Page 20 of Unfriend Me
I spun around and gave him a big hug. “Wow, Dad, you’re really light on your feet. Didn’t even hear you walk up.”
After I let go, he patted his overextended belly. “False compliments won’t work either.”
I plastered on a smile and moved aside to grab our drinks from the huge counter our friend Charlie had made a few years back. I snagged a table in the corner and had a seat, strategizing the best way to get my dad off my back.
He didn’t wait to launch in. “You need to take that sign down. I already got a call from Pastor Murphy. You know I love your spunk, but that’s going too far.”
I leaned in, not liking how bunched up his bushy eyebrows had gotten. “Daddy, I need your help.” I’d figured out a way to get him on my side, despite what I’d told Titus earlier. A smart woman knows when to regroup and try a new approach. “I have a mystery on my hands that needs solving and that sign is just the way to stir things up enough to discover the truth.”
Dad tapped his thumb against the side of his drink cup. “What are you going on about, honey?”
I leaned in so far the table would leave a bruise on my ribs. “I caught the mayor leaving the hotel room of a woman who is not his wife. And the night prior, I heard some pretty weird sounds coming from that room. I won’t even tell you what I found the next day when the woman checked out and I had to clean the room. Our good mayor is up to something and I intend to find out what that is.” I finished in a rush, my voice barely above a whisper.
Dad sucked in his gut and leaned in too, his badge flashing brightly in the overhead lights. “Listen real good. You need to drop this. Right now. Whatever the mayor has going on is none of your business. If it’s illegal, I’ll look into it. But if it’s cheating on his wife, that is his concern. Not yours.”
I reared my head back. “Daddy! You taught us girls to always stand up for what’s right, even when it’s hard. This goes beyond cheating on his wife. I think he’s in cahoots with this woman, which affects all of us in this town. She has visited exactly three times before, and within a month of each of those visits, new construction was started here in town. I think he’s putting his—ahem, libido—before good business decisions. I don’t think you should be sleeping with the woman who owns the construction companies you hire with town money. I don’t know if she’s with the construction companies, but that’s where I need your help.”
Dad swiped a hand over his face, looking frustrated. But I knew my dad. There was a light in his eyes that meant I’d piqued his interest. “All you’ve got there is a bunch of unfounded gossip.”
“I know. That’s where you come in. We need to prove it.” My heart pounded as I waited for him to gobble the juicy bait I’d just left him. There was no doubt in my mind I was onto something. I could feel it in my bones. I may only be a hotel manager, but I was born the daughter of a cop. I knew when something was off. It was in my blood.
Dad took a long sip of his frozen coffee, his gaze never leaving my face. He had a mean poker face, but I’d learned from the best. I’d give as good as I got. The sounds of the busy coffee shop faded into the background as the stare continued. I held my breath, which wasn’t the best idea given the sudden dizziness from lack of oxygen.
He popped his drink back on the tabletop, rattling it with the force. “Fine. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open if you promise to not go after him yourself. While I have to work with the guy due to our positions in this town, I don’t particularly trust him.”
I squealed and stood up to wrap my arms around his neck. “Thank you, Daddy.” I was so excited to have someone else in on my quest for truth. Dad could look into things a normal citizen couldn’t. Sure, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about it, and maybe I’d crossed my fingers under the table when I accepted his condition—there was no way in Hell I was giving up my own investigation—but I knew he’d look into it. Dad was like a dog with a bone when it came to uncovering the truth. Where do you think I got it from?
“Another thing,” he continued. I sat back down and folded my hands in my lap while he laid out more conditions I’d agree to, probably with my fingers crossed. “You need to come on home for family dinner. Soon. Your mother and I miss you.”
He stood abruptly, fast on his feet despite the paunch us girls always teased him about. “Oh, and bring Titus with you, would you?”
A fluttering that shouldn’t even be there started up in my chest. I didn’t have to cross my fingers and lie about this one. Of course I’d bring Titus. He’d sat around my family’s dinner table more times than I could count over the years. Maybe not in recent times, but frequently enough that it didn’t take a special invitation from my father.
Dad’s knuckle tapped the tabletop while he stood there looking over my head at the wall behind me. “Just arrested Dom again right before I came over here to meet you. I suspect Titus will be getting a call right about now to come bail him out again.” He shook his head. “Funny how two people can be raised just the same and turn out totally different.”
With that philosophical thought dump, he spun and walked out, waving to everyone who said hello as he passed. That fluttering in my chest finally petered out to leave me with another weird sensation. Gut-clenching empathy. Titus hated dealing with Dom.
Maybe I should send him some funny memes tonight to snap him out of the self-loathing that always came after dealing with his brother’s messes.
Or maybe a racy selfie…
With that novel idea floating through my brain and egging me on to danger, I went back to work.
9
Titus
She was killing me.
First the flirting yesterday, and then the picture of her ample cleavage in a barely there tank top with the text “to cheer you up after dealing with your own Douchebag.” Maybe it was just my wishful thinking, but it seemed like maybe Amelia was more into the idea of us taking things beyond friendship than she let on. But then again, I’d had my hopes up for years and had been let down every single time.
I should probably talk to my guy friends and get their opinion on the matter. Lord knew I wasn’t objective enough to understand what was going on. Amelia could ask for a glass of water and my brain would get carried away thinking she was parched due to her unending love for me. I groaned out loud and pulled on a flannel over my T-shirt. What was I thinking? There was no way I could talk to any of my guy friends about Amelia. They’d give me shit for the rest of my life.
We planned to all meet down at the beach tonight for a little bonfire to celebrate Hazel’s birthday. With the weather turning chilly at night, I hoped to use that as an excuse to cuddle up to Amelia. I could picture her showing up in her standard cut-off shorts and a shirt that left her belly exposed to the night air. She’d have a sweatshirt with her, but even that wouldn’t keep her warm enough. We’d been doing these bonfires for more than a decade. You’d think she’d learn to wear jeans or a heavier jacket by now. Her shortsightedness was my gain. I was tired of waiting for her to make the first move. Tired of swallowing what I really wanted to say. Sick of pretending like I didn’t envision an entire life together with her: married, kids, the two matching rocking chairs on the front porch. The whole damn thing.
Tonight, I’d grab life by the balls and make my move.
“Rip, you comin’ with me?” I yelled out into the living room as I looked around for my keys and wallet in the mess that was my bedroom. I really needed to clean it up sometime soon or I’d be out of clean clothes shortly.
