‘Yikes. And here I thought I had it bad.’
‘Well, you did. Bingo? By the by, will you be wearing that swell BeDazzled puppy sweatshirt out to dinner tonight?’
‘You’re a bitch when you drink champagne.’ Leah snickered. ‘Do you think I have to keep it? You know, bring it out when they visit and stuff?’
‘So you’ve accepted they’ll visit? You’ve accepted you and Bingo have a capital-F future then? You know you want to marry him, Leah. He’s young and eager and, yes, he makes me want to ruffle his hair. If I could reach it without standing on a chair that is. But he’s a good dude. He loves you. He accepts you and respects your space. He gets you – in and out of bed. He has a job. He’s not a dick like Mike. He’ll apparently grow into a hot older man like his dad. And you’ll have a lifetime supply of doilies and BeDazzled shirts. Lastly and most importantly, he doesn’t have an ex-wife.’
‘Marriage? It seems like such a big step. I do not appreciate that he planned to do it there. He should have done it in private. He should have discussed it with me first!’
‘You know he did it because that’s how he thinks. He wanted to make a statement to you about how important you are to him. I bet asking women to marry them at Christmas with the family is important down in Hooterville. If you weren’t ancient, he would have given you his Four H pin or whatever the fuck.’
‘Hooterville, ha! You’re going to hell for making me laugh about this.’
‘You can sit at my table in the cafeteria.’
They paid and went outside, relaxed, mildly intoxicated, still full from an awesome sushi lunch and all prettied up. Kate hadn’t been so manicured and facialised in a while. Her roots were done, her pores were sparkling clean, her skin was soft and she smelt good. She wished Dix were there to get an eyeful.
Once they got in the cab heading back to the hotel, Leah got back to the subject. ‘We’re already living together, why isn’t that enough? And you’re one to talk. Dix wants to live with you and you keep putting him off.’
‘Of course I am. I would live with him if he didn’t have the whole daughter situation. I can’t be the slutty, selfish girlfriend who makes him think with his cock. I love him, Leah. He’s patient and kind, he thinks about what makes me happy. He loves to give oral sex and he’s damned good at it. He even had dinner with my parents at Thanksgiving! But I don’t want him to put his kids aside for me. I couldn’t live with that. He adores them. He’s a great, involved father. It’s only two more years. We can deal with it that long. I’m actually trying to see if I can take some of the cases further out of the city. There’s an entire division that deals with Lancaster and the surrounding environs. If I can do that three days a week, it might be a reality that I can move in with him and keep my place in the city.’
‘Have you told him about this?’
‘He only recently began the let’s move in together thing. He suggested we move to Lancaster which makes it halfway between our jobs and we each commute. Which is great but it doesn’t get at the situation with his daughters still going to school. While I don’t mind him commuting an hour, why should they give up the house he’s lived in for all these years?’
‘Because they’re old enough to deal with that. For God’s sake, they’re not eight years old. You said they were with Pickles most weekdays anyway because she was way closer to the school and their jobs.’
‘Back to you. I just think you should take a chance on Bingo. He’s worth it. He’s like way hot and stuff. He folds your laundry because it makes you happy. Christ, Leah, what man does that? He’s like … well, listen, if he were five or six years older and not your boyfriend and Dix wouldn’t kill me and I didn’t love him and all, I’d nail Brandon myself.’
They got out and let the doorman get the door for them as they sauntered through the lobby, through the atrium and back towards the elevators.
‘Whore.’ Leah laughed as they rode up to their floor.
‘You know it. So when are you going to call him? He has to be worried.’
‘I know. After dinner tonight I will. Maybe I’ll go home when you do.’
They got off and walked around the serene, luxuriously appointed corner and what should they see but Dix and Bingo looking like they slept rough and very unhappy.
Kate stopped, sheepish. ‘Um. Guess you found where I was staying.’
Mouth in a hard line, Dix took the card key from her hand, opened the door, handed it to Brandon who looked equally pissed off, and turned back to Kate.
‘Which one is yours?’
She pointed to her room. He swatted her ass and pushed her along the way. She cast a look over her shoulder at Brandon and Leah before Dix slammed the door and menaced her.
‘No offence or anything, but, one, you look like you slept on the floor of a Greyhound bus and, two, why are you here?’
He stepped towards her and she wrinkled her nose. ‘There’s a three, you smell like pee. Did Bingo have an accident or something?’
He threw up his hands and began to laugh. ‘Damn you, Kate. Why can you always disarm me? I’m supposed to be mad at you. Bingo? And why the fuck do you look so good? Being away from me means you
