The Avoidance of Love (The Daniels' Sisters Book 2) (20 page)

“You hungry?” I nodded. I was hungry but not for what was on the plate.

“Coops, I’ll call you later. Get on with some work.”

Just as I pressed the end button, I heard him mutter. “He better have bought the damn espresso like I told him.” So Mr. Bryce had gotten some help with breakfast for me.

I sat up so he could lay the tray across my lap. I couldn’t help but inspect the offerings. Burnt toast, soggy cereal of some sorts, and instant coffee. Christ!

“I tried. Turns out there’s something I’m not so good at.”

“Awwwww, don’t worry. I appreciate the effort, but how about I get ready and cook something for breakfast that is edible.”

“I’ve got a better idea. How about we go out for breakfast and I can get you a proper coffee.”

“Sounds perfect.” Suddenly aware of my nudity, I gripped the sheets when Jace took the tray back and kept them firmly wrapped around my body while I made my way to the bathroom. “What about your dad?” In my enthusiasm to get my hands on good coffee, I’d forgotten that John’s caregiver had walked out, so he had no one to sit with him during the day. From the look on Jace’s face, it had slipped from his memory as well.

“Shit! I mean, he doesn’t need a caregiver here all day. They’re only here all day when I’m away, but even when I’m at home, they come four times a day to make sure he’s clean and has something to eat.” He placed the tray on the bed and sat back down while he ran his fingers through his hair before flopping onto his back with a huge sigh.

My heart went out to him. It couldn’t be easy having to look after his dad and now the only help he’d had was gone. I walked back to him without dropping the sheet and straddled his hips. Lana had always said the best way to deal with stress is to distract yourself from it. I’d never given her advice much credit before . . . actually none, but it seemed appropriate in this situation.

Jace peeked at me through his fingers. “What are you up to, BonBon?”

“Nothing. You look stressed so we are going to take this one step at a time.” I began to trace intricate patterns on his chest as an additional method to distract him. “ First, we need to eat. Therefore, I’m going to cook for all of us.” I leaned down, allowing my hair to curtain around him. He took a fistful of my hair, wrapping it around his fingers and pulled me closer, taking a deep breath to inhale the scent. Weirdly erotic.

“Then you’re going to call an agency to send a replacement caregiver. If they don’t have one immediately, I can call my sister Tara. Sometimes she works at the hospital so she may know of a few health care assistants looking for some extra work in the interim.”

“It may be a little while. We’ve been through a few agencies. My dad’s outbursts are notorious.” He was smiling now and the erection I could feel underneath me confirmed that other things were now on his mind. “In any case, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He pulled me down to give me a chaste but meaningful kiss that quickly developed into something hotter. Just when I thought he was going to continue what we finished the early hours of this morning, he lifted me off his body and dropped me beside him. I gave him a look that explicitly said what the hell. “I told you last night, BonBon; I want control. So until you’re willing to give it I’ve decided. No. Sex. For. You! Now get started with breakfast, because that’s all that’s going to be on the table for now.” With that, he got up and went into the shower, leaving me utterly frustrated.

We’ll just see who wins this game. I wasn’t going to chase after him and what he didn’t know was that I could go years at a time without a man and since the good people at Lelo had designed plenty of different Battery Operated Boyfriends over the years, he might find himself unnecessary.

Feeling mighty pleased with myself, I tossed on one of Jace’s T-shirts and a pair of his shorts, grabbed the tray with the offensive inedible food, and made my way downstairs to the kitchen.

I was already half-way into the kitchen before I noticed John sitting at the breakfast table. “Good Morning, John.” He looked up from his paper wearing a genuine smile that made me wonder whether he really needed as much care as Jace thought. Then I remembered that first scene I’d walked in on when we met.

“I haven’t had a drink if that’s what you’re wondering.” Shit. Since when had I become that transparent? Although that hadn’t been what I was thinking exactly.

“I wasn’t thinking that at all John.” Liar. Change the subject fast! “I’ve been coerced into making breakfast. What would you like?”

“You cooked last night. Jace should be making you something.”

“I’ve just seen what he calls making breakfast. I think it’s safer for all involved if I just make something.” At that, John chuckled.

“Yeah. Cooking isn’t his strong point. I’ll just have whatever you see fit to rustle up.” I was already looking in the fridge. There was more than enough to make a full English breakfast with extras.

“Full English it is.” John’s stomach chose at that moment to growl. “I’ll take that as a yes.” I got on with cooking and spied John watching me every now and again with a smile on his face. It made me even happier to prepare another meal.

Halfway through, Jace made an appearance. He gave his dad a nod, and he gave me a kiss on the cheek along with a subtle pinch on my bum. I bumped him with my hip and told him to sit while I laid the table again and got the drinks ready. They had a juicer that looked brand new, so I made some fresh orange juice along with a pot of tea and a carafe of coffee.

Both men waited for me to sit down before they began to eat and I suddenly saw where Jace got his eating habits. It was feeding time at the zoo and the animals hadn’t been fed in weeks. John was the first to catch me staring.

“Layla, used to tell us off about the way we ate. Never made a difference, but I loved her for trying,” And then his face was back in his plate. I couldn’t look away from the carnage. I started on my own plate and ate most of it but decided not to be gluttonous. Both John and Jace finished well before me, but waited to clear the table. At least they had some etiquette.

While Jace washed the dishes, John went back to his newspaper, but it wasn’t long before he set it down.

“So I’ve been thinking.” Jace paused and turned to face his father, giving him his full attention. “I’ve not been much of a Dad to you these years since your Mum passed away. I see you two together and you have a chance at what I had, and I’m not going to ruin that.”

Jace started to interrupt. “Dad you’re not . . .”

John held up his hand to stop him. “ Let me finish. Now you two could have something special, and relationships are hard enough without additional baggage adding an extra strain. I need to sort myself out, and I’ve needed to do that for a long time, so I’m going to check myself into that rehab place Jace has been telling me about.” He paused to take a breath, and I thought Jace was going to say something, but he didn’t. The look on his face was unreadable. “I’ll get checked in as soon as possible, but I’ll need you to make the arrangements, son. Is that all right?”

“Sure.” Is that all he had to say? The silence was becoming awkward. I needed to give them some space. Fuck it. I needed space.

“I left my phone upstairs. I’m just going to get it. You two sort out what you need to.” If I could have run, I would have, but I settled for walking at a pace that was quicker than normal, but hopefully didn’t show how much I wanted to escape.

At this point, I wanted to go back to work. I just needed to bury my head in something non-emotional and purely rational. I rang Coops and gave him the heads up that I’d be coming in shortly.

“You’re going to leave him in his hour of need.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Be there! Support him!”

“I have supported him. They’re not saying anything to each other. I think I just need to give them both some space so they can sort things out and talk to each other.”

“You know what? Normally, I only intervene in your life when you’re going to do something that might amuse me, but this time you’re going to do something that’s going to fuck up your chance at a good solid relationship. FYI, those don’t come around that often. So let me lay down what is going to happen. You’re going to stay where you are and be there for Jace just like he needs.

“Remember when your parents died and they left you.” I took a sharp intake of breath. It still hurt. “Yeah, remember that feeling. Remember feeling alone. You are going to put that feeling on Jace right now because of your own emotional hang-ups and that’s not fair. You come anywhere near the office and I will call Jace myself and let him know that you’re a bitch and he deserves better. In fact, I’m locking the office up. I will snap the key off in the door if you even think about leaving his side.”

“Coops. You can’t do that.”

“Yes, I will. He needs you.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course, I am. Now, fuck off. You’ve ruined my day and really upset me with your unnecessary drama. I’m leaving early.”

I rolled my eyes. “You were going to leave early anyway, weren’t you?”

“Yes. Lana’s found a new cocktail bar, and it has happy hour all day. Pretend I’m mad with you, so I don’t feel bad about partying on a school night.”

“But you don’t feel bad.”

“I know. Love you, honey. Talk to you later.”

Coops was right. I was being a total wimp. A little bit of pressure and I was crumbling. In fairness, I hadn’t done this relationship thing before, but then neither had Jace and, apart from the sex ban he thought he was implementing on me, he was doing pretty well. So far.

JACE MANAGED TO get his dad an appointment at a highly recommended rehab center the same day for an assessment. I stayed at the house and waited for them to get back. I honestly believed that this was something they needed to do together, and I promised Jace I would be there when he got back.

I caught up on my emails and then set about preparing a lasagna and fresh salad for them to eat on their return. The appointment had gone well and John decided to check into rehab the next day, so Jace and I helped him pack and gather all the things that he might need while he was away. Not knowing how long he would be away, John felt confident that he would return no longer dependent on alcohol.

I respected him for what he was doing. Granddad always said a change for the good was better than no change at all. Most of the time he’d been scolding Lana, but I think the statement had merit.

Dinner was light hearted, which pleased me. John was looking forward to getting his life sorted, and I could tell Jace was eager to get his dad back and build the relationship that they should have had.

Later on into the evening, John wanted an early night, leaving me and Jace curled up on the sofa together.

“You know I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“But we can meet for dinner when I finish work some evenings.” How does this dating thing even work? What’s the protocol?

“You’re cute when you’re out of your comfort zone and have no idea what you’re doing.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

He snuggled me in closer to him and I took the opportunity to inhale a deep breath of him. He brought me so much comfort, and I hoped he didn’t know just how much control over me.

Jace’s phone vibrating interrupted snuggle time, but he still kept me close to him while he took it out his pocket to check the message that had come through.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s Luke. It’s his birthday, so the boys are taking him to a bar for a few drinks. He was just seeing if I was coming.” He looked conflicted, and a little confused. I didn’t want him to skip his friend’s birthday drinks because of me.

“You should go. He’s your friend. I don’t mind. I need to get back to my apartment anyway.”

“It’s not that.” He turned so he was facing me and looked me straight in the eyes. “For the first time, I don’t want to go. I have somewhere I’d much rather be. Right here with you. You’re my party.”

“You’re smooth, you know that.”

“Silky smooth, BonBon.”

“Come on, I’ll come with you. I need to stop off at my apartment to change and pick up a few things. Maybe one night you can stay at mine.”

“Is that a wall I hear crumbling?”

“Ass. Now come on!”

Jace was taking his Dad to rehab in the morning, so I agreed to spend one more night at his place.

I knew Coops had been to my apartment over the weekend so he would have made sure everything was as it should be. I’d left it tidy so I didn’t have to worry about Jace seeing any of my unmentionables on the floor.

Suddenly feeling very nervous about him coming into my home, I told him to wait in the car while I got my stuff and changed. He cocked an eyebrow at me, but didn’t say anything. I wasn’t ashamed of where I lived, but all of Lana’s and Coops teasing was playing with my mind. Lana had once said that to call my apartment boring would be an insult to the word. Coops said my allergy to color was palatable. What if Jace thought the same? For so long my family and friends had thought I was uninteresting, but it had never really bothered me before, or I hadn’t allowed it to. Now, I didn’t want Jace to think that about me.