Getting Dumped (7 page)

I stopped smiling when Pete froze in front of a late-model Audi with a smashed window.

I swallowed, staring at the carnage. “Let me go out on a limb here and guess your car actually had a windshield a few minutes ago?”

Pete toed a shard of glass. “It also wasn’t covered in blood.”

It took almost an hour for the cops to finish walking in circles around the car, snapping photos, and jotting notes on official looking forms.

Fortunately, the blood turned out to be ketchup. The police were able to deduce this using their superior investigative skills and the fact that I tripped over a broken Heinz bottle beside the left rear tire.

Unfortunately, none of us had a clue what the hell had happened.

“So you don’t have any thoughts about who might want to vandalize your automobile, Mr. Wilco?” asked the police officer, raising one eyebrow as though to imply the damage might have been caused by our own over-exuberant condiment usage.

“No, sir,” Pete said, fingering a piece of crime scene tape as he looked around at the half-dozen police officers surrounding his car. “Not a clue.”

“How about your girlfriend?” the cop pressed. “Anyone upset with her?”

“Huh?” Pete asked, looking confused.

“I’m not his girlfriend,” I interrupted, recognizing the cop’s train of thought. “And no. I don’t have any enemies.”

Pete cleared his throat. “So do you have all the evidence you need now?”

“Yeah, sure, we’re done here. You need help calling a cab or an auto shop? Or maybe a hot dog vendor?” The cop laughed like this wasn’t the twelfth ketchup joke he’d told in the last thirty minutes.

I looked at Lori, who had raced out a few minutes earlier to see what all the fuss was about. She had a steely pixie scowl on her face and a baggie of fabric scraps in her hand.

“I just called Macy and left a message saying I’ll be late for drinks,” she said. “Do you need these scraps back right away?”

“Actually, since they’re here, let’s just tell the cops.” I snatched the baggie from her hand and held it up for the police to see. “Officer, we’d like to report a potential crime.”

The cop blinked at me. “Another one?”

“We think someone might be making fake handbags.”

He looked at Pete’s smashed windshield, then back at the baggie in my hand. “Is this connected somehow?”

“No. I just thought that—”

“Counterfeiting isn’t exactly my domain, lady. Besides that, I’m off in ten minutes. Unless this is urgent, your best bet is to stop by the station tomorrow and fill out a report.”

I was about to argue, but Lori shivered in the rain beside me. I looked at Pete, who shook the water out of his hair and grinned.

“Come on,” I said. “Why don’t we call a tow truck from Lori’s shop?”

“Thanks,” Pete said, pausing to shake the officer’s hand before allowing Lori to steer us back around the corner.

“Don’t mention it,” Lori answered. “It’s the least I can do, since you came down here to shop in my store.”

I followed a few steps behind, my enthusiasm for admiring Pete’s butt sadly dampened by the guilt I was feeling.

“Look, Pete – I’m really sorry about this,” I began. “This is usually a really safe part of town—”

Pete turned to smile at me, reaching back to give my hand a squeeze. “It’s not your fault, JJ. They didn’t steal anything. Probably just some kids who thought they were being funny.”

“Hilarious,” I muttered, watching Lori as she yanked open the front door of the boutique. “What, you don’t lock the door now?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. “There are six cops down the block. Besides, the lady next door keeps an eye out when I’m only gone a couple minutes.”

I shrugged and followed her inside. Pete set his slightly soggy gift-wrapped package on the counter and pulled a flashy black cell phone out of his jacket. He punched a few buttons before looking up at us.

“Any chance you can recommend a good towing service?”

Lori shrugged. “Our uncle runs a sand and gravel lot, but unless you want to run the car through a rock crusher, that’s probably not what you need.”

“Tempting, but no,” Pete said, settling onto one of the leather stools at the front counter.

“How about Adam?” I asked, admittedly trying to get a rise out of my sister. “He owns an auto shop.”

Lori frowned. “Of all the auto shops around, you want to call my ex-boyfriend?”

“Come on, Lori,” I said, pointing to the stack of business cards tucked under the corner of her cash register. “I see his card right there. You’ve got his number, and Pete needs a tow truck. Hand it over.”

Lori sighed and thrust the card at Pete. “Here. He left it when he stopped by the other day. I meant to throw it out, but—”

“I’m sure you did,” I said, watching as Pete took the card and began punching numbers while Lori pretended to be more annoyed than she really was.

Fifteen minutes later, I was standing on the sidewalk with Lori and Pete when Adam pulled up behind Pete’s car in a big, blue tow truck.

Beside me, Lori sniffed. “He can’t be
that
successful if he drives a tow truck at 8 p.m. on a Friday evening,” she muttered.

I rolled my eyes at her. “He owns the damn tow truck, along with the rest of the company. And what do you want to bet he only showed up himself because Pete mentioned
you
?”

Lori scowled and looked away, suddenly very interested in studying the back of a stop sign.

When Adam jumped out of the cab, he was practically fizzing with joy. I assumed Lori was the source of his delight. Then I saw the way he was staring at Pete.

“Oh my God, it really
is
you,” he said, stepping forward to shake Pete’s hand. “I thought it was you at Goomba’s the other day when I dropped off Aunt Ernie’s keys. Colt McTrigger from
Bionic Cyber Cops in Monster Trucks
, right? I love that movie!”

“Thanks, man,” Pete said, looking a little uncomfortable as he shook Adam’s hand and glanced over at the car. “The name’s Pete, actually. And thanks for showing up to help on a Friday night.”

“My pleasure,” Adam said, grinning over at Lori. “Any friend of Lori’s is a friend of mine.”

Lori’s cheeks pinkened but she pretended not to hear him. Instead, she turned to me. “I was supposed to meet Macy for a drink, but why don’t I just take you home now?”

“Let’s stop at Velvet first and get her,” I told her. “Maybe we can all go out for pizza or something.”

“Sure, that sounds good.” Lori looked grateful to get away from Adam. “Pete, you want to ride with us?”

“I’d better go deal with the car,” he said, looking down at me. “Thanks again for the help with the birthday gift.”

“Not a problem. I just hope your girlfriend enjoys it.”

Pete smiled, his eyes holding mine a few seconds longer than necessary. Lori reached out and shook Pete’s hand with enthusiasm. “It really was great to meet you,” she said. “Sorry again about your car.”

“Don’t mention it,” Pete said, giving her hand a squeeze before turning toward the truck. The view of his perfectly formed backside helped make up for the disappointment I felt at seeing him go.

Adam looked at Lori for a moment, his expression grim but determined. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lori turned away.

“Come on, JJ,” she said, latching on to my elbow. “Let’s get dinner.”

AN HOUR LATER, Lori and I were flopped on my couch with a bag of Doritos and Blue Cat between us. We alternated between munching and petting, a practice that resulted in regular consumption of cat hair. Our favorite pizza place had been closed for remodeling, and Macy hadn’t been at the bar when we went looking for her there.

“Maybe it was tomorrow night you were supposed to meet for drinks,” I mused. “Or maybe she joined a cult in Libya or jetted off to a yoga retreat in Costa Rica or—”

“Very funny. Maybe I’ll swing by her house later, show her the swatches. I should probably get going anyway.” She looked at her watch, then at me. “Or maybe we should cook dinner.”

I stared at her. “Since when do you cook?”

“By ‘we,’ I meant ‘you,’” she pointed out helpfully. “How about your bourbon pecan chicken?”

“I don’t have chicken. Or pecans.”

“How about just the bourbon?”

I shrugged, thinking that was a fair substitution for an evening with an unavailable guy who gave off sexy vibes.

“Pete’s pretty hot,” Lori said, effectively reading my mind as she reached for another chip.

“You’ve already said that three dozen times.”

“You’re sure he’s got a girlfriend?”

“Positive. I’ve seen her picture. She’s gorgeous. And stacked. Besides, he just bought her an insanely expensive handbag.”

“I wouldn’t say insanely—”

“A handbag worth every penny of its exceptionally high price.”

“Whatever. Haven’t you noticed the way he looks at you? There’s some definite chemistry going on.”

“Lori—”

“I’m just saying.”

“Not true,” I insisted, even though I wanted it to be. “And even if it were, that makes him a cad for scoping out another woman when he has a girlfriend.”

“Maybe not,” she said, shoving a chip in her mouth. “Maybe they have a casual relationship like you and Daniel. Maybe they aren’t that serious.”

“Do you usually spend several hundred dollars on a birthday gift for someone you’re not serious about?”

Lori shrugged. “I’m just saying, he seems nice.”

I sighed, deciding it was time to act on her suggestion of a bourbon dinner. That’s when the doorbell rang.

Lori raised an eyebrow. “Expecting someone?”

I shifted Blue Cat and the Doritos to Lori’s lap. “Nope.” I stood on tiptoe to peer through the peephole.

There was Pete standing on my doorstep, looking sheepish.

And he wasn’t alone.

I swung the door open, and smiled up at the two good-looking men on my porch.

“Pete, Adam – what are you both doing here?”

“Sorry to show up without calling,” Pete said, ducking his head a little to avoid the rain dripping through my eaves. “I think I left my cell phone in Lori’s shop.”

Behind him, Adam shifted his weight beneath the bulk of three heavy-looking pizza boxes. “I offered him my cell so he could call you, but he didn’t have your phone number and it wasn’t in the book.”

I stood there for a moment, inhaling the scent of pepperoni and man soap.

“Sorry, come in,” I said, stepping aside to allow them – and the pizzas – through the door. I glanced over my shoulder at Lori, who looked like she was trying to decide between disgust at seeing Adam and delight at seeing food.

“We brought beer, too,” Pete said, hoisting two six-packs of the Northwest’s finest microbrew. “And ginger ale. And—”

“It’s okay, you can stay,” I giggled, hustling the short distance to the kitchen to grab plates and napkins. Pete followed, while Lori remained frozen on the sofa a few feet away. “Let me throw together a quick salad. Lori, can you help me set the table?”

“Sure,” Lori said, shifting Blue Cat to the floor. I wasn’t certain which of the two looked more annoyed.

“Is it okay if I wash up?” Adam asked, setting the boxes down on my dining room table.

“Absolutely,” I told him. “Bathroom’s down the hall, second door on the right.”

Adam headed off that direction, and Lori fixed me with a scowl. “Did you set this up?” she hissed.

I sighed and handed over a fistful of napkins. “Don’t be such a drama queen,” I said.

“It’s my fault,” Pete interjected, stepping up to take the plates out of my hands. “The loaner car won’t be ready for another hour, and I thought maybe if we got here fast enough, I could catch both of you and maybe get my phone back. Adam knew where you lived, so...”

Lori flushed a little, clearly embarrassed, before rearranging her face into a smile for Pete’s benefit. “Do you need to get the phone now, or can it wait until after dinner?”

“After dinner is fine,” Pete said, distributing the plates around the table before returning to the kitchen. “We got a few different varieties of pizza. There’s a meat combo, something with pesto and chicken, and Adam said Lori likes vegetarian pizza with Canadian bacon added. Is that right?”

Lori’s face registered surprise before she covered it with her mask of irritation.

“That’s fine,” Lori said. “This was very thoughtful of you.”

“I give Adam all the credit,” he said. “The pizza was his idea. He saw Rocco’s was closed and knew it was your favorite place, so he thought you might need a backup plan. He even thought of the ginger ale.”

“We’re both ginger ale girls,” I agreed, taking some red leaf lettuce and a few carrots out of the fridge. “Lori likes hers with gin.”

“That’s new,” Adam said, coming out of the bathroom with a smile for Lori. “I guess gin wasn’t a staple in high school.”

Lori folded her arms over her chest and leveled him with a stare. “Plenty of things have changed about me since high school, Adam.”

Pete – who had stepped in to peel carrots without even being asked – froze beside me. He opened his mouth to interrupt, probably looking to diffuse the tension. I stepped on his foot and shook my head once, quickly.
Let them have it out. It’s been a long time coming.

“You’re right, Lori,” Adam said slowly, gripping the back of one of the chairs on the other side of my serving bar. “I’m guessing we’ve both changed quite a bit. I was a shallow, narrow-minded, judgmental, immature, arrogant—”

“Don’t forget cheating.”

Adam swallowed hard. “Right. Cheating.”

Lori stared at him. “With my best friend? Talk about the oldest cliché in the book.”

“Technically, hadn’t we split up earlier that day?”

Lori’s eyes narrowed. Adam held up his hands in surrender. “You’re right, you’re right, it doesn’t matter. I was still a jerk. I accept that.”

Lori shook her head. “Whatever, Adam. The things you said to me were a lot crueler than the fact that you bumped uglies with Carlie the day you dumped me.”

Adam winced. “Look, I know I said and did some really lousy things to you. Things I wish I could take back. All I can say for myself is that I was a dumb kid with testosterone poisoning and some pretty narrow ideas about career paths and what it takes to gain respect and wealth and happiness. It was a long time ago, and I’ve learned some things since then.”