Page 64 of Sleeping with Her Enemy (49th Floor 2)

“Of course you do.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

He didn’t answer because Lin came out then, dressed like she was headed out on safari. A huge sunhat and Yoko One-style wraparound sunglasses totally obscured her face, and without a word she passed them and got into the front seat of Amy’s Fiat.

“You’re never gonna fit in the back,” Amy said to Dax.

He rolled his eyes. “You would have a Fiat.”

She punched his arm before sliding into the driver’s seat. “Hey, at least it’s not the two-door model.” When she glanced in the rearview mirror to back out of the driveway, she burst out laughing. He was sitting sideways with his back to the rear passenger door, his legs extended along the backseat as if reclining on a chaise longue.

He just raised his eyebrows. “Next time, I’ll drive.”

“Oh, and I suppose you drive a Land Rover or something.”

“Mercedes M-Class, actually.”

“What’s that? M for millionaire?”

“Ha ha,” he deadpanned. “It’s an SUV.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “So practical. For all the off-roading you do.”

“Said the woman who drives a fire-engine-red Fiat.”

“Hey!” she protested. “This is the perfect urban car! I can park it anywhere.”

“Well, I transport surfboards sometimes. Can’t do that in a Fiat.”

Lin cleared her throat. Oh, crap. Amy had forgotten about the part where they had an audience. And so had Dax, apparently, because he suddenly sat up straighter. God knew what his mother was making of their flirtatious/prickly banter thing. She shifted in her seat, suddenly feeling like it was going to be a very long, uncomfortable evening.

Well, she’d wanted to see Dax again. She was getting her wish.

…

“All right, Mrs. Harris,” Amy said, slowing down to enter the parking ramp at the Shops at Don Mills. “Pretend this is actually a ramp in a condo building you live in. How would you feel about it? What features would be important?”

“My mom doesn’t drive,” Dax called from the backseat. He wasn’t trying to be pushy, just to prevent his mother from opining all over something she knew nothing about. Not that anything could really stop her from doing that, but still.

Amy glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “I’m sure your mother is capable of imagining a scenario even if she isn’t literally going to be in it.”

“Light,” his mother said. “Parking ramps should be well-lit. And you want the driving space to be wide if you expect blind old coots driving Buicks not to crash into everything.”

“Good, good.” Nodding vigorously, Amy met his eyes in the mirror again. “Can you write this down?”

Man, she was going full force with this charade. But, ever obedient, he pulled out his phone and opened the notes app.

After they parked and took the elevator down to ground level, Amy took his mother’s arm, leaving him to trail behind them. “Let’s start at the northern edge here.” She walked them to the arterial that banded the cluster of shops and nodded across the street. “Your public library is there, along with a drugstore.”

“They could use a bridge across this street,” his mother said.

Amy nodded. “That would be a city thing, but yes, I agree that would be a great idea.”

She turned around. “I’m writing it down,” he said before she could issue the command.

They turned and started strolling through the complex itself. He had been thinking of this as a potential locale for his parents to move, based mostly on Kat’s testimony. He’d only ever been here himself once, meeting an investor at one of the restaurants. He had to admit, as they strolled the place, that it was a pretty nice spot. Narrow streets and paths crisscrossed through upscale stores, restaurants, and coffee shops. There was even a movie theater.

“Now I know it’s not really your cup of tea,” Amy said, turning his mother to face west and pointing at the ring of high rises that surrounded the retail area. “But imagine you live in one of those buildings. What are your thoughts about what’s here? Just free-associate as we walk.”

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