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I’m back within minutes. “You still there?”
“Yeah.” Katie’s voice sounds far away. “Hang on.”
I wait until her face fills the screen again. “Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I wish I was with you right now. I would be cuddling you so hard.”
Katie chuckles. “I could get behind some cuddles right now. I should probably go. It’s late, and I still have to teach in the morning.”
I check my phone’s clock to see it’s almost midnight. “Shit, I’m sorry. Go to sleep, baby. We can talk tomorrow.”
“Good night.”
“’Night, little dove.”
CHAPTER 17
Katie
“Mom?”
I gasp awake. “What is it? Are you okay?” So much for my mom radar going off when my kid needed me. I sit up too fast, making my head swim.
“You’re not up? Are you still sick?”
“Huh?” I grab my phone from my nightstand. “Oh, shit.” I scramble out of bed. I’m so fucking late it’s not even funny.
“We’re going to be late,” Cody says unhelpfully.
“I’m aware. Thank you. Why didn’t you come in here sooner? Sorry, that’s not fair. I should’ve been up on my own.” I shove my toothbrush into my mouth while I hurry to my closet to pick out some clothes.
“It’s okay. I just thought you were taking a long time to get ready.”
“Have you had breakfast?” I garble around the toothpaste.
“I ate a Pop-tart.” He shrugs.
Not exactly nutritious, but it’s better than nothing. Back in the bathroom, I finish brushing my teeth and then throw my hair up into a bun. It looks like a bird could live in it, but it’s good enough.
I throw my clothes on before heading back out to my room. “Are you ready to go?”
“Yep.”
“What about lunch?” I hop down the hallway as I slip on my shoes.
“It’s pizza day, so I was already going to eat at school.”
“Thank Christ,” I murmur. I grab a Thermos and brew a cup of coffee while I throw random shit into my lunch bag. We ate all the leftovers last night for dinner, which means we have very little in the fridge, and I do not have time to make a sandwich.
I check the time. Five minutes late. That’s okay. I’ll still have a few minutes to settle in before the kids show up.
“Got your backpack?” I ask Cody while I doctor my coffee. I should add an extra shot of espresso or three, but I definitely don’t have time to get that.
“Got it.” He turns to show it’s already on his shoulders. I grab my school bag, purse, and car keys, and we rush out the door.
The drive to school is filled with Cody’s silence and my swirling thoughts as I curse Nolan and his sexy body. “Smooth-talking bastard,” I grumble.
