Joey skews his face. “No, he’s a fucking ballet dancer.” He kisses Kimmy. “Be good for Auntie Sammy.”
Outside, my driver, not wearing a tutu, opens the back door of a black limousine and helps me put Kimmy in the car seat.
“Where to?” He eyes me over his crooked nose.
“Here.” I hand him my cell phone, he puts the destination into his GPS, and hands it back.
Then, I sing three thousand choruses of ‘The Wheels on the Bus go Round and Round’ while Kimmy laughs hysterically. She’s dressed to the nines in a white fuzzy coat, pink bunny-ear hat, and leggings with pink hearts. With her so cute, no one will pay attention to me, which is the point.
Quickly, I glance around the parking lot as Wheels opens the door. Although I can’t imagine anyone following us all the way to the burbs, after the week I had, who knows.
With my guard dog watching us, I stroll into the restaurant to where the cheating reality star sits by the window.
The hostess squats by Kimmy. “Oh my God, aren’t you so cute?”
Kimmy blows bubbles with her mouth, cuter than hell, and the woman makes baby faces back.That’s my girl.
After she finishes gushing over the baby, I point to the table near the back, next to my target, Dana’s wife, Terri. “Could we sit there?”
“Of course.” She smiles down at the stroller.
I order way more food than I can eat, hoping to stay as long as possible but I needn’t have worried. Her date shows up almost immediately.
Huh. He’s not at all what I expected. Handsome, yes, but twice her age.
Pretending I’m talking on the phone, I snap pictures of the kissing couple. When he puts his arm around the back of the chair and whispers sweet nothings into her ear, I’m all over it.
Not long after, all lovey-dovey, they leave and I take one last picture of them going into the hotel next door.
Damn fine work, if I do say so myself.
Wheels, waiting by the limo, opens the door, and soon we’re back in Brooklyn. Then, Kimmy naps while I pull everything I own out of my closet. What does one wear to a surprise engagement party?
I settle on a short black dress with black tights and try to work some magic on my face. By the time I emerge from the bathroom, Suds and Joey’s voices echo in the stairwell downstairs.
Chapter 13
Suds
“Hey Joey.” On the sidewalk outside my office, I reach out to shake hands while he eyes me up and down.
“Does she know?”
Shrugging, I loosen my tie. “I think she suspects. Rose and Mia aren’t the best at keeping secrets.”
“True that.” Inside, by the mailboxes, he grabs my shoulder. “Do youz got any leads on who beat her up?”
“Not yet. I don’t suppose you heard anything?” I narrow my gaze and he backs up a few steps.
“Whoa, dude. It wasn’t any of my guys. Capice? She’s a little sister to me.”
“Just checking.”
We climb the stairs and at the top, he juts out his chin. “What’s the big deal? Give the old reporter back her dough.”
Like I could convince her to change her mind.“I tried. You want a go at it?”
“Hell, no. She’s all yours.” Inside, we quiet because Sam puts a finger to her lips and points to his sleeping kid.
