Nicco: We’re getting ready for a family meeting. We should be home by dinner.
ME: Good luck. Let me know when you have the results.
Nicco: Of course, Beautiful.
My phone started to ring, Sax’s name flashing up, and I clicked over, a smile on my face.
“Hey, sexy.”
“I’m going to kill this girl. She’s Cami x100. Save me. Tell Atticus you need a rescue. I beg of you, Spitfire. Please.”
I could hear a woman’s voice in the background, chatting a mile a minute, some pop music on in the background.
“I’m sure it’s not that bad.” I could practically hear his eyes roll at that.
“It is. It's worse. She acts like I’m her personal slave.”
“Oh, Saxy. I need your big muscles to move this.”
“Wait, did she just call you—”
“See what I’m dealing with! She’s insufferable. Move this, don’t touch that. Stand here. I thought Immy was bad, but nope, she’s a fucking angel.”
“Babe, she’s messing with you. She’s flirting, and you’re not even aware of it.” I laughed, no longer feeling possessive.
“You’ve got to be kidding. She’s like 12.”
“I’m 24, asshole. That your woman? Are you complaining about me? Here, give me the phone.”
“No, don’t touch—”
“Hello? Is this the badass woman who kissed the scary giant and mafia boss this morning?”
I laughed, never being described that way before. “Um, yes.”
“Girl! So, I need some pointers. Like, how does that work? Do you like to switch off, or is it a free for all? I’m truly—”
“Enough of that,” Sax said, taking the phone back. “Thank you, Spitfire. I know how to handle her now. I’ll see you later. Love you.”
“Love—” he hung up before I could finish, and I laughed. A knock on the door had the dogs popping up, barking as I stood to answer it. Topher stood on the other side, and I exhaled.
“You need something, Mrs. Carter?”
“Loren, Topher. And no, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Did you get something for lunch?”
“I did, thank you.”
“Ah, good. Okay, well, I was going to take a nap, but my break is almost over, so I guess we’ll power through the last sessions.”
“Sounds good, Mrs. Carter.” I rolled my eyes, and he chuckled, knowing he frustrated me with the formality. I got it somehow, but it also made me feel weird. Atticus insisted I was the lady of the manor, but I still struggled to understand what that meant.
The rest of my sessions went by quickly, and I was on my last one before I even realized it. Jill had been making progress, and it was good to see her stepping out of her comfort zone and trying new things. I smiled, happy she’d taken my advice about looking into going back to school and had even checked out the youth center. I wanted to ask if she’d met Jude yet, but I was already toeing the line, suggesting a place I was connected to, so I kept it to myself.
“What about skating? Where are you with that?”
“I was thinking of going just for a fun skate and see how it feels. I dunno, that probably sounds dumb.”
“Not at all. I think it’s smart to take the pressure off and remind yourself what you loved about it to begin with.”