Which was funny, since his mom was Eli’s new infatuation.
What kind of woman wore rhinestoned socks to deliver coffee to the homeless? And it wasn’t like she volunteered with a charity—she knew these guys, genuinely cared about them. And they cared about her, too, it seemed.
What was Eli supposed to do with that?
Hence his need to step away for a bit. Distance meant clarity. Clarity was good. He rubbed the foam over his cheeks.
Lothario just lay there, watching Eli like he was a showgirl on one of those poles Marlee had danced on.
“Just because I said you can hang out with me doesn’t mean you can look at me like that. I’m not your entertainment.” Eli pressed the razor against his jawline.
Lothario snuggled against Eli’s foot in response.
“I’m more than a pair of feet, little dude. Get to know me, you’ll see.”
“What are your plans tonight, cowboy?” Marlee propped herself against the doorjamb while Eli finished shaving. He startled at her voice but didn’t cut himself. He glanced at her reflection in the mirror.
“My buddy’s engagement party.” His buddy, Jase, was getting married to his fiancée, Heather. On purpose.
At least when Eli did it, it was a total accident. One by one, his buddies were falling into the pit of marital bliss.
They’d string him up by his nuts when they found out he’d already hit the neon-lit altar and had the live-in wife to prove it.
“Lothario wants to come, but I told him he needs to do his job and make sure you can breathe. He defiled my workout shoes in retaliation.”
“I promise I will buy you an entirely new wardrobe of shoes once I have money again.” Marlee made an X over her heart with the tip of her index finger. “Cross my heart.”
He grinned.
“Look what Sadie had someone drop off.” She held up an envelope and pulled out a stack of papers.
“Are those what I think they are?” he asked. Not that he was in a hurry to divorce Marlee, but getting his life back in some semblance of order was a good thing.
“Divorce papers ready to sign.” She smiled brightly.
Too bright.
One could crack a tooth on the intensity of that smile.
His heart did a little dip as she clicked a pen in her hand, flipped through the papers, held the packet up against the wall, and signed at the yellow flags. There was only a brief pause and a slight frown as she scrawled her signature on the last line.
“All done.” She set the papers on the counter, placing the pen on top. “Your turn.”
He stopped shaving for a moment to scribble his own signature on the correct lines, not allowing himself to feel anything other than relief that things were moving forward.
“Should we have champagne or something to celebrate?” She fidgeted with the edge of the paper.
“I think we should have drinks because it sounds fun, not because we’re getting a divorce.” He tried to catch her gaze, but she focused on shoving the papers back in the envelope.
“I’ll get these filed.” She still wouldn’t meet his eyes.
He tilted her chin up with his index finger so their eyes finally met.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine. You?” She bit her lower lip.
“Fine.”
