Page 105 of Resist

“Question?” I ask when he reaches for the handle on the door.

“Yeah?” He turns to face me.

“How long do you wait before you call a woman?”

The fucker fights the smile on his lips, and, lucky for him, he wins the battle. “Is this before or after you have sex with her?”

“How about it’s after a fight when you said things that . . . fuck it. Never mind.” I wave a hand his way and blow out a sigh.

You’re asking your PI for relationship advice. And you don’t think this has affected you?

And then I hear the word in my own head—relationship—and wonder how the fuck I let it get this far.

“So that explains the foul mood. Nothing like a woman to fuck shit up.”

“You can say that again,” I mutter, while hating myself for this conversation.

“How long ago was the fight?” he asks as I’m mentally fucking myself over here.

“A week.”

“A week?”

“Jesus. Don’t say it like that.”

“A week is a long time for things to rattle around in a woman’s mind without them turning whatever it is that happened into an exaggeration of itself.”

“What makes you think I said something wrong?”

He just eyes me and chuckles with a shake of his head. “Subtlety isn’t exactly your strong suit.”

“You can go back to going now,” I say.

“Have you at least called her?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“She won’t pick up. It goes straight to voice mail.”

“So she’s blocked you. You must have really been an asshole.” He blows out an exaggerated sigh. “You send flowers? Stop by her house? Beg and plead?”

“Stuart.”

“This is all new territory to you, I assume, so I just want to make sure you’ve covered the basics.”

“I’m not an idiot.”

“Is she worth the hassle?”

I stare at him. “That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?” I ask but already know the answer. My fucking misery is answer enough.

“Give her a few more days, and then return to the beg, borrow, and steal portion of the program. But be creative. Chicks love creative.”

“Fucking great.”

“You’re the sorry sap who put yourself in the situation.” He shrugs and heads out the door.