“He went to your mother’s funeral.” It isn’t a question. God, has everyone seen that Observer picture?
“Yes. My mom meant a lot to him.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” she says sincerely.
“Thank you.” This is so awkward. I want to leave, yet it seems rude to walk out on her. I look to Sarah for help, but she just grimaces as if to say she doesn’t know what the appropriate thing to do is either.
“Come sit with me for a moment.” Melinda pats the sofa cushion next to her.
“Melinda.” Her friend says in warning but the woman shrugs her off.
“Please,” Melinda pleads. What else can I do? I go and sit down, but I perch on the very edge.
“He’s wonderful isn’t he?” Her lips are trembling with the effort to keep her sobs in. I’ve never seen anyone look so amazing while crying. She looks like a kicked puppy.
“Yes.” I find myself nodding to her. “He’s truly wonderful.”
“So thoughtful and tender.” She sighs.
“Yes, very thoughtful and very tender.” I hide my impatience. It’s one thing for her to be sad that she’s not seeing Ian anymore, but if she starts talking about their sex life I’m out of here. The friend gives me a pained look, clearly wishing to be anywhere but here.
“I remember—”
I hold up a hand because I don’t want to reminisce with her. “I’m sorry that you’re sad, but I hope you can appreciate that talking about what you did with my current boyfriend is really not cool. If you have something you want to say, then say it, but I’m not going to sit here and listen to you tell me about how much better you are for him than I am.”
“Oh,” she cries in surprise. “I wasn’t going to say that at all. I just…I just miss him so much. I’ve never had a better boyfriend. He’s ruined me for all other men.”
I run an agitated hand over my forehead, searching for the right words so that I don’t come off as an utter bitch. But Ian is mine and I’m keeping him, no matter how sad this chick is. “I’m sure you’ll find someone perfect for you, but Ian Kerr is mine now. And since you know how wonderful he is, you also know that I’m going to fight to keep him. I’m not going to tell you to stay away because that’s stupid. Just know that he’s in love with me and we’re going to get married and have a family.” The marriage thing might be a slight exaggeration. He’s mentioned it, but I don’t have a ring on my finger.
A gasp sounds in the room as if everyone has drawn in a breath.
“You guys are getting married?” Sarah cries.
I bite the side of my lip. What did I just say? I nod because it’s true. If I believe that Ian is sincere, and I do, then it’s all true. “Yes.”
“If he’s said he wants to marry you, then he must,” Melinda says with a wail. “Because he never lies. He’s always completely honest with you.”
Her friend pulls Melinda in for a comforting embrace and mouths, “I’m sorry.”
I grab Sarah’s hand and scoot out of the bathroom as fast as possible. “That was the single most awkward experience of my life.”
“Hey, at least you know he’s a good guy.”
“One that ruins girls for all other men. Shit, if Ian ever left me, I’d be like that too.” I press a hand to my racing heart.
“Given that he wants to marry you, I don’t think he plans to leave.”
“I’d seriously fight for him.” I smooth back my hair. “Against anyone.”
Sarah leans against the wall and looks at me with envy. “I want what you have.”
“Let’s get back. I have a pressing need to stamp my ownership all over him.”
As we’re walking through the crowd, someone bumps me hard, almost turning me around. Before I can see who it is and yell at them for being rude, I realize that the person pressed a crumpled up piece of paper in my hand.
“What is it?” Sarah asks, coming to look over my shoulder.
“A note, I think.” I open the paper and hand it to Sarah to read. There’s no way I’m going to make out any letters in this light. “Read it for me.”
Do you really think a stupid bitch like you can hold Ian Kerr? Leave him or you’ll be crying just like the brunette in the bathroom.
“Shit,” Sarah says, stuffing the note back in my hand. “Those bitches. We’re going after them.”
“No,” I put my hand on her arm. “That wasn’t from them.” I scan the crowd looking for my target, but I’m not sure who I’m looking for. A woman, I think. It’s the same person who left me the message in Jake’s office, I know it. It’s the same type of wording. The same paper. I bet if I had it tested it would be the same ink and the same handwriting. This has to do with Richard Howe. I know it. I just know it.
EIGHT
IAN
“MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST TAG her,” Kaga suggests as I watch Tiny and her friend thread their way through the crowd toward the bathrooms.
“Is that what you’ve done with Sabrina?” I don’t take my eyes off Tiny’s sexy ass. If she didn’t have a friend with her, I’d meet her at the bathroom door and drag her into a stall. A skirt could be very convenient in a nightclub. I’d have to remember that in the future when we weren’t patronizing bars with glass floors.
“Don’t need to. She’s at Columbia.”
“Damn, Kaga. Even though I didn’t go to college I know that there are more temptations there than there are in this entire bar. You’re insane if you think that she’s completely untouched simply because you know her general whereabouts on a college campus.”
He glares at me, his dark eyes narrowing. “What do you know?”
“Jake says she’s having a great time. She’s been spending a lot of time with a DJ. Plays at one of your clubs, in fact.”
I shouldn’t enjoy needling Kaga so much, but shit, if he plans to sit back and wait for his girl to ripen like a peach and fall into his waiting hands, he’s more than insane. He’s certifiable.
I’m about to launch into a sustained discourse on the futility of waiting when Tiny and Sarah appear at the table. Kaga and I both rise to allow the women to take a seat when I notice the tight expression on Tiny’s face.
Before she can sit down, I cup her elbow and draw her toward me. As gently as possible, in direct contradiction to the fury that’s generating inside me, I ask in a low voice, “Everything all right?”