s,” she says, completely defeated.
“Let me talk to him.”
“Um… he doesn’t know I called you.”
“Well, he will now. Put him on.”
I hear her say, “Ugh!” but she has the phone pulled away so I can’t really chastise her for her behavior.
“Sweet Lips?”
“Hey,” I say with a sigh. It’s so good to hear his voice. I would’ve felt the same about Eden calling if she didn’t start off with an instant rant about her father.
“Why are you calling? You’re supposed to be getting a tan, getting drunk, and flirting with every single man out there.”
“Just the single men?” I ask.
“Well, yeah. I don’t want any missus drama from some bloke’s wifey.” He laughs so hard that he starts choking.
“Jimmy… I can’t even with you sometimes.”
“But you love me.”
“That I do, which is why we’re talking. Please stop with the gun talk. You know I don’t like it and Eden thinks Arsenal are some gang in California that are coming to shoot Dane.”
“Good. It’s better that way.”
“Maybe it is, but not when I’m thousands of miles away and can’t run interference. Be good to her, Jimmy. She’s our baby.”
“That’s my point. This bloke is sniffing around and getting all hands-on with her, touching her on her back during her surf lessons. I don’t like him, Jenna.”
“Well, my father didn’t like you much to start with either, remember?” When my father found out I was pregnant and married to Jimmy, he tried to buy him off, thinking that it would just be better for him to go away. I almost stopped speaking to my father after that. He never took my feelings into consideration. Granted, my earlier relationship didn’t exactly work out the best and he was trying to protect me.
“You’re hurting my pride, Sweet Lips. How am I supposed to be the man of the house if I can’t make it known I’m the man of the house, when we have this guy sniffing around our baby girl? He needs to know his boundaries.”
“You will be able to, if they start dating, but until that happens, let them flirt, Jimmy. They’re never alone so there’s no harm.”
He sighs and I know from experience that he’s running his hand through his hair. “All right, all right. You’re right, wifey.”
“I love you,” I tell him. “I miss you like crazy.”
“Just so you know, we’re shagging in the car when you land. Be prepared.”
“As if I would expect anything less.”
We hang up shortly after that with him promising to make things better between Eden and him. I know he means well, but he still harbors a lot of resentment toward his father and doesn’t know how to always act around Eden. Still, I want him to be a diligent father because the last thing I want is for her to end up in trouble.
I come out of my room to find Katelyn on the balcony talking on the phone. A quick search and I find Josie talking to Liam in her room. Who comes to paradise and spends most of the morning in their room? The wives of 4225 West, that’s who. We’re homesick, we get it, but damn we needed the time away. It’s good for the men to be the moms for a bit. Lord knows we do the dad part more often than not.
Not that I nor Katelyn nor Josie blame the guys for not being home. We knew that going in; well, at least Katelyn and I did. Josie, on the other hand, was thrown into it, sink or swim. For the most part, she’s held her head above water easily, except for the bullshit that Sam put her through with her from the grave journal.
For a while, Jimmy and I thought that Liam and Josie were going to split. Not that I shared my concerns with Josie. I don’t know about Jimmy though. He lacks a filter sometimes and blurts out the most obscene things at the most inopportune time. But, Josie stood by her man, despite stupid tabloid rumors of another child and the diary from hell being published.
I know that someday, I’ll be in her shoes. I’m waiting for Chelsea to publish her tell-all or for some random fan to hack into Jimmy’s Twitter feed and exploit the gaggle of tweets he still gets to this day. Some just don’t care that he’s married and has a daughter. And maybe I get it. Celebrity crushes and all, but some of the tweets are downright crude and unacceptable.
As we make our way through the lobby, the staff members greet us. They’re a bit loud and boisterous with their cheery hellos, drawing attention from the others who linger. We smile and continue on our way and into the lounge where we’ve requested Noah’s game, along with the one Peyton is working at, be broadcast.
When we enter, the bartender changes it from soccer, aka football, to American football, causing the patrons to groan. The bartender shrugs and points to us, which doesn’t make the situation any better. Three women needing to watch a sporting event is one of two things, either the highlight of a man’s day, or the bane of his existence.