“Sophie told me that this was all approved by you. Her father has already paid in full, so everything is taken care of.”
“Paid in full??? Her father paid you in full??”
I am screeching now, so loudly that my neighbors probably hear me. In fact, from the tone of my voice, they’ve probably inferred that I need 9-1-1 called because this is an emergency. And it is.
I calm myself just a bit, swallowing hard as I stare into Shade’s deep blue, blue eyes.
“My ex-husband hired you for my daughter?”
Shade’s cheek twitches a little and it appears that he fights back a grin. He towels off as he walks closer and I don’t even glance at his practically na**d body.
I really am Superwoman. And I have amazing f**king fortitude.
“Yes, he did,” Shade confirms. “To be Sophie’s swim coach. My name is Colby, Ms. Lancaster. I hope being here is alright.”
“Swim coach,” I repeat, feeling numb as realization slowly dawns on me. I had forgotten all about it.
“Yes, swim coach,” Sophie snaps, her eyes spitting fire. “What is wrong with you? What did you think we were doing anyway?” She is glaring now and in this moment she looks so much like her father.
“I don’t know,” I say quietly. “It was just a surprise.” I turn to Sophie. “I only just said yes the other day. How did you get it arranged so fast? And how did you talk your father into paying for it?”
Sophie looks smug. “He felt guilty. So you won’t even have to worry about it. It’s all taken care of.”
I don’t even bother asking how she managed it. Her father is much more inclined to want to write a check to get his fatherly obligations out of the way, rather than spend time with her. And I’m sure she knows it. And exploits it. Because that is what teenagers do. And in this case, I can’t say I blame her. If anyone deserves to be exploited, it’s Rick the Dick.
Shade/Colby looks at me and the laughter is gone from his eyes.
“Is it alright that I’m here?” he asks.
And I know what he really means.
Is it alright that my gigolo is here training my fifteen year old daughter in my pool when they are both barely covered in their swimsuits? Um, I don’t know. How long do I have to ponder that? If I were a good mother, would it even be a question? I’d have already kicked him to the curb. Actually, I’d probably not know him in the first place because I wouldn’t have hired him for sexual services. Right?
Ohmygod. I’m a horrible mother. I slept with a gigolo. And now he’s in my pool. Child Protective Services are going to come and take me away because I have a gigolo in the pool with my underage daughter. I’m going to hell in a handbasket. I’m going to burn forever.
I’m on the verge of a breakdown.
And I think that Colby/Shade sees it, because he quickly turns to Sophie.
“You know what, Sophie? I’d like for you to do some laps for endurance. I want to see you swim twenty laps, then do ten of the drills that I showed you earlier. I should probably sit down with your mom and explain my training plans with her.”
Sophie looks at me, waiting for my approval. I nod and she turns away, diving back into the glistening water. I stare down at her swimsuit clad form, wavering beneath the rippling turquoise water.
Shade/Colby takes my elbow and leads me into the kitchen. He pushes me gently into a chair in my kitchen and walks straight for my fridge. He pulls out a bottle of wine that I had re-corked last night and pours me a glass. He shoves it into my hands and sits down across from me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
I gulp at my wine, draining it in three gigantic gulps.
“I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. “I let my friend talk me into seeing you the other night and now I find you in my pool training my daughter. I don’t know if a good mother would let that happen.”
“Why?” he asks in surprise. “Because of my other job? I can assure you of this: When I’m on Utopia’s clock, I’m Shade. Any other time, including when I’m in the pool with your daughter, I’m Colby. And I’m very good at both of my jobs. I am completely professional. Your daughter will never see Shade. I’m not a pedophile, Alli.”
I stare at him, at the way his brow is furrowed right now as he frowns at me. At the youthful tilt to his face. At the muscles that are still damp and are gleaming under the sun’s rays which are pouring in through my kitchen windows. My heart pounds a little, remembering how those muscles had lifted me the other night and had bent me around until he was f**king me from behind.
I swallow hard.
“It’s just strange. I was shocked. And now I don’t know what to do.”
Colby grins and with that ornery curve of his mouth, I see Shade come out.
“I told you before…I think you need for me to tell you what to do. You seemed to like it the other night. And I’m telling you right now. There is nothing inappropriate about me training your daughter. I’m an excellent swimmer. I swam four years at the college level and won several state championships. I know what I’m doing, I promise.”
“Oh, I know you do,” I say wryly. “I just… I don’t know.”
“I’ll make you a deal,” Colby/Shade says. “Give me five minutes of your time in here as Shade. Then come outside and watch the rest of my lesson with Sophie. If you don’t see that I can totally and completely separate my two professions, I will gladly find you another swim coach for Sophie.”
I look at him doubtfully. “You think you can convince me in five minutes?”
He looks smug. “I’m sure of it.”
My chin lifts. “Fine. Challenge accepted.”
Colby/Shade walks to the door and glances outside. “Okay. Sophie is still doing laps. Where is the closest room with a lock?”
I motion to the laundry room which is just off the kitchen. He drags me there and locks the door behind us.
“Five minutes,” I remind him. He nods.
“Five minutes.”
Without preamble, he quickly pulls down my skirt and stockings and lifts me onto the washer. He bends and with his cobalt blue eyes never leaving mine, his tongue fills me up. I gasp and arch against his mouth.