“Or, just tell Lee or Eddie,” Lena put in.“They’ll handleit,” she snapped her fingers, “no sweat.”
I slouched further in my chair.
“Sis, one thing at a time,” Toni advised.“Go see him.Talkto him.Tell us a day, and make that day soon, so your chickenshit ass doesn’tchicken out, and we’ll see to Liam.”
I sighed.
Then I sucked back my entire drink.
After that, I gagged.
Once I was done gagging, I ate both olives off my toothpick.
Then I got up to pour myself another martini.
When I was done with that, and speared two more olives fromthe bowl I’d thankfully made handy, I looked between my two sisters.
Then, before my chickenshit ass could chicken out, I said,“Wednesday.”
Toni’s smile was slow.
But Lena’s was fast and bright.
ChapterTwelve
Wine Cellar
I sat in my car, staring at Darius’s house, thinkingwhat a nice house it was.
It was a mid-century square with a long overhang that wentout so far, it shielded the steps up to a front door that was set off to theside.
That had to be handy during a snowstorm.
The front door was painted a bright red, but it was mostlywindows and had two panels of glass on either side.All of this was set into awhite frame, but the rest of the house was two-toned brick, red on the bottom,some sandy colored brick at the top, with a thick red brick line close to theroof.
It had an old bungalow to one side of it and a classicDenver square to the other.
There was something very him about it.The fact it wasunusual, made a statement, but managed to do this in an understated way.
And there was something very not him about it.The fact itwas established and had a big tree out front that was probably older than thehouse, a house which had undoubtedly been built in the late 50s or early 60s.
I’d never allowed myself to think how, or where, Dariuslived without us.
And this realization was so uncomfortable, it was painful.
I wondered, in all that I wanted from him, if I ever reallythought about him at all.
So yes.
This meant, even though I knew Liam was hanging with Tonyand Kenneth at T&T’s house playing video games while Toni and Lena kept aneye and made sure Liam didn’t get in his brand-new Charger and head home (no,his father didn’t mess around, I got a text with a picture of his new wheels onday one back at his dad’s).
I was wearing a new dress, which was not conducive to ourcurrent fall weather, seeing as it was bright pinks and oranges with mustardyellow and greens all in a flower and leaf motif, an orange leopard head withyellow spots here and there.It had a smocked waistband that went from below mybreasts to upper hips, long, puff sleeves, and a barely-there frill of a skirtthat showed off nearly all of my legs.
I wore this with green strappy high-heeled sandals that Lenalet me borrow and some big, real gold hoop earrings that Toni loaned me.
It was an outfit to wear at a resort in the Caribbean, notduring the mission I was currently on.
What was I thinking?
