owe me any special perks. I’m your employee. Try to remember that.”
That was, hands down, one of the most effective set-downs he’d ever received in his life. It was so good that all he could do was smile as she walked out of the office.
* * *
“Mama!” Two small voices cried in unison when Sofia came through the door that evening. She still felt that she was moving in a daze but at least here, in the sanctuary of her parents’ house, with her two children launching themselves at her, everything still felt the same.
“Babies!” she cried back, just like she did every time she had to be away from them. She opened her arms as they flung themselves at her, almost knocking her off balance in her heeled shoes. “Were you good for Abuelita today?” she asked over their heads as her mother slowly climbed to her feet from where she’d been sitting on the floor.
“Fine, fine,” Mom said, waving away this concern. “How about you? You got the job?” Then, after a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Did he remember you?”
Sofia staggered over to the couch that was possibly older than she was with the children squirming in her arms, collapsing in a heap of happy baby sounds. Addy curled up in her lap and began humming contentedly while Eddy slid down and toddled over to a small set of table and chairs, where he picked up a piece of paper he’d made some very colorful lines on. He showed it to her proudly.
“Oh,” Sofia said, touching the picture. “So pretty.” Eddy began to chatter about whatever it was he’d drawn. She grinned. The twins weren’t quite talking yet, but they sure had a lot to say.
As expected, Addy took all this attention for Eddy as a direct challenge to her artistic merits. She went to get her drawing, too. The twins were always competing like this and only occasionally did it result in tears.
After she had also complimented Addy’s colorful lines, she leaned back, settling into the ancient cushions of the couch while the twins started coloring again. Even when her father had started selling houses and they’d moved into this small ranch home, the Cortéses hadn’t wasted any money on new furniture.
Even though they were now respectably middle class, they still lived carefully and those were lessons Sofia had a hard time unlearning. It’d taken a long time to get used to the way David would decide he wanted a new phone or a new computer and just go buy it. Almost all of their fights had been about money. She’d never felt comfortable spending it but he couldn’t understand why she didn’t want a few nice things.
If anything, Eric was a million times worse than David ever could have been. The craziest thing David had ever done with money—besides spending five thousand dollars on her engagement ring—had been buying a brand-new, top-of-the-line flat screen television that took up a huge chunk of wall in their living room. But that had only been seven thousand dollars.
Eric was throwing an extra fifty thousand dollars at her. Truly, he was being an idiot about it. But wasn’t she being an idiot to try to give that cash back? It wasn’t like she couldn’t use the money. The life insurance money had run out and she’d moved back in with her parents because, well, she’d been in the grips of depression and the mother of two newborns. But it’d also been to save money.
She sighed. Eric was right. Fifty thousand was a year to her. To him, it couldn’t be more than fifteen minutes of one day. And she had shown up for the job interview hoping that the Jenner kindness would help her get back on her feet. She was in no position to refuse that kindness.
Her mother appeared with a glass of lemonade and a worried smile on her face. “Well?”
“He remembered me. And I got the job.” She took the lemonade and drank deeply. “He’s paying me too much money.”
At this, Mom smiled. “The Jenners—they always pay too much. They’re very generous people.”
Sofia looked up at her mother. Rosa Cortés had worked her entire life to take care of Sofia. But it wasn’t until Sofia had unexpectedly become a widow with two infants that she had appreciated how her mother always kept her head up and hope in her heart.
Mom had given her everything. It was time for Sofia to return the favor. “Listen, I’m going to start paying you to watch the kids. And hire someone to help out.”
Her mother’s eyes got wide and then immediately narrowed. Sofia braced herself. “You’ll do no such thing,” she snapped. “I love spending the day with my nietos. It’s not a job.”
“Yes, I will.” Sofia was almost too tired to argue—but this was important. “You quit your job at the brokerage to stay home with us. You’ve kept me going more times than I can count. You’ve always taken care of me, Mom. Let me take care of you, too.”
Her mother shook her head and stamped her foot, which was a show of temper for her. Rosa was so mild mannered as to be meek.
“Fine,” Sofia said, knowing further debate would only make Mom dig in her heels even more. “I’ll put the money in a retirement account for you. And I will hire someone to help out. That’s nonnegotiable. You know Dad’s going to be on my side about this.”
Although he would never want to hurt Mom’s feelings by suggesting she couldn’t do everything, Dad had privately told Sofia he worried the twins might be too much for Mom.
Her mother looked like she was going to argue but just then, Addy flung her crayons to the side and stared at Sofia’s glass, moving her hands in the way that meant she wanted some, too. Not to be outdone, Eddy plopped his bottom down on the rug and began to fuss. Mom clucked softly. “Oh, now—you two, it’s time to wash our hands and have a snack.” She picked up Eddy and Addy toddled along behind, the mention of a snack suddenly the most important thing in the world.
Sofia grinned after her babies. She had pictures of David at that age and Eddy, especially, was going to look a lot like his father. Addy’s hair was a little darker, her face a little more round—just like Sofia’s had been.
She sank back into the old couch, grateful for the moment of silence. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe that’s all there was to this insane salary. Eric was just being generous. Maybe it had nothing to do with her at all. To a guy like him, a Jenner, money was the easy, obvious solution. It would never run out.
It didn’t feel like that, though. If anything, it felt...dangerous. More than just the way he’d talked her down from the panic attack, more than the heated way he looked at her whenever she pushed back against his dictates. Those things were bad enough, but easy to dismiss as old friends catching up or him flirting with her just like he flirted with everyone else.
No, what was dangerous to Sofia’s mental well-being was the way he had matter-of-factly stated that he could somehow keep her safe.
It had been a sweet thing to say, but Sofia had recognized something else in his eyes when he said it, something lost. He had been left at the altar. Had he loved his ex-fiancée? Had his whole world changed in that one single moment and he still wasn’t sure who he’d become in the aftermath?
How far had he fallen before he’d picked himself back up?
She shook her head. It didn’t matter. She couldn’t be that friend for him, not like in the old days. She was a professional. And besides, she didn’t have much of a heart left to be broken.
“What am I supposed
