Her Charming Heartbreaker by Sonia Parin

unscrewed the top of a bottle of
water and took a long swig. “What reason did Joyce give you?”
    “Apparently, I’m guilty
of misconduct.” He rolled his eyes and looked up at the ceiling
then down at her again. “Being tight-lipped got me blacklisted. Do
you think you could do something about lifting my ban?”
    “Reinstate your
privileges? What makes you think I have any pulling power?”
    He gave her a raised
eyebrow look. “Don’t underestimate your influence.”
    “Okay, let’s assume I
can do something about it. What’s in it for me?”
    “You sound like a
business person trying to cut a deal.”
    “I think I picked up a
bug while I was away, it’s making me act all out of character and
do things out of self-interest.” She gave him an impish grin.
    “What do you want?” he
growled softly.
    She drummed her fingers
on the counter. “Mm. Let me think about it. I’ll get back to you.
And… here comes Ben. You should go wash your hands too. You
wouldn’t want to set a bad example.”
     
    * * *
     
    She could do this so
long as she managed to make it look easy, normal, not forced. Eddie
set the plates down in front of Ben and Theo, her eyes dancing
between one and then the other before she stepped back.
    “Theo can’t decide what
to do for dinner tonight,” Ben said as he took a bite of his
burger. “That scares me. Also, he doesn’t understand how we’ve
survived this long without at least six take out options in Eden.
He says it shows poor judgment.”
    “I suggest you fill up
here then. It might be a long night for you, buddy.”
    “Seriously? Mom said
he’d take care of me. I’m a growing boy. To quote mom, I need my
regular feeds or else I turn into a gremlin. And not the cute ones.
We’ll probably end up coming here tonight again, but mom’s got that
on a no-way is that allowed to happen list. Lunch at the pub is
fine, but not dinner. She says the place is too rowdy for a young,
impressionable boy.”
    “Are you taking note of
all this?” she asked Theo who was looking at his empty glass of
beer and probably wishing for something stronger.
    “I’m quietly praying
you come up with a solution. Something along the lines of offering
to cook for us.”
    “Yes. Please say yes,”
Ben said, pleading with his hands.
    “Do I look like I’m for
hire?” she tried to laugh it off, but the idea of spending any time
with Theo, even as a token friend…
Get a hold of yourself, you
fool
. Again, she looked at Ben and then at Theo, taking in the
same shaped face, the hair coloring, the eyes…
    “I’ll pay you. Triple
the going rate.” Theo drained the last drop from his glass.
“Actually, you can name your price.”
    “How on earth did you
manage to convince Claire to leave her precious son under your
care?”
    He pointed to his head.
“It’s the halo.”
    “You’re deluded.”
Shifting her gaze, she caught sight of her brother Markus standing
by the fireplace, his arms crossed, his scowl aimed at Theo, more
as a warning for her than for Theo who sat with his back to
him.
    “Okay.”
    “Okay?”
    “Yes, I’ll throw you a
lifeline, but I’m making a mental note of it. I will expect payment
in due course. As for the currency, I’ll let you know.”
    “Just put it on my
tab.”
    Ben sunk low on his
stool, playacting his relief. “That’s one meal taken care of. Now
to sort out the rest. Maybe I should fill up my pockets with
peanuts.”
    “In your place, I’d be
more worried about being dragged out of bed to go jogging. Did you
know Theo jogs in the morning? He might make you go with him.”
    Ben surprised her by
shrugging. “That’d be okay. I don’t mind.”
    “How about doing your
share of the housework?”
    “There’s a law against
child exploitation.”
    “Does that work with
your mom?”
    “Never, but it was
worth a try.”
    Theo cleared his
throat. “So, what time can we expect you tonight?”
    “Oh, you weren’t
kidding. You really want me to go over and