Page 35 of Craving Theodora
“I know.” She nodded her head quickly.
“Mom!” Finn yelled impatiently from the top of the stairs.
“Can you go up with him?” I asked Jesse, handing them back their coffee.
“And miss this?” they asked in exasperation.
“Watch from the stairs,” I replied dryly, getting to my feet. I shooed them away.
They grumbled but did as I asked as I moved toward Curtis, rubbing Isla’s back gently as I passed the couple.
“She can’t stay here,” Greg said as I reached them. “She’s still in high school, for god’s sake.”
“I’m aware of that, Greg,” Curtis replied, gently sliding his arm around my shoulders as I reached him. “But they’re almost adults, and bossin’ them ain’t gonna do shit. You know that.”
“She doesn’t have a choice,” Greg said stubbornly, his chin jutting out.
“Christ,” Curtis muttered, wiping a hand down his face in frustration. “Listen, why don’t we sit down and talk to the kids about this, yeah? They’re not fuckin’ stupid. They’re just young and panickin’ about bein’ separated.”
“We can do that,” Isla’s mom said quickly, glaring at her husband. She looked at her daughter. “Can I—”
“Of course,” Curtis replied, gesturing toward Dylan and Isla.
Deb hurried toward them.
“Just moved in so I can’t offer you coffee,” Curtis muttered. “But let’s do this at the table. It’s the only place to sit.”
“Hey,” I murmured quietly as Greg walked away. “I don’t need to be here for this.”
“Fuck,” Curtis replied just as quietly as he looked down at me. His fingers feathered across my hairline, stopping just before the sore spot.
“It’s fine.”
“It’s not.”
“I’m gonna take the kids out, pick up some groceries, hit some thrift stores—that kind of thing, okay?” I said, ignoring the way his arm around me slid away until his hand rested lightly on the side of my throat. “We need food, and Finn and Jesse both need beds and dressers.”
“You wait until the weekend, and we can hit up some garage sales,” Curtis replied. “People are just startin’ ’em up with the nice weather.”
“We’ll do that too,” I agreed. “But we don’t even have ice. I need to hit up the store at least.”
Curtis grimaced. “Yeah, all right.”
I waited for him to let me go, but he didn’t.
“We’ll be out of here in ten,” I said, mentally calculating how long it would take for Finn to get ready.
I froze as Curtis’s hand tightened and he bent toward me, brushing his lips over mine. When he pulled back, I watched his face, wondering what the hell that was for.
“Makin’ it real,” he whispered.
He let go of my neck and reached for his back pocket, pulling out his wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a stack of bills, offering them to me.
“What are you doing?”
“For groceries.”
“I can buy groceries,” I argued. It wasn’t like we were destitute. I could buy some fucking milk and eggs.
