I tamp down my ire. “I thought we agreed you’re a stay-at-home mom until he starts pre-k.”
“It’s only an overnight.” Her voice holds an all-too-familiar edge which means she’s digging in her heels.
Thinking of all the ways she has gotten in trouble in the past, I sigh. “Sam, why not send Joey, instead? I don’t think-”
“Hey. Who saved who’s ass last? Besides, didn’t I take the whole summer off with you in the Hamptons?” She makes it sound like staying in the Senator’s posh beach house was torture.
This time, I am not giving in. “You work online. That is what we agreed to.”
“Huh? Oh crap. I’m about to run out of juice. Talk later.”
At the buzzing dial tone, I stare at my phone with my jaw dropped. What the fuck? First jealousy, then getting mad because I rambled, and now, hanging up on me? Hell, we need to nip this in the bud. We are going to communicate better, even if it kills us.
I try to call her back, but it goes straight to voicemail.
“Shit.” With nothing more to be done to fix my home life, I take a deep breath, and join my friend at the window. “Did Mr. Cigarette come back?”
“Yeah. See the red dot?” He points across the street.
It takes me a few moments to locate a man’s outline under the elevated station. “Maybe, I should have a little chit-chat with him.”
Wheels grins and slaps me on the back. “Be sure to give him my love.”
“Copy that.” I nod to Ms. Bright and trot outside where my breath adds to the fog of the darkening evening.
Apparently, the man in the black hoodie and ball cap is not up for polite conversation because when he spots me, he bolts. A bus barely misses him as he races across the street and by the time the large vehicle passes, he’s gone.
I did learn one thing. He sure as hell was watching my office. From that, one might assume the drive-by was meant for Selena but how the fuck did they miss? Or perhaps, I should be asking, why?
Winded, I wave at the barista and trot back up the stairs. Not ready to deal with Ms. Bright, I plop in one of the foyer chairs and call my pal, Lucky. He’s been married longer than me and has three rugrats. Maybe he can share some words of wisdom.
“Sebs, mate. How the fuck are you?” He’s been in the US for years and yet his Aussie accent gets thicker every time we talk.
“Could be better. You got a sec.?” Unzipping my jacket, I scratch at the growth on my chin.
Lochlan must move because the video game in the background fades away. “Sure, but if you need me there, you’ve got to clear it with Slate. Washington’s shit-show is Patten’s windfall. I’m booked for over a year.”
“Good to know but not why I called. Tell me, does your wife listen to you?”
He pauses for a moment and chuckles. “When it suits her fancy. What makes you ask? Sam giving you a hard time?”
“I can’t count the number of times I’ve asked her to stay put and she goes ahead and does what she wants.”
“Huh. Are your requests reasonable, mate?”
“I think so. She does not.”At the time we started this partnership, I had no idea that having a danger-magnet for a wife would be so damn difficult.
He laughs. “Listen. How much you two been apart?”
“We spent the whole summer together.” My cock twitches recalling how we fucked on every flat surface in the beach house.
“And since then?”
“In truth, I haven’t been home much.”
“There ya have it. Sex, mate. It fixes everything. And don’t forget to tell her how bloody lovely she is because women have this body image problem after having a baby and need to hear it a whole lot. Whatever you do, never mention her weight, either in a good or bad way. Understood?”
I try to think if I’d done that recently and shudder. I might’ve mentioned how I love her full breasts and her lovely backside. Hell, I don’t notice her size. When I look at Sam, I see only my wife, the mother of my baby, and my whole life.
