Page 89 of Desolation

“We connect,” I say flatly.

He glances over at me. “Well, I definitely know your bodies have been connecting.”

He pulls out of the driveway and I ignore him. It might be childish and not what you expect from a thirty-five year old woman but I don’t need a lecture from him.

“He doesn’t know the truth about you Mar Bar. And when he finds out it won’t be pretty. Hell, you aren’t even divorced from Michael yet.”

“He just needs to sign the papers.”

Dax turns out of his neighborhood and heads toward the highway that runs along the beach. “And how long exactly has he been sitting on those papers?”

Four and half months. But I don’t say it out loud. I know he doesn’t want to sign them.

“That’s what I thought,” Dax says.

I ignore him the rest of the way to the party. Still surprised he hasn’t kicked me out of the car.

“David, good to see you out of the office,” the man at the door says.

“Likewise. Thanks for the invite. It’s a great day for a barbeque.” Dax answers before turning to me. “This is my friend, Marianne. She’s visiting for a few weeks. Marianne, this is Jackson Cole, owner of Cole Security.”

I stick my hand out and shake his. “Nice to meet you, Jackson. Thanks for giving my old buddy here a job, heard he was close to poverty.”

Jackson cracks up as he ushers us into his home. “What can I say I am a generous man.”

“You generous? Ha!” A man with shoulder length blond hair says as we walk into the open main room.

“Fuck off,” Jackson mutters.

The man wraps his arm around Jackson’s shoulders. “Muff, you know you love me.”

“Depends on the day.”

The man turns to me, grabs my hand, and kisses the back of it. “Pleasure to meet you, beautiful. I’m Mark Dixon.”

I smile at his charm. “Marianne. But you can call me Mari,” I say with a wink.

He clutches his chest. “If only I wasn’t married.”

Dax shakes his head at Mark and walks toward the kitchen. I follow him as he grabs a beer out of the fridge and goes to offer me one.

“We have wine too. And trust me hanging out with these idiots all day you will want something stronger.”

I turn to see a beautiful woman with brown eyes and long brown hair. “I’d love a wine. I’m Mari by the way. I’m a friend of David.”

“Catherine. I’m Jackson’s wife.”

“It’s nice to meet you. You have a beautiful home.” I take in their house. It’s huge and open, completely modern. Much more tasteful than the giant house I have in Boston.

“Do you prefer red or white?”

“I’ll take white.”

She busies herself in the kitchen with my wine while I look around. There are huge glass doors that lead out to the backyard and I can see children running around.

“I would stay in here as long as possible if I were you,” Catherine says to me as she hands me a glass of wine. “Mark gave the kids a bunch of candy. I swear I lost my hearing.”

I laugh. “I know the feeling.”

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