C.A.K.E novel Chapter 7

Arden steps back into the apartment, with the after-effects of Casper's touch still clouding her thoughts. She presses the front door closed and leans her shoulder against it. When she turns, two freckled smirks are waiting for her.

“He likes you,” Teagan says in a sing-song tone. She swirls a lock of her auburn hair around her finger and swings side to side. The hem of her floral sundress swishes with her every move.

“A lot,” Rowan adds, his stance firm and Converse tapping the hardwoods.

“He's a friend.” Arden wipes the smile off her face and walks past them.

“What kind of friend?” Teagan asks.

“A friend. No other adjectives to report.”

“How long has he been a friend?” Rowan eyeballs her.

“You heard, a little over a week.” Arden puts a hand on both of their shoulders and directs them over to the sofa. “Enough of the third degree. I believe you two are the ones who owe me an explanation.”

The twins plop down on the couch in a simultaneous flurry of fiery hair. They avoid Arden's expectant gaze, by pretending to be too engrossed with the new artwork on the walls.

“Oh, you bought the Cezanne,” Teagan points out.

Ardi rolls her eyes and addresses Rowan. “Ro?”

“I thought you were leaning toward a more contemporary piece,” Rowan muses.

“I too was of this mindset. But the Cezanne is much more nuanced.” Teagan swirls her hand through the air like she's flicking a paintbrush.

Rowan runs his hand over the peach fuzz on his chin and crosses his legs.

“I concur, dear sister. Indeed, a remarkable piece.”

Arden folds her arms across her chest and stares them both down. She looks at Rowan, before deciding to zero in on Teagan.

Her green eyes peek at Arden, before finding a less intimidating focal point. Tea has never been a good liar.

She scoots in between the two.

“Why aren't you in New York, Teagan?” Arden smooths Teagan's hair away from her face.

The girl plays with her dress and refuses to look at her Ammi. Neither one is willing to answer Arden.

They are supposed to be spending the summer with their mother in Manhattan. That's been the arrangement since they were in elementary school.

When they were five, Elliott asked for a custody review. Before that, the twins lived with their mother full-time. The judge asked them who they would like to live with, and they chose their father.

They chose Arden.

So she and Eli have primary custody of the twins. Once the academic year is over, they belong to their mother. Elliott and Arden put their babies on a plane, and count the days until August rolls around again.

The twins will be starting their senior year of high school at the Alabama School of Fine Arts in the fall, which means soon they'll be spending more than three months away from Arden. And Ardi is not ready for that yet.

She'll be rattling around in this house all by her lonesome. Elliott's absences will be even more noticeable when they're gone.

Arden sighs deep and glances at the two silent teenagers. They want to play hardball. That's fine. She heaves herself from the sofa and retrieves her phone.

“Since you two won't talk, I'll just give Melinda a call. Maybe she can tell me why you're not in New York with her.”

Ro and Tea abandon the statue act and scramble from their seats.

“All right, all right. We'll talk.”

“Just drop the weapon.” Rowan pats the air, signaling her to put down the phone.

Arden keeps her finger poised to dial Melinda's number. She is in no mood to unleash the crazy that is Eli's ex-wife. But she will. The kids need to know who's boss around here.

“Let's hear it first.”

The twins look at each other, and sigh. Rowan decides to take the lead.

“Melinda has a new boyfriend, and he's an asshole.”

Arden raises her eyebrow at Ro.

“Sorry.” He shrugs and tries again. “He's not the easiest guy to get along with.”

“Did he do anything to you?” Arden searches the twins for any signs of foul play. They brush off her worried hands.

“No, he's just a dick.” Teagan's nose wrinkles and her freckles glow like embers leaping from a fire. “They stay out all hours of the night. He smokes weed constantly. And the other night we heard him talking about shipping the rugrats back to their dad.”

Ro chimes in. “So we granted his wish.”

“Did you say something to Melinda about this?”

“Melinda hasn't said boo to us, since her assistant picked us up from the airport and dropped us off at her office.”

“Two weeks and she hasn't spent any time with us.”

Ardi knows they aren't exaggerating. Melinda has been known to ignore her own children, then remember they exist when she needs two smiling faces for her holiday cards.

After the three seconds, it takes the camera to flash, Rowan and Teagan become life-sized dolls she thinks can be put on a shelf until she needs them again.

Arden puts down her phone and sighs. “Well won't be long, before she's calling here looking for you two.”

“Melinda will notice that her American Express is missing first.” Teagan dismisses Ardi's concern. “The fraud department will be her first call.”

“I'm aiding and abetting fugitives.” Arden scoffs. “You should have called me.”

“You would have talked us out of it.” Rowan frowns, shaking his head. “And there was no way we were staying.”

“Melinda hates me enough already, without you guys adding fuel to the fire.”

“You're the sexy, trophy wife. She's supposed to hate you,” Tea says matter-of-factly.

“Wouldn't be right, if she didn't.” Rowan grins at her.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Arden laughs and gives them both a kiss on the cheek. “Being on the run must have made you hungry. Want something to eat?”

“Is the sky blue?” Teagan smirks at her.

“All right, give me a minute.”

Arden changes out of her skirt and cardigan, and into a pair of dark jeans with a cotton button-down shirt. By the time she makes it back to the kitchen, the twins have taken their luggage upstairs and are waiting for her at the kitchen island.

They help her make a couple of roasted chicken paninis and some fresh lemonade. After they eat, they sit around the dining table playing a high-stakes game of poker.

Arden plays cards with them at least once a month when they're home. The twins love it because she lets them play for real money. She tallies up their chips and converts it to cash. However much they win goes into a savings account that only she and Eli can access. But she lets them keep a third of the money to do with as they wish. Between the two of them, they've fleeced her for eleven hundred dollars tonight.

“Straight flush, suckers.” Rowan throws down his hand like he's at the Bellagio. He gloats, as he rakes in his winnings.

“Keep in mind, I still have to call your father. So don't get too comfortable taking all my money.”

“Don't be a sore loser, Ammi.” He smiles behind the red plastic of the visor covering his blue eyes.

Arden smirks at him and reaches for her cell.

Elliott answers on the second ring. No matter what he's doing, he'll always answer her call.

“Hello, my love.”

Something in her heart starts to ache when she hears the affection in his gentle voice.

“Hi, sweetheart.”

“How was your day?”

Almost kissing Casper, and her fainting episode earlier in the day flashes through her head. She pushes the former out of her mind, and Eli doesn't need to know about the latter either.

“Fine, until two very hungry packages arrived from New York this afternoon. I think they were sent here by mistake, but I didn't have the heart to send them back.” She winks at the twins, and they smile back.

“Would these two packages also be the same ones, who will be costing us a substantial amount of college tuition next year?”

“That would be them.” Arden puts the phone on speaker and holds it so the twins can scream into the receiver.

“Hi, Dad,” they yell in unison.

“What are you two doing home? You're supposed to be with your mother.” Surprise and irritation are apparent in his tone.

The twins launch into a frenzied explanation of their exodus from the Big Apple. The result is three people talking over each other, and no one doing any listening.

Arden raises her hand to quiet Rowan and Teagan and takes the phone off speaker. She steps out of the kitchen, and into the living room, out of earshot.

“I just wanted to let you know they're here. We can discuss it when you get home.” She shoves her free hand into her jeans pocket, buying some time to prepare her nerves before she asks him a question. “When will that be, by the way?”