He couldn’t tell these dipshits. They’d get drunk and tell the first woman that made them scream. Nah, better to keep it to himself until he worked out the details.
In the meantime, he needed a thrill now. Thinking about shooting the cop and running from the police had given him a hard-on. Dinner and hookers with these fucking morons wasn’t going to bring any major excitement to his life, but still, he had to eat. And do something with this hard-on.
“Let’s go,” he grumbled.
He’d put it on the back burner for now. But he’d get back to it. Soon.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
It had been a week since Maggie’s run-in with Mitch at Jenny’s house. She’d spent the night wrapped in his strong arms, sucking up his heat and hotness, silently willing him to wake up and finish what he’d started. Unfortunately, while she was wide awake and all hot and bothered, he was out cold, had no idea she was even there, and would probably wake up miserable. She’d slept horribly and had finally just gotten up and headed out early to the beach house. The heavenly thought of a long nap in the sun got her through the drive.
She decided not to tell Jenny what had happened between them. Mostly because she was embarrassed she’d gotten so wrapped up in his deliciousness that she almost had sex with him. But also because she felt a strange sense of loyalty to him and didn’t want to share the intimate details of his mini-breakdown.
She knew full well that there was nothing magical abouther—it was the booze and the circumstances that let her be a part of his grief. Drunk or not, the grief was good. He needed to acknowledge and deal with it. She’d read a book or two on the subject while dealing with Jenny and the boys in the months following Jimmy’s death. There were stagesto progress through, and he’d been stuck in angry for far too long.
After spending a relaxing, uneventful weekend with Jenny and the boys, she returned home and slugged through the week.
“Why’d you come in here again?” Steph teased for the third time in as many hours. It was Friday, which Maggie usually took off, but she’d come in to give some vaccines to a friend’s cat that needed to be up to date before flying to Seattle that weekend. That was hours ago. She’d ended up stocking shelves and going over the books for another couple of hours.
“Oh, pft, you know darn good and well why I came in. Don’t think I don’t know you’re trying to get me to leave. What? Are you going to have some sort of party when I go?” She rolled her eyes.
“Yes, so would you hurry? Everyone will be here any minute.” Steph looked out the window and abruptly stopped laughing. “Wait, don’t go just yet—hottie alert.”
The bell on the door jingled as Adam and Mitch sauntered in. The sun backlit them as they took off their sunglasses in unison. In uniform, they almost looked like twins. Holy Hot Mamacita.
Maggie closed her mouth and swiped her hand over her hair as nonchalantly as possible. “Hey,” she stammered. As she walked toward them, she tripped but caught herself before falling, and everyone chuckled good-naturedly.
“Hey, hon.” Adam met her halfway and gave her a hug.
“Hi, guys. What brings you two in?” She couldn’t look at Mitch. This was the first time she’d seen him sincethatnight, and she was afraid of getting sucked into his seductive, lose-your-mind, panty-dropping vortex again. Oh, who was she kidding? She wanted him. Bad.
She snuck a glance. He was staring right at her. God, those eyes. She could stare into them forever. She snapped to when he spoke.
“I’m looking for a pet.” Mitch started toward her, putting his sunglasses in his front pocket.
“You? Really?” she blurted incredulously, eyes wide.
“Ouch.” He pretended to be insulted. “Yes, me, really.”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place,” Steph jumped in, extending her hand. “I’m Stephanie, Maggie’s manager.”
Adam and Mitch shook hands with Steph. “What’d you have in mind?” Steph asked. “We don’t have puppies or kittens on-site, but we work closely with the local shelter and could put you in touch with them.”
Mitch looked around at the terrariums containing snakes and lizards. “Well, something easy to take care of but preferably something friendlier looking than those.” He nodded at the snakes. “How about a hamster?”
“Actually, I have something perfect for you.” Maggie smiled sweetly. “I’ve been keeping him in the back to keep me company, but you’d love him. He’s a parrot. Gorgeous and healthy. Not too chatty, but enough to keep you entertained.”
Stephanie choked on a cough. “Yeah, no, Maggie’s right. Harold would be perfect for you.”
“Hey, the experts have spoken. Sounds perfect. How easy was that? Whaddya say, Mitch?”
“Um, okay, sure. Sounds great. How hard could taking care of a parrot be? What kind of stuff will I need for him?”
Maggie and Stephanie grabbed a cart and loaded it with the gear he would need.
“I can’t take all that now,” he protested. “How about I stop by on my way home?”
“Sure, yeah, that’ll be fine.” She was practically rushing them out.
