Leaning forward into the kitchen counter, Stevie's eyes stayed glued out the window as she reached into the bubbly water to finish up the dishes from breakfast, while also trying hard to listen to Cora tell her some wildly fabricated story.
She was a junior in high school and the drama was through the roof, especially with boyfriends and best friends. And even though Stevie really wanted to stay present in that conversation and give her best motherly advice at the end, she was just far too focused on the two men out in the backyard.
They were walking around by the pool, both of them holding cups of coffee and chatting like a couple of old friends... It nearly made her sick to her stomach.
"And then she said that it was my fault." Cora's voice brought her back into reality as she held a hand up to her chest, eyes burning into the blonde from behind.
"Hmm," Stevie bit down on her lower lip, watching as her husband began to lead the younger man back towards the patio door. "I think you should just try to ignore the drama, Cora." Her voice was soft, hardly even able to stay focused on anything else.
Creasing a brow, the brunette let out a deep huff as she pushed herself out of her chair at the circle table. "You're supposed to be on my side, mom." She was annoyed with the lack of attention her issues were getting, mainly because Stevie was always very invested.
She normally loved to hear about all the drama, but lately she'd just been in her own little world and if anyone noticed, it was definitely her daughter.
She sighed softly, closing her eyes as she took a moment to just think. "I am always on your side," she assured, already well aware of the fact that she wasn't doing a great job of hiding how distracted she was. "But let's talk more about it later, okay?" Stevie's brown eyes finally met Cora's identical ones, waving a hand lightly to silently ask that she make herself scarce since they were coming back through the house.
The younger girl wouldn't dare roll her eyes right in front of her mom, so she held off on that for the time being. "I'll just call grandma, she'll listen." Cora announced, grabbing her cup off the hardwood table top and taking it with her on her way out of the kitchen.
Stevie waited a moment, listening to the sound of her feet stomping up the stairs mixed with Lindsey's voice coming down the hall... She just wanted to disappear- she always wanted to disappear at that point.
"Hey, baby." His blue eyes met hers the moment he came around the corner, a smile on his sweet face as he trailed towards the refrigerator.
He was wearing a white button up, the first couple undone, accompanied by a pair of old blue jeans and dark sunglasses resting over his eyes... He was still so handsome, but so was the younger man standing in the doorframe with a soft grin and a deep gaze, staring over at her intently.
"Everything okay?" She wondered as she shifted all her weight from one foot to the other and decided it was best to just look down at the marble counter top.
Nodding his head, Lindsey grabbed a couple of bottles of water off the top shelf before he let the door swing closed. "Everything's good," he replied, setting the water down on the island and motioning for the younger man to help himself. "Drew knows how to fix the drain and he's agreed to work on a couple of other things around here, so that's nice." Lindsey was trying to be as reassuring as he could for her...
He knew she hated the idea of hiring any more help than they already had- she had been that way since they brought babies home from the hospital, but he didn't know the full extent of her concern this time around, obviously.
She was still just trying to protect her family.
"Mhm," she arched a brow, nonchalantly giving Drew the look from across the room.
She hadn't been able to hide how annoyed she was with him, not at all... She couldn't be mad at Lindsey for hiring Drew, but she could definitely be mad at Drew for taking advantage of Lindsey, which is exactly what she considered that entire situation.
"But I have that meeting with Mick this afternoon." Lindsey reminded her. "So I have to get going but I'll be back before dinner." He slipped a hand around her waist, leaning in to be close to her ear. "Be nice." He whispered as he gently squeezed her side and left a kiss on her temple.
He knew how she could be sometimes and for whatever reason, he had a feeling that she wasn't in any mood to be messed with that afternoon and he was right...
Stevie nodded lightly, eyes dropping down so she didn't have to see the other man's deep green orbs. "I'll see you later." Her voice was also incredibly low, almost whispering that back to him as she felt him let her go.
"Thanks again, buddy." Lindsey mentioned, grabbing his cup of coffee off the counter and trailing back to the door.
Drew's lips turned up into a grin, stepping to one side to let the older man pass by. "No problem." He assured, chuckling lightly when Lindsey patted his shoulder... For the first time ever, he was far too trusting.
Stevie pursed her lips to the side, leaning back into the counter as her eyes began to burn into him, waiting patiently for Lindsey to disappear. "You have a lot of nerve." She announced as soon as the sound of the front door closing became prominent.
He pushed himself away from the doorframe, slowly moving through the kitchen to get to the other side of the counter. "Come on, Stevie." Drew gave her a weak look, not wanting to argue with her anymore than they already had... He hated fighting with her. "I just need a little extra cash and when I'm done, I promise you, I won't ever have to talk to Lind-"
"Hush." She held up a hand, silencing him before he got the chance to finish his statement.
She didn't want to hear anymore of his excuses, not in the slightest. She had asked him a handful of times not to go along with Lindsey's little job offer and when he didn't respect her wishes to keep that portion of her life separate from her world at home- she felt like he'd crossed a line... She was mad and she wanted him to just let her be mad for awhile.
Drew bit down on the inside of his cheek as his eyes began to scan over her face, so tempted to pull her in for a hug, but not daring enough just yet. "I've missed you so much, baby." He couldn't not tell her, even though he knew she didn't really want to hear that.
They hadn't seen one another in almost a week, which was awfully unusual at that point of their affair... They were together almost every other night and though she was really upset with him, she would have been lying if she said she didn't miss him as well...
"Drew..." she shook her head, closing her eyes the moment that he wrapped his arms around her hips and finally pulled her in a little closer.
"Stevie..." he smirked lightly, not at all surprised when she sank right into him... She had a few weaknesses and he was definitely one of them. "You're so beautiful." He whispered, holding her with one arm as he brought his other hand up to her face, cradling her chin.
She could feel her knees start to get a little bit weaker, taking in all his familiar facial features before her wandering eyes landed on his lips. "You're making this hard..." she admitted, heart soft and maybe a little sad.
She was so confused...
He let out a gentle laugh as he leaned in, pressing his lips to hers. "We don't have to live like this..."
