’re on.”
An hour later, Alice rolled off him, grinning like an idiot as relief consumed her. The cream Lacey had prescribed worked like a charm.
“Thank God. I thought you might have traded me in by now for a newer model.”
“You’re safe until summer,” Dan teased before giving her a long and considered look. “You know I’ve got no complaints, Twin Two, and surely the most important thing is that you’re more comfortable?”
She knew she should agree but she felt herself prevaricate.
“Alice, Alice, Alice.” Dan shook his head as if she’d just failed a test. “You’ve gotta demand your rights in and out of bed.”
“I’m getting better at it.”
He kissed her lightly on the forehead. “Keep practicing.”
Jess shivered and checked on Leo. Thankfully, he was fast asleep, his cheeks flushed pink. She’d dressed him in a fleecy onesie and tucked him into a sleeping bag, because he was a restless sleeper and she didn’t want him to wake up cold. Maybe she’d overcompensated for the lack of heat? Deciding not to wake him, she returned to the living room and her gaze immediately strayed to the bottle of rum. Three days earlier, born out of the fear of becoming her mother, she’d drawn a line on the label indicating how much she could drink in a week. The level of the tawny brown liquid already matched the line.
“That was before we risked freezing to death.” She poured herself another rum and Coke and wrapped herself in a blanket. Sitting on the couch, she sipped the drink, soaking up the heat of the alcohol streaming through her veins and warming her from the inside out. According to KB Radio, today was the coldest day Kurnai Bay had experienced in a decade. Not the day for the heater to fail. She’d left the house at seven thirty that morning and returned eleven hours later, hungry, tired and with a toddler exhausted from hours in daycare, to find the house was an ice box. The automatic ignition on the heater had never worked so Jess had tried to light the pilot using a taper just like Nick always did—had done—whenever it blew out. It refused to light for her and with the realtor closed for the day, she had little choice but to wait until eight thirty the following morning. Even then, the landlord always dragged his feet.
Meanwhile, she was alone and chilled to the bone in an old clapboard house without insulation. This wasn’t the life she’d envisaged for herself. Or for Leo. Six months earlier, she’d have picked up the phone and called Libby, who’d have sent Nick over with his tool box. He’d have fixed the problem then stayed for conversation and cake. Stayed to see Leo.
The rum in her blood soared high on indignation and for the first time in weeks, Jess gave in to temptation. She tapped out a furious email on her phone.
Dr. Hunter, the heater’s on the fritz and Nick’s son is freezing. If Leo gets sick, you’ll have child abuse on your conscience. Do the right thing and send Nick around to fix it.
The moment the email vanished into the ether, her mood dropped like a stone. The Hunter-Pirellis might have created an email account exclusively for her to contact them, but it didn’t mean they responded instantly. Or even by the end of the day. There was a minimum two-day turnaround and it drove her insane. How dare they treat family like this!
Her eyes strayed to the email she’d received over a week ago, the subject title, Access. The email she was yet to answer. Her anger surged as it did every time she thought about its contents. Nothing about it was conciliatory or cooperative. Nothing about it resembled the love and care that Libby had promised her when she’d begged her to leave Sydney and return to the bay. The love she and Leo had known during their first year. It had been the love Leo deserved and Jess desperately wanted him to know, because it was the opposite of her own childhood.
No, this email was a list of demands. Jess Dekic would do A, B and C,
