“What’s wrong?” she asks.
The phone muffles slightly and I hear a few faint kissing sounds.
“I saw the tax attorney.”
“Is he hot? You’ve been into good guys lately and what tax attorney isn’t a good guy, right?” She giggles.
“Hey now,” Reed says in the background close enough for me to realize they’re probably laying down in their new house getting ready to christen it or something.
“He’s not a good guy, Vic.” I take a deep breath, wishing I could scream at the top of my lungs right now. “He’s my ex-husband!”
“Whoa,” Reed interrupts again obviously hearing me through the phone.
“You’re busy, I’ll let you go.”
“No, you won’t. Meet us at Reed’s in half an hour.”
“What?” Reed doesn’t sound too enthused about the plan. “But—” The phone muffles again.
“I’m calling Cooper to let you up in case you get there before us,” Victoria says when she gets back on the line.
“Okay, thanks.” I click off the phone. “I’m sorry, can you go to Michigan and Erie?” I ask the cab driver.
He nods and horns honk as he weaves all the way to the left to turn around.
It’s then that I remember Glen. Opening my phone up to our thread of messages, I now have fifteen unread from him.
Glen: It’s cool. Almost here?
Glen: ??
Glen: What’s taking you so long?
Glen: Hello?
Glen: Earth to Mars?
Glen: Are you standing me up?
Glen: Last chance before I leave…
Glen: You fucking bitch.
Whoa. What the hell?
Glen: What is wrong with you?
Glen: Who doesn’t tell someone they can’t make it?
Glen: Who raised you? A pack of werewolves?
Glen: No wonder you can’t find anyone.
Glen: You’re such a loser that you have to be on a dating site.
Glen: The picture probably wasn’t even you.
Glen: Even if it was, you weren’t all that.
Dodged that bullet.
Me: Something came up—forever. Have a nice fucking life shithead. Go to hell.
I tuck my phone back into my purse, searching for tissues.
By the time we pull up to Reed’s condo building, Connor’s friendly smile is in place as he opens the taxi door for me.
“Miss Walsh, nice to see you again.” I’ve only met Connor once previously when I had to come and pick up Victoria for a night out.
“Thanks, Connor.”
I enter the condo building and instead of going up, I wait for the happy twosome in the lobby since I was much closer to Reed’s home base than they were. It’s not like I have a key to his place. Having nothing better to do, I pull up the internet on my phone and search: Dean Bennett, Attorney. Sure as shit there’s my ex-husband in all his white teeth glory listed under the Associates tab on the Heiberman and Lipe Law Firm webpage.
Fucking karma, what did I do to piss you off?
Chapter Three
“Wine or beer?” Victoria asks from the kitchen.
“Or the hard stuff?” Reed glances up from his laptop at the dining room table across from me.
“You know me well.”
He winks. “Get her the vodka out of the freezer, Vic.”
I hear a couple of cupboard doors open and shut.
“So, you bought a house?” I ask, detouring my own issues. I’m already imposing asking to talk with his girlfriend after he just surprised her with a house. I can at least make small talk.
He shuts the laptop and smiles. “I did.”
“Kind of quick, no?”
He furrows his brows for a moment, and then the perma-smile Reed’s known for shines through. “Some might say that, but I don’t think so.”
“She said yes?”
He nods once. “She did.”
“Great. I’m happy for you two.”
A low chuckle flows out of his mouth. “Are you? I mean I wouldn’t be if I was you.”
“Just because my life seems to be in chaos doesn’t mean I don’t want the best for you and Victoria.”
He nods again. That condescending one quick nod, like he doesn’t truly believe me. Jerk.
“Okay I have the vodka and I found a lime. Is that okay?”
Reed shakes his head and slides out from the chair. “Do you mind?” He places his hand on my drink. “I’ll make you something.”
“Please.” I laugh because apparently Victoria is no bartender.
“In my defense, I’m a wine drinker,” she calls out to him.
“No judging baby, don’t worry,” he says from the kitchen.
Then we hear ice being tossed into a glass while Reed goes about making me a drink that will hopefully erase what just happened.
“I’m sorry,” I say, my fingers playing with the edge of the placemat.
“Don’t be. This is fine. My mom has Jade tonight and took her out for dinner. I don’t want to tell her about the house yet anyway.”
“Why?”
She shakes her head, understanding the question I didn’t fully ask. “It’s not second-guessing or anything, it’s just a big step and I want her to be just as excited as I am. I want to talk to her about it without Reed first. Lay the groundwork.”
I reach across and pat her hand. “You’re such a good mom.”
A soft smile creases her lips like she likes to think she is. “I try.” Then she pauses, waiting for me to fill her in. “So…”
I shake my head staring down at the placemat, picking at nothing because they’ve probably never even been eaten on. “It’s him…the tax attorney.”
“Is this the first time you’ve seen him since your divorce?”
I nod. “Yeah. Some reunion.” My tone sounding sarcastically happy.
“Did you talk?”
I lift my head. “Please, you can’t shut that man up.”
She bites her lip like she’s trying to not say something.
“What?”
Her face loses the amusement that filled it moments ago. “Nothing. I just…”
“Spit it out.”
“Well, I can’t imagine what a conversation between you two is like, because if he likes to talk, and everyone knows you do...” She trails off.
“We spar. Not physically, but verbally at one another and the kicker is he beat me today.”
“What did you banter about?” she asks, truly intrigued.
“Why do you look so giddy?”
She shakes her head vehemently. “I’m not. I’m concerned.”
I roll my eyes. “We ended up sparring about his dick size.”
Reed sets down a drink in front of me. “I’m just going to leave this right here. I’ll be in my office if you need me,” he says more to Victoria than me.
“Thanks, Reed.”
“Thanks, baby,” she says and gives him those giant heart-shaped emoji eyes. Let me stick my finger down my throat now.
Reed leaves and we hear a door shut down the hall.