“Because Spade just stormed through the clubhouse like his balls were in a vice.”
I grin at her description, but it doesn’t last long. Thinking I have an effect on that man would be foolish.
“The weekend was a complete disaster,” I mutter, falling onto the oversized sofa in my living room.
“How so? Did he treat you poorly?”
I want to ask her to clarify as to what she considers poorly because I’m pretty certain she wouldn’t consider making me come as bad treatment, but I still feel a little ashamed that I even did that with him again. It’s as if I have no respect for myself these days.
“The house is in shambles. Naomi has a baby that I didn’t even know about. I’m certain she’s on some pretty hard drugs. I had to call her mom to come get her, and although she left with Aunt Laylah, I doubt she’ll stick around. The best I can hope for is that when she leaves, she doesn’t take the child with her.”
“Wow,” Faith says. “That’s a lot to deal with.”
“You’re telling me,” I mutter.
“It sounds like Naomi is lucky to have you and her mother looking out for the baby.”
Guilt swims in my gut at complaining because Faith was raised in foster care and until Legend came along, she had to deal with everything on her own. She never had someone she could call when things got tough.
“I’ve been so caught up with work and everything going on with Big Daddy that I didn’t even know my cousin had a kid, Faith.” My eyes burn with tears. “I thought I was going to have to call social services on her because I couldn’t just walk away and take the chance that the baby wasn’t taken care of.”
“You did the right thing,” Faith says, her voice full of love and consoling.
“Thank you,” I whisper. “I needed to hear that.”
“And the house?”
“I made contact with a local realtor who is going to work on selling the property for me. I promised Naomi I’d give her the money because Big Daddy did give her the house. How is he, by the way?”
“He’s okay. I think the shine has worn off on my visits. He didn’t smile at me yesterday when I showed up at dinnertime, but he wasn’t snarky or mean.”
“I’m going to take a quick shower, and then I’m going to go see him.”
“He’d like that,” she says. “I wanted to ask you about the New Year’s party.”
“Which one?” I ask, already knowing what she’s going to say, but I need a moment to formulate my rejection.
“The one at the clubhouse. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Misty and Em are going to—”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Because of Spade?”
“Because I’m exhausted.”
“Well, get a shower, visit Big Daddy, and then get some rest. You have a few days to catch up on sleep. I expect you to be there. Love you. Bye.”
The call goes dead, but instead of texting her with an emphatic NO, I walk into my bathroom, thinking just how entertaining it would be to show up at the clubhouse looking like a million bucks, only to ignore Spade and flirt with some of the other guys there.
It’s immature, I can admit that to myself, but so is acting like you don’t remember someone as a ploy to get them back into your bed because you’re not man enough to admit to wanting to break your one-night-only rule.
If Spade can play childish games, then so can I.
Chapter 20
Spade
“Fine?” Legend asks, not bothering to hide the disbelief in his eyes.