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I earn a dark scowl in response.
Hunter’s door swings open and I watch him swagger out, wearing dark denim jeans, a white button-down shirt, and a black suit jacket. “How do I look?” he asks in an annoyingly posh voice.
“Better than Seth,” I say while Alex’s door slams shut.
“I heard that!” Seth shouts through the door.
Rachel runs out of the bathroom, holding two brushes in both hands. “What was that? Are they here? Should someone answer the door?”
“The bell didn’t even ring,” Hunter says while ushering Rachel back into the bathroom. “Don’t worry. Lucas is on it.”
“Should someone check on Maria?” I hear Rachel ask from inside the bathroom.
Hunter shakes his head. “Maria is fine.”
“You know what, I will check on Maria.” I watch Rachel stomp out of the bathroom and into her bedroom. Hunter rolls his eyes and I wonder, even if my parents do arrive on time, if we will be able to leave this house with everyone driving me crazy.
I will need wine tonight. Loads of it. Maybe we won’t get to have any sexy time, but at least we will get out of the house for an hour. This restaurant we’re going to is nice. I’m really looking forward to having the swordfish. I can practically taste it melting on my tongue.
The doorbell rings and I hear Rachel squeak from within her room. “They’re here,” she announces while throwing open the door.
I stifle a groan when I see she’s cradling Maria. Fuck. It’s going to take us forever to pry Maria from her arms. I was feeling pretty pleased with myself when I was able to put Maria to sleep on my own. Now she’s awake, and she may have a fit if she sees Rachel leave. Or maybe she will be fine and Rachel will have a fit.
Either way, it doesn’t bode well.
“Hello!” I hear Mom call.
I lean over the banister and watch Mom and Dad come inside, wheeling in their Louis Vuitton luggage behind them. So I take it they took the private jet and came here straight from the airport, which most likely means they’re staying here.
Oh, goodie.
“Hey, Mom,” I greet while rushing down the stairs, hearing Rachel trailing behind me.
“Hello, Mrs. and Mr. Brent,” I hear Rachel say shakily. “Thank you so much for offering to babysit. It was so very kind of you.”
I chance a glance at Rachel, noticing she’s holding Maria with a death grip.
“Well, it’s not every day we get a chance to babysit our granddaughter,” Mom says. She reaches for Maria, and I hold my breath, waiting for Rachel to wrench away from her and run up the stairs. It plays out in slow motion. Rachel’s eyes widen. Her grasp on Maria becomes white-knuckled. She has this deer-caught-in-the-headlights look as she turns to me.
And then Mom is taking Maria from Rachel’s arms and cradling her close to her chest. My mother is a fucking sorceress. I would love to learn her skills.
“Oh, there’s my little Maria,” Mom says in a cutesy voice that makes my ears feel like a teacher is scraping their nails against a chalkboard. “Oh, you’re so cute. Yes you are. Yes you are.”
Why do I feel like she’s talking to Maria like she talks to her dogs? I keep that question to myself and turn to Rachel, finding her staring at my mom as if she’s about to lunge for her.
“Are you ready, Rachel?”
“Yes,” Rachel says curtly. “I left some instructions for you on the refrigerator. Maybe we should have a look together?”
“Oh, I think it’s quite all right,” Mom says while nuzzling Maria with her nose. “It’s not like this is my first time around a baby. I did raise Lucas, you know.”
“Do you have an ash tray?” Dad asks while holding up a cigar. “I wouldn’t want to dirty your floors.”
“There’s no smoking inside,” Rachel says tersely while scowling at my mother.
I watch her hands fist and can see that she’s two seconds away from canceling our big night out. All I want is one hour out of the house, without having to think about work or school. Just one little hour to enjoy my swordfish.
“Well, it’s pretty easy,” Rachel says, her scowl darkening on Mom. “You just need to make sure she’s alive when I come home. If she gets hungry, there is some milk in the fridge. You just need to warm it up and—”
