Oh, I could think of a few reasons not to get pizza with Malone. One, he was married. Two, he was married. Three, I really liked him, but he was married.
That said, if I knew more about him, then I might be more successful in future attempts to earn the rest of that $3,000.
I tapped on my phone. “While I’m ordering, let me ask the question I actually came to ask you.”
“Which is?”
“Have you seen any kittens or a mother cat around the neighborhood?”
“No,” he said with a frown. “Should I have?”
“Just wondering because I found a kitten on my patio.”
“Cool!”
“I’m glad you feel that way. Would you like a kitten?”
He hesitated. “I’m going to steal one of your phrases and say ‘yes, but no.’ I don’t think I’m going to be here long enough to get a pet.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask if he planned to run off with his side chick, but I didn’t want to tip my hand. Earlier, Mrs. Q had mentioned bringing her signature casserole to him, so I wasn’t out of the petty game yet.
Malone, however, was proving tricky. I needed this fact-finding mission so I could formulate plans J, K, and L.
So what if I’d felt a pang of disappointment when he said he wasn’t sticking around? No one ever did, and it would be best for me to get Malone out of this apartment complex before my hormones made me do something stupid.
Havisham had literally upped the ante with her bet; I didn’t have the spare fifty dollars for a romp with Malone. Bless her for adding another incentive for doing the right thing.
Then again, ifIwere the one to end up playing the ten-minute version of “All Too Well” back-to-back-to-back, then that might provide logical consequences for Addie.
And for me.
Nope. You’re not going to fall for it. This is strictly a fact-finding mission, Stella.
Chapter 12
“Hey, why don’t we take this over to your place?”
I studied him and searched my gut once again. It told me he might’ve been a charming cheater, but he didn’t mean me harm. If I’d thought he did, then I never would’ve stepped into his apartment. Even so, it never hurt to do a second gut check.
Also, I had a Taser hidden in the drawer of the coffee table. For reasons.
“Why my place?” I’d already decided my place was fine, but being a contrarian was fun.
“One, I don’t have a table.”
I looked around, and he sure didn’t. “Odd.”
“Stark, I’m not here for a long time; I’m here for a good time. Scratch that. I’m just here. Speaking of scratches, you have a kitten, and I would like to meet it.”
“Fair. She’s adorable. Maybe you’ll decide you want to keep her after all.”
“Unlikely,” he said. “Also, I have a bottle of wine, but I don’t have a corkscrew.”
“What kind of operation are you running over here?”
“A very temporary one. Do you want the wine or not?”
“What kind?”
