Page 20 of Shameless
She narrowed her gaze. “That can’t be true.”
I pointed at her phone. “Ask her.”
“Okay.” She texted her friend, Hope did you not like having Michael around?
Neither of us moved. Then her phone beeped. She showed her screen, and we read. I like doing things on my own and going into the kitchen in my underwear if I need to so hell yes. Keep him there.
I’d been right—she was uncomfortable. But I stepped back and said, “That’s more graphic than I needed to know.”
Britney took a deep breath and said, “My friends and I aren’t always polite.”
I’d seen them together for a month, so I nodded and said, “I realized. What should we do to formalize the deal?”
She tugged her shoes on and said, “Get your lawyer to draw up the papers. Once you have them tonight, I’ll quit my job.”
That would be the start of the mission to spent the rest of our lives together.
I nodded. “They will be in writing when you return.”
“Goodbye,” she said.
“Goodbye.” I said but tugged her closer.
She batted her eyelashes, and her lips came up. So I kissed her. She was mine even if she didn’t know it yet.
Chapter Seven
Britney
* * *
I had no idea why Michael was insisting on giving me any money, at least not really. I’d not done anything to earn it. At work, I knew what to do, and even though that was my last day, no one knew, and I walked with a commanding stride.
Sleeping next to Michael was comforting and waking up beside him was oddly calming, if I was being honest with myself.
Since I’d found out I was pregnant, I’d been determined to figure out fast my next move without taking a chance to breathe, but when I left work, I headed to Soho and met Kelly at a trendy upscale café, I realized my life was good in the past because I knew what to expect. Now I was lost, but when I stepped in, she was waiting there. I sat, ordered while we chitchatted, and when I drank my lemongrass tea with sugar, I started to come out of my shell. I’d agreed with his plan the day before because I hated the idea that anyone might attack him.
If I could protect him, that was the least I could do. He’d helped transform me into a mom to be, and the more I got used to the idea, the more I liked the image of me pushing a carriage around Central Park.
Kelly asked, “Would you want to be Upper West Side, Lennox Avenue, Soho, or somewhere else?”
I stared at her like she was crazy. My place was in lower Manhattan because I could get to work quickly in the morning.
But everything was changing.
I was wearing down and asked, “What did Michael say?”
“That you’re picking,” she said.
I swallowed and pointed at one of her listings in Soho that had pretty light. “Great. Okay.”
When we slipped into a limo and relaxed in the back seat, Kelly said, “You’re stressed, but I would have thought you’d be happy. Michael is literally your dream guy come true.”
I took a deep breath and said, “I never had a dream guy.”
She squeezed my hand. “You squeal at British accents every time we ever heard one and watch Pride and Prejudice when you’re upset.”
I laughed and nodded. “I like the simpler problems in many ways. While I’m sure it’s scary to marry someone to secure a home and all, it just seems easier than having to figure everything else out.”
