“Would you prefer I behave more like a wallflower?”
She crinkles up her nose. “Gross. Never. I was simply stating facts.”
Taking the spot on her left, we stand quietly watching Maui chase her tail, fall down, get up and do it all over again. She was likely expecting me to keep our banter going, but not tonight.
We’re so close my instinct is to take her hand in mine, but Cal, Charlie, and Sharon are on the porch with a perfect view. Instead, I take a step, putting space between us.
“So, at work a couple of days ago, I was driving down Wall Street when you came out of your meeting with that guy following you.”
“Stalking me, I see.”
“Shh. The grown-up is speaking.”
“Whatever,” she groans.
“I watched you arguing on the sidewalk and then I watched him follow and startle you. I was getting out of my car to step in when you flipped him off and drove away. In the end, you didn’t need me to step in, but I was ready to.”
She opens her mouth to speak, but I cut her off.
“He went back inside, and I may have followed him.”
“In uniform?”
“Yes, brainiac. In uniform. I said I was at work, so I wasn’t wearing a tux.”
“Just finish your story, dickhead.”
“He wasted no time hitting on a blonde at the end of the bar. You know the little two-seater right when you walk in?” She nods her understanding. “Well, he was all up in her business, and it was more than clear she wasn’t interested. So, I stepped in, got her away from him and walked her to her car.”
“Did you get her number while you were at it, or did you already have it?”
I give her a sidelong glance. “Jealous?”
“If that’s what you need to tell yourself, sure.”
“That’s what I thought. Although I’m pretty sure I explained things in fine detail in New York.” I rest my hand over my heart, where my new tattoo resides.
She doesn’t have a comeback to this, so I carry on.
“I may or may not have gone back in and warned him to stay away from you and your entire family. I assured him, if he messed with you, he was messing with me.”
“Owen...”
My name is all she says before bending down to pet the dog.
“I don’t doubt you can handle yourself,” I assure her. “I just have a bad feeling about this guy. Please listen to your gut and be careful. That’s all I ask.”
“Thanks, I appreciate you looking out for me. That means a lot.”
I’m confused because I expected a battle.
She’s distracted. Like she’s working something out in her head. Well, until the dog rolls onto her back, giving Daisy her belly to scratch. I should tell her about my conversation with Dusty Armstrong while things are going so well, but I’m a coward, and quit while I’m ahead.
“Oh, you love that, don’t you, little girl? You can have whatever you want, and you know it.”
“You know we’re co-parenting, whether you want to call it that or not. Right? You help me with her every day. You have a key to my house. She thinks you’re her mommy.”
I’m met with silence as Daisy continues her belly scratching.
