Page 48 of Make Me Whole

I agreed and asked what he wanted to do about the situation. His face lit up with pride. Al was a guy who always enjoyed having good plans that made him feel smarter than people.

We finished our beers, and reluctantly, asked for a refill as he told me how Mr. Lawrence, our company’s current lawyer, planned to retire around Christmas time which would be the perfect excuse to hire a new firm to handle our contracts. Since we’d need to have them on retainer, they would handle Sky’s divorce at practically no cost—that she knew of, at least. It was a perfect plan, and I was on board.

“That’s settled, then,” Al cheered, raising his half-empty glass. “Now we just need to figure out what to do once you finish the house. I know you still have a ways to go, but we can’t keep moving her and Ella from one reno to another. She needs a place of her own to give the girl some stability.”

My heart skipped at the opportunity to discuss my plan to buy the house for her and Ella without making it seem like I had ulterior motives. If I played this right, Al might even think it had been his idea.

“I’ve been thinking about that, and I have an idea.”

For a second Al seemed interested, but then his gaze drifted to the mirror in front of us and his brows shot up. I followed his gaze to see what had stolen his attention. To no one’s surprise, the focus thief was a tall, leggy blonde.

Because I wasn’t interested and he clearly was, I distracted myself with my fancy peanuts and let him have his fun. He pivoted in his chair, fixed hisAlsmile, and said, “Hi.”

Yeah, Al was terrible at flirting. So was I—except for with Sky—but I never tried to be good at it, and he clearly did.

To my surprise, however, the woman giggled before replying, “Oh . . . Hi to you too, Sugar.”

Now that lady was a good flirt. I shoved some more peanuts into my mouth—they were fresh, delicious and free of e. coli, which was always rare in bar peanuts—and waited as Al asked her what she was doing at the bar. I hoped she fell for his awful technique and mediocre charm so I could leave and go back to Sky. Though she had already sent me a picture of her tits, she still owed me a blowjob, and I was in the mood to collect.

“I originally came over to talk to my son—he’s the owner. But he’s not here, so I was going to leave, but then I saw Max and decided to say hi.”

Her reply caught me off guard. I turned to take a better look to see if I could place her. She was familiar, but for the life of me, I couldn’t place her. The disappointment in Al’s face made me hope to God that she wasn’t one of the random women I had fucked in the past. There weren’t many of them, so meeting one, especially one that Al seemed interested in, would be rotten luck.

Al asked, “How do you know Max?”

I held my breath, as eager to know the answer as my friend.

She chuckled and flipped her hair. My stomach sank in fear that this really was my unlucky day.

“We’re neighbors,” she explained, and I sighed with relief. “Or rather, I’m his girlfriend’s neighbor. I actually just talked to her before I came here. We’re meeting up tomorrow to work on Halloween costumes for your kids.”

Finally, I remembered her.Molly.

“Girlfriend?”

My cheeks flushed, and my stomach dropped again. I always loved the feeling of roller coasters, but the thrill without the ride wasn’t nearly as much fun. “She means Sky.”

Molly and Al tilted their heads. I ran a hand through my hair in exasperation.

“Why would she think Sky is your girlfriend?” The teasing mirth in Al’s tone was now completely gone.

“She’s not?”

I drank some beer. Pointing first at Molly because it was the easiest answer, I said, “No,” then turned to Al and continued, “Because the day we met, I acted as if she was. We were afraid Eli had sent Molly to spy on Sky.”

The memory of meeting the woman and staking my claim on Sky—as well as the fight and everything that happened afterward—made my cock twitch. Fucking bad timing!

“Oh,” they said in unison once more, though Molly didn’t look as convinced by my reply as Al.

Nodding, Al turned to her and asked, “But you’re not? Spying on my daughter, I mean?”

“Absolutely not! I’d never spy for a man with crazy eyes.”As if a spy would say anything different.“And you’re Sky’s dad? You don’t look old enough to be her father. Or Ella’s grandfather!”

And that was my limit.

As Al inflated like a peacock flashing his tail, I finished my overpriced beer and tossed all the money I had in my wallet over the counter. “I’m sorry to leave, but I gotta go back to work. We’ll talk later,” I told Al, then turning to Molly, I added, “It was lovely seeing you again, Molly. We always have barbecues on Sunday, and we’d love it if you'd join us this weekend. Al can give you all the details.”

“Sure can,” Al added.

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