Page 32 of Love You Like This

“Of course I do. He’s the closest thing I have to a real father.”

I soften at the sincerity in her voice. I can’t imagine having a child and walking away from it the way her biological dad did. Maybe that’s the reason she and Hazel bonded so easily. They both had such similar experiences. Except Hazel’s mom didn’t go around marrying every guy that gave her butterflies like Suzette does.

I open the car door for her, waiting until she’s situated inside to close it. As I pull out of her driveway, I wonder if I could convince her to put up a fence and little gate in front of her driveway. Just for an added layer of security. Plenty of the houses around here have them, so I know it’s allowed by the homeowners’ association. I’ll get a few quotes this week before I bring it up to her.

Thirteen

JADE

Present

As soon as Stephen’s salt and pepper hair comes into view, my irritation lifts. I cross the patio and wrap him in a tight hug that he returns just as enthusiastically. When he drops his arms, I step back and am immediately met with a solid wall of muscle. Xander stops my elbow just before I ram it into his gut at full speed. Then, much to my irritation, he pulls out my chair as if he’s some sort of gentleman.

“How are you two?” Stephen’s eyes flit back and forth between us as he tries to figure out what’s going on.

“Great,” I say.

“She’s pissed at me,” Xander says at the same time.

Stephen chuckles at us. “Well, whatever you did, I’m on her side.”

“I just wanted to make sure she was okay.” Xander puts his palm over his chest. “There was a strange truck in her driveway, and the front door was wide open.”

“I had a handyman over to help me do a few things around the house.”

“She hired a guy from fucking Task Rabbit to come put up a new pole in her house.”

Stephen’s lips thin. “Maybe I’m a bit on Xander’s side now, too.”

I’m grateful that Xander didn’t mention I was testing the pole’s sturdiness when he walked in. If I felt like being fully honest with myself, I’d say I wasn’t fully pissed that he came over. The guy was nice enough, but you never know, and when I’m fully focused on something, I can be slightly oblivious.

Still doesn’t mean I want Xander barging in like some sort of white knight, though.

“She mentioned wanting something done on her deck.” Xander looks over at me.

“Give me a day this week, and I’ll be there to help,” Stephen says. “I assume you will be, too?” he directs the question to Xander.

“Yep.” He directs a full grin in my direction, and my belly swoops. Those stupid fucking dimples still get me every time he flashes them. “I bet Stone would be down to help, too, if we need another set of hands.”

The server comes with a bottle of rosé and pours us each a glass. I quickly glance at the menu while the guys order and settle on a turkey burger and sweet potato fries. Xander tosses his arm over the back of my chair when the server leaves to put our order in. The heat radiates into the bare skin of my back.

At one point in our lives, I would have loved it. Now it’s just a reminder of what I lost all those years ago. A dull ache lodges in my chest.

“It’s nice to see you two together like this,” Stephen says looking back and forth between us. “How’s Suzette?” There’s only warmth in his eyes as he asks. I think he understood who she was when he married her and that their ending was inevitable. There were never any hard feelings from him.

“She’s good. I actually spoke to her this morning. She’s in London working on a film there right now.”

He smiles. “She’s always loved it over there. I hope she’s having fun.”

“Probably too much knowing her,” I joke.

He nods and looks out over the water, a pensive expression clouds his face. Sometimes I think he still has feelings for her. I remember when she told me they were getting divorced. He wasn’t angry, just resigned.

That was when he pulled me aside and told me that even though he and Mom were ending their marriage that didn’t mean he was ending his relationship with me. He told me I was the daughter he always wanted and that he would always be there for me. And he has. Anytime I needed anything, he was there.

It’s why I took this job to begin with. When Stephen approached me about it, I couldn’t say no. It’s not like he had any idea what went down between Xander and me that summer. How my heart was shattered into a million tiny pieces.

The sensation of Xander’s thumb caressing my back in slow strokes brings me out of my thoughts. I can feel the deep timbre of his voice as he talks about something I didn’t catch with his dad. I shift in my chair to escape his touch, pissed that shivers of pleasure ebbed through my body from where our skin met.