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“Uh-huh.”
“And that vampire doesn’t need food; she feeds on words. She’ll suck the blood from your neck and spit it out in print that reads like a damn indictment.” I shake my head, frustration and fatigue gnawing at me.
“Have you seen her legs?”
“Yeah, and trust me, the woman’s a walking nightmare,” I grumble. “But with Mark and Zac gone, it’s time I buckle down and, well, take one for the team.”
Harrison scans the room, making sure the kids are out of earshot before leaning in, his voice dropping to a low whisper. “And by ‘take one for the team,’ what exactly are we talking about here?”
“Exactly what you think it means,” I mutter, shoving a few fries into my mouth.
He rolls his eyes, letting out a groan. “So, that’s where we’re at now? Martyr sex?”
I nearly choke. “What? No! Are you out of your damn mind? Roxie’s been trying to spider-crawl her way into my bed for months. Pretty sure that would end with me on Page Six and a restraining order on speed dial. We’re having dinner. One professional dinner.”
“Ah.” Harrison leans back, a smirk tugging at his lips. “So there’s someone else.”
Instantly, an image of full red lips and jet-black hair comes to mind. Which reminds me, I have an email to send. “No,” I finally reply. “No one else. No one in months, actually.” Or a year, but who’s counting?
“Well, if she’s the living terror you say she is, you’ll need an escape plan to ditch her before dessert.”
I look up, a sliver of hope slicing through the dread. “You’ve got one?”
Harrison’s grin sharpens. “Oh, I’ve got three.”
Harrison glances over at Connor, Ollie, and Snooks, their faces all innocent and sweet.
I chuckle. “Bringing the kids on a date? That sounds like a catastrophe in the making.” I pause, letting the idea sink in, then shake my head. “It’ll never work. She’s got my stats—eternal bachelor, no kids. There’s no way she’ll buy that they’re mine.”
“What about a last-minute babysitting crisis? You can’t justleave them alone, right? And if things go south, oh well. Your calendar is packed, and by the time you can reschedule, Mark and Jess will be back.”
A slow grin spreads across my face. “Think they can fake being ‘sick’ on command?”
Harrison laughs, tipping his chin in their direction. “Getting out of school with a little cough and a well-timed sniffle is sort of their superpower. And if Ms. Voss is as high-maintenance as you think she is, she’ll run from children like they just rolled out of a radioactive swamp.”
“Or fingerprinting day at school,” I add.
Harrison nods, confident and assured. “My kids? They were born for this. Toss in some Comic-Con tickets, and their performance will be Oscar-worthy.”
“Comic-Con?”
Harrison points the cookie at me. “They’d fake a cough for free. But I’ve been wanting to take them there for years. It’s the upside of being their dadager.”
“Dadager?”
“Dad-slash-manager.”
I glance over at the kids, satisfied that my secret weapons are as innocent-looking as they are absolutely nuclear. Shaking my head, I can’t help but grin. “Selling out your kids—pure evil genius.”
Harrison laughs, giving me a solid clap on the back. “One team, one fight, brother,” he says, his eyes already locked on the bag.
“And maybe one more cookie.”
His hand dives in. “Only if you insist.”
CHAPTER 11
Jules
