Always Room for Cupcakes (8 page)

“Working with that PI, sneaking around and taking pictures of people to get them in trouble,” he answered calmly, his hands together on his desktop.

“How do you know?” I asked, no longer playing coy.

“I’ve heard chatter. About people getting caught cheating and stuff, then I noticed you slinking around by a motel one day when I was driving home. But when you came in here the other day,
finally
ready to give me the opportunity to explain myself … Well, that confirmed it for me. I saw you run out as soon as Tracey left on her break.”

I mentally kicked myself for not being a better actress, then felt the need to assure him, “The kids don’t know. No one really does, at least,
I thought
no one did … I guess I wasn’t being as discreet as I thought.”

“So, what are you doing? Working as a PI with that jackass Moose?”

“No, I’m an Investigative Photographer,” I made that up off the top of my head, and really liked the way it sounded. “Moose does the PI work and deals with clients, I just take the pictures.”

“Sounds like it could be dangerous.”

“It’s not, I swear,” I assured him, then wondered why I was defending myself, when I’d come there to confront him. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Oh? You aren’t here to spy on Tracey again?”

I looked through the glass of his office at the woman who was back in her spot at the desk, then back at him.

“No, not today. I’m here because Elena had a talk with me last night. She wanted me to know that you introduced them to your girlfriend, who is,
apparently,
moving in with you.”

The Douche
crossed his arms over his chest, the defensive gesture he always went to whenever I brought up something he didn’t want to discuss.

“
Okay
…” he muttered warily.

“I thought we agreed to talk about it before we introduced the kids to anyone
special
in our lives.”

He sighed and admitted, “You’re right, we did … And I meant to talk to you about it. But then you came in last week and things didn’t go so well, and I never got around to it. I’d talked to Mary about pushing back our plans to tell the kids, but she’d already put in notice on her rental, so we couldn’t really do that?”

“Why didn’t you call or shoot me a text …
something
?” I argued, then what he’d said penetrated. “Mary?”

“Yeah,
Mary
,” he replied, his arm waving out toward the office a few feet away, where Mary, one of the loan officers that he’d worked with for the past ten years sat. “Didn’t the kids say?”

I felt like I’d been punched in the gut.

Mary?
Did that mean Slutty Shirley Finkle wasn’t the one-time deal I’d thought? Had he cheated before? Had he been cheating on me for
years
? Mary’d been to our house. I’d invited her over for holidays and family gatherings, worried that she’d be alone if I didn’t … Had I been made a fool this whole time?

Some of what I was thinking must have been conveyed on my face, because
The Douche
held up his hands.

“No, no,
no
, Lila, it’s not what you’re thinking … Mary and I were never together before. We’ve only been seeing each other for six months.”

“And you’re already moving in together?” I asked, not ready to believe him.

He ran a hand over his face and looked over at Mary, who was watching us through the glass, a worried expression on her face.

I tried to ignore the fact that we were on display, and kept my attention on my ex-husband.

“It may seem like it happened quickly, but we’ve known each other for so long …
just as friends
… so the relationship felt like it started in the middle, you know? I swear, nothing ever happened before, Mary will vouch for that, and you know she’s a good woman.”

He was right, I did know that, but still … I felt my eyes sliding over to look at her. Barely five foot two, carrying about one hundred and eighty pounds, and forever styling her hair in a bob, Mary had always been a friend. She was a mom-type person, always looking out for others. Calling if you were sick, making a casserole for work dinners, and always having a fresh batch of cookies in her cookie jar at home. She was probably a good five years older than me, and I’d always felt comfortable around her.

Now I didn’t know what to think. She was the exact opposite of Slutty Shirley Finkle, and not the kind of woman I envisioned
The Douche
going for once our divorce was final.

“Elena didn’t say it was Mary?” he asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“No, she didn’t,” I replied, chewing on my lower lip as I tried to decide how I felt about this new information.

“I was planning to tell you, I promise, and I want you to know that if everything goes well with our living together, I plan to ask Mary to marry me.”

Holy shit. The hits just kept coming…

I swung my gaze to him and asked, “Really?”

“Yes, Delilah, we have a good thing going, and she needs me. That feels good.”

I accepted that jab and turned to go, needing to get out of his office and away from all of the knowing eyes … especially Mary’s.

“Okay, well, I’m happy for you,” I mumbled, almost truthfully, as I started out the door.

“Thanks,” he called after me, then added, “And, Delilah, be careful out there, all right?”

I didn’t turn, but just nodded and kept going.

I didn’t stop until I reached Amy May’s, heading right for the counter, sitting down, and yelling, “
Cupcake
!”

Ten seconds later a beautiful chocolate cupcake with Oreo frosting and chocolate shavings was set in front of me.

I dug in without even looking up.

Heaven.

I realized I hadn’t had anything to eat all day except a cupcake, so I stopped by a hot dog vendor on the way to the motel. I was chowing down on my fully loaded dog when my cell pinged an incoming text.

I need the pics from the Jones job ASAP. Then I have more info about the wareabouts of the druggies… I need more on them.

Ugh, Moose. I wasn’t sure that wareabouts was even a word, but I got the gist of what he was saying. I usually enjoyed my job – catching cheating bastards in the act gave me a little thrill – but this drug dealer stuff was starting to make me nervous. Hector seemed like bad news, and I didn’t like the fact that he’d seen my face … twice.

Still, the payout on this job was twice what I normally made, which meant I could get my kids some cool Christmas gifts. Oh, and pay my rent.

I went to the address Moose had given me earlier in the day, watching for movement as I drove past it and parked my van a block away.

I hadn’t seen anything, but that didn’t mean the perps weren’t inside. They were adulterers after all, so they wouldn’t exactly be boning in the front yard.

I checked the neighborhood, which was quiet and void of people, before jogging around the back of the houses and creeping up to the one I was looking for. I peered in the first window, finding the kitchen empty, before crouching down and making my way awkwardly to the next one.

I rose slowly, taking in the bookshelf and desk, before movement by the door captured my attention.

The man was turned toward me, but his hands were lifted up, holding on to the door jamb, his head thrown backward. The last thing in the world he was going to do was look out the window and pay attention to me, so I felt safe drawing my eyes downward to see what was putting that horrifying look of pleasure on his chubby face.

The full view was nothing to write home about. He was totally naked, and really hairy in areas that were not pleasing to the eye. He had not only chest hair, but patches of hair on his stomach and a thick line leading down to his big, unruly bush.

There was nothing happy about that trail…

I almost tossed my cookies.

Knelt before him was a fully clothed brunette, her head bobbing back and forth as she went to town on his junk. With every movement, I caught glimpses of his penis. Red and angry, it was small enough for her to deep throat with no trouble.

I’m never eating hot dogs again
, I thought as I raised my camera, took enough shots to get faces, position, nudity, and the room, and hightailed it out of there.

Seriously worried the loaded hot dog I’d eaten was about to make a repeat appearance, I braced my hands against the side of my van and hung my head. I breathed deeply in and out, letting the fresh air calm my stomach. Once I felt my food settle, I jumped and headed back to town.

I parallel parked in the library parking lot and called Moose, figuring it would be easier to let him know I was about to email him the shots and get the details of what he needed for the Coke Club case.

Once I was done with the computer, I waved goodbye to Claire and walked out of the library, punching out a text to Bea as I walked.

Can you and Shannon hang with my kiddos tonight for a few hours? I have to work. Thx.

I was almost to my car when the roar of pipes hit my ears, and I looked up to see Cade riding toward me. I tried to contain my excitement as I watched him draw near, but didn’t bother trying to keep the happy smile from lighting up my face.

“Hey,” he said while he idled beside me.

“Hi,” I replied, my eyes devouring every inch of him. I don’t know how it was possible, but he seemed to get hotter every time I saw him.

“Your kids gone this weekend?”

“Not Friday, but Saturday.”

“I’ll pick you up,” he said. “Dinner at my place.”

My heart jumped at the thought of seeing where he lived.

“Sounds great,” I replied, not caring that I sounded eager. I totally was…

“Six,” he said, then gave me a wink and drove away.

I watched him, breathless with anticipation, then looked down at my phone to see that Bea had replied. She and Shannon could be over at seven.

I texted back,
Perfect
, then looked up for one last glance of Cade’s retreating form, before getting in my van and heading home.

I made sure my kids were fed, their homework was done, and they were ready for school the next day, before Bea and Shannon came over. I wanted the evening to go as smoothly as possible for them. The kids loved them, so they’d probably want to hang out until bedtime, but at least I knew everything else was done.

You’d think that would ease some of my guilt at leaving them, but I always felt guilty leaving them with someone else when I had to work. That had never happened while I was married to
The Douche
, and it was just one more thing I could admit that I blamed him for … bitter shrew that I am.

After meeting Cade, and actually talking to my ex and coming to terms with some of my issues, I was hoping that soon, I too would be happily moving on.

I was ready to let this anger and bitterness go. We’d been unhappy bedfellows for so long though, I was worried it would take more than a few good conversations for that to happen.

Maybe a great bout of sex with Cade would help things move along faster.

It was thoughts like that that were making me equal parts ecstatic and terrified about going to his house for dinner.

I left my apartment, knowing my kids were happily chatting Bea’s ear off, and turned my van toward a popular joint in The Heights, which was known for its tapas and killer cocktails. Moose said he’d heard word of a couple of the Coke Club women meeting Hector there tonight, so I was all dressed up in a cute tank top and mini-skirt, ready to blend in with the evening crowd.

The parking lot was full, so I valeted the van, smiling sweetly at the young stud who was eyeing my baby with disdain.

Guys just didn’t get the benefits of driving a minivan.

I walked straight to the bar on thin heels, my hair fluffed out and full, my makeup a little heavier than I usually wore it, but this was Tapas in The Heights. You didn’t show up looking like a scrub.

Like this, I blended. If I’d shown up in my regular uniform of jeans and a T-shirt, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb.

I’d just ordered a dirty martini from the bar, when I noticed one of the big-breasted blondes from the Chinese place walking into the back and entering the hallway that led to the restrooms.

I was about to follow, when familiar face caught my eye.

Tall and built, with short dark hair and glasses, Amy May’s husband, Jason, was always easy to spot in a crowd. Seeing him was unexpected, so it took me a minute to realize that was him and he was
here
.

I started toward him, my hand raised to get his attention, when I saw him approach a woman at the other end of the bar.

I dropped my unseen hand slowly, taking in the scene before me.

Jason leaned down to whisper something in the raven-haired woman’s ear. Whatever it was caused him to smile, and I watched as he put his hand on her back and began rubbing in slow circles.

My stomach clenched painfully and my eyes watered, even as I prayed I wasn’t
really
seeing what I was seeing. Maybe I was having a mild stroke, which brought on visions…