Free The Luck of Love by Serena Akeroyd

memory of the howls Luke jerked out of Josh during those moments.
    Josh squeezed Luke’s shoulder. “I’ll be at the school tomorrow. When’s the appointment?” he directed at Gia.
    “Nine forty.”
    He nodded. “I’ll be there. Don’t say anything to that bitch without me being there. Do you understand?”
    “Sir, yes, sir!” she called out, slopping more water over the side of the tub as she rolled onto her knees, the enamel rocking against her joints as she saluted him.
    “At ease, Corporal,” he mocked, eying her slick tits.
    “Corporal?” she grumbled.
    “Okay, Lieutenant. That better?”
    “A little.” She slithered under the water again. “I already told Lexi she could leave the school.”
    Luke groaned. “Honey, you can’t let a five-year-old in on a decision like that.”
    “She doesn’t like it there. And neither do I. All the parents are snobs, and the kids aren’t much better. Neither are the teachers.”
    “I agree. I don’t like the way they’re handling our situation, Luke. I was going to threaten the principal with pulling Lexi out, but if she isn’t happy there…”
    Luke pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s a great school.”
    “Maybe academically, but there’s more to life than academics. I want her to be happy, healthy, and rounded. What kind of impression are we giving her if we let her stay at a place where they actively slight our situation? Where they do nothing to protect her from the other children’s opinions?”
    “We can’t wrap her up in cotton wool.”
    “Since when?” she snapped. “Speak for yourself. She’s five, and she’s not too young to be swaddled. And we didn’t have to enroll her this year. She didn’t have to start until she was six.”
    He waved a hand. “Where are we going to send her?”
    “I’m going to get Dana on it.”
    “You’re going to let your PA decide which school fits our daughter best?”
    “No, I’m going to have her classify the available kindergartens and their programs, and then I’m going to make the decision because yours sucked. I don’t want her to speak French. What use is that nowadays? We need her to speak Russian or Arabic or Mandarin, for God’s sake.”
    “Let’s concentrate on English first,” Gia retorted. “Now, before you completely wreck my afterglow, piss off to the office and work some magic. It will be wonderful to have a few days’ break without you having to run to the base.”
    Josh smirked. “Pack those panties I bought you last month.”
    “Getting ahead of yourself, aren’t you, Brigadier General? We’re not going yet.” She grinned.
    “No, but we will be.” A glint sparked in those silver eyes. He winked. “See you in the morning, baby.” He squeezed Luke’s shoulder again, turned on his heel, and left the bathroom.
    “Why is he going tomorrow?”
    “Because I told him Mrs. Jacobie terrifies me.”
    Luke shook his head. “It’s a wonder we’re all still together.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “We’ve stopped sharing everything. We used to be very open about the things that mattered, but now we’re hiding things from one another. Hell, it’s petrifying to realize the most open one of us is Josh.”
    She bit her lip. “Yeah, no wonder things have been strained. I’m sorry.”
    “You’re sorry about keeping this tidbit about the principal from me but you're not really sorry about the writing, are you?”
    Sheepishly, she answered, “No, I was protecting you, and I’ll keep on doing that.”
    Her stout words made him grin. “Well, either way, I’m proud of you.”
    She flushed. “I might write terrible books.”
    “I doubt it. Nothing you do could be terrible.”
    “Charmer.”
    “It’s the way I roll.”
    The bitch of it was he was right.

Chapter Six
    “Goddamn hypocrite bitch.” Josh growled as he strode out of the principal’s office, Gia dogging his heels.
    Mrs. Jacobie’s assistant glared at them as they strode past, and Gia grabbed Josh’s