Page 63 of Babies at Coconuts

Chapter 46

Alex blasted the air conditioning and turned up the radio to drown out the noise in her brain. Someone knocked on her car window. Turning, she recognized Tony’s dirty, dusty knuckles and lowered the window an inch.

His voice was husky. “Let me in.”

She kept her hands on the steering wheel and shook her head. “No. You made it perfectly clear where your priorities lie. I’m going home. Alone.” She paused. “Besides, you need a shower.”

A laugh escaped Tony. “We can take one together, like I said earlier. I’ll scrub your back. We can use that perfume-y stuff you like.” Tony’s arctic blue eyes bored into her. “I’ll even light candles. It’ll be romantic. What do you say?”

After hateful, tough-talking Sean and his bitch ex-wife, she wasn’t in any mood for more antics from the Montgomerys. “Nope. I’m beat. I have an early morning meeting tomorrow at the bank.”

He snorted. “What’s new?”

“Gotta make a living.”

After spitting on the gravel, Tony said, “Come on, Alex. I know it was rough out there. Let me make it up to you.”

Why is this my life? Alex knew she had to win Joey over in order to even be considered a miniscule part of this-this unorthodox family. Still not positive whether she wanted Tony long term, the more roadblocks thrown in her way, continued to push them further and further apart. She brightened. “I have a better idea.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Better than a hot shower together?”

“Hear me out. The only way to make our relationship get off of first base, to use a baseball analogy, is to involve Joey, right?” She waited a half second before continuing. “Why don’t you find out if we can take him out for a celebratory pizza tonight?”

“Two reasons.” Tony ticked off his fingers. “Number one they may not win so there won’t be much to celebrate, and number two, it’s a school night. He goes to bed right after the game.”

“Oh.” Alex sighed. “Got any better ideas?”

“A shower—together.”

“You never give up.” A half-smile spread across her face.

“Nope. Never.” Tony thumped the top of her car. “See you in a few.” He crossed the parking lot toward his vehicle before she could say yay or nay.

“Dammit. I could use a hot shower. Why does this guy have to be so good in bed? It would be much easier to break it off if he weren’t.” She put her Mustang in gear and headed home.

As Alex rounded the final corner toward her house, she tensed when she spotted a purple Jeep in her driveway. Nikki. Slamming her fist on the steering wheel, she muttered aloud, “What did I do to deserve this?”

The moment Nikki noticed Alex she jumped out of her car.

Slamming her car door, Alex yelled, “Get off of my driveway. This is private property.”

Crossing her arms, Nikki said, “You broke that rule tonight, darlin’.” She lit a cigarette and blew smoke in Alex’s face.

Alex took several steps toward Tony’s vile ex while waving her hands in front of her face to dissipate the smoke. “A ballgame is public domain. My residence is private or didn’t they teach that in middle school? I assume that was your last grade of educa—”

Nikki’s face reddened. She charged Alex while yelling, “You smartass, man-stealin’ banker bitch . . .” Raising her hand, she attempted to slap Alex who ducked.

Tony arrived and raced out of his car, not bothering to close the door. “Calm down. Both of you.” Voice booming, he said, “God, I hate it when two women fight. What are you? Hoodlums?”

Alex crossed her arms, eyeing Nikki’s every move. “She’s a hood, a thug, and a bully. I’m not.” Alex kept her steely gaze on Tony’s ex. “For the life of me, I don’t know what you ever saw in this piece of white trash, Tony.”

Nikki charged Alex again. Tony jumped between them. “That’s enough, both of you. Nikki’s the mother of my son and you know it, Alex.”

Putting her hands on her hips, Alex narrowed her eyes. “I think you’re confused, Lieutenant. You thought she was the mother of your child but Joey’s your brother’s son.”

Seeing a throbbing, blue vein form in Tony’s temple, Alex knew she had gone too far. “Sorry.”

Nikki took another step toward Alex and spit on the ground. “And I don’t know what you see in this slut unless you’re into fancy clothes, a show-off job, and a splashy car. Big fuckin’ deal. I thought you had better taste, Tony. You know you ain’t no high-society guy.” A cigarette dangled from her lips as her words hung in the air.

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