Not Quite Perfect (Not Quite Series Book 5) (24 page)

With the volume of Nina’s voice, she’d just told the entire building.

“I told him no such thing.”

“He told me he came to you. That you confirmed it.” Nina tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder.

“That isn’t what happened.” Mary hoped that her low voice would prompt the other woman to lower hers.

“You’re lying. And to cover your tracks you’ve called the cops on him. Who the hell do you think you are? Jacob is an asshole, but he doesn’t break into houses and fuck them up.”

“Nina—”

“That’s what the police said happened. Are you going tell me that’s not true, too?”

By now two of the doors down the hall had opened, and more than one head popped out to watch the confrontation.

“We should discuss this in private.”

“I’m done talking to you. I can’t believe you betrayed my trust.” It hurt to hear the words, even though Mary knew they weren’t true.

“I don’t know who I report people like you to, but I’ll find out.” Nina turned on her stiletto heels and stomped out of the building.

That didn’t go well.

Mary tried to smile when she walked back into her office.

“I think I should go.” Her client stood to leave.

“I’m sorry for the interruption. We can continue.”

“I don’t think . . .”

Mary pulled out her appointment book. “I understand. No charge for today. I’ll see you next week.”

“No. I think I’m good. I’ll . . .”

Mary wanted to explain but knew that would just make things worse. “If you change your mind.”

Mary stared at the closed door before burying her face in her hands.

The flowers on her doorstep at home put the smile back on her face. There wasn’t a card, a habit she was noticing about Glen. Maybe there was something to that . . . like him not saying good-bye.

Instead of asking, she sent him a text.
I miss you, too.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The cockpit of the Challenger was nothing like the plane Glen had taken Mary up in the previous week. In the copilot seat, Jason kicked back as they cruised at thirty-two thousand feet somewhere over the Atlantic.

The phone in Glen’s pocket buzzed and he took a second to look at Mary’s update.

He expected a time stamp and an
all’s well
message. Instead he warmed into the words,
I miss you, too.

He glanced over to find Jason staring at him.

“What?”

“I’ve seen that look before.”

“What look?”

Jason pointed in his direction. “That one. The one Trent wears whenever Monica texts him.”

“I like the attention, what can I say.” He put his phone back in his pocket.

“It’s more than that.” Jason turned his gaze back to the controls in front of him.

It
was
more than that.

“Have you ever been in love, Jason?”

He looked out the window as if the sea had the answer. “My inability to give you a name suggests the answer is no.”

Glen closed his eyes and saw Mary’s smile, smelled the shampoo she used on all that hair. He pictured the single drawer in his home with her underwear.

“You love her, don’t you?”

He did . . .

Jesus, he did.

“How did that happen?” he asked to the sky in a whisper.

Jason unbuckled his belt and climbed out of his seat, patting Glen on the shoulder as he left the cockpit. “You could do worse.”

Before his brother disappeared into the cabin, Glen asked, “Do you think Mom would have liked her?”

“Are you kidding? Mom would be decorating a nursery and promising the first grandchild a pony. Not to mention Mary’s tamed you. A task even Mom and Dad couldn’t achieve.”

Glen texted Mary back once Jason left.
Thirty-two thousand feet and all is well.

It took a while for the dot, dot, dot to turn into words.
Texting while flying is dangerous! Stop it.

I’ll text when I land, call you in the morning.

Looking forward to it.

Yeah . . . Glen had it bad.

Mary walked out of her office at just after three.

Kent had taken the duty of walking her to her car when she worked late, but she didn’t ask him to on early days.

That didn’t stop the man from showing up anyway.

“You don’t have to keep doing this.”

“Someone has to keep an eye on you.”

He walked her across the parking lot with a smile.

“I think I scared him off, or the police did. Everything is quiet here . . . quiet at home. I think the cloud has parted.”

“It’s when you stop watching that bad stuff happens. I work with lawyers, I know this stuff. I’ll just keep this up if it’s all the same to you.”

She unlocked her car. “That’s sweet. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, I just don’t want to keep putting you out.”

“You’re not putting me out, Mary.”

“Okay. I’ll let it go then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

She placed one foot in her car, talked with him over the car door. “I’m not coming in tomorrow.”

Kent’s lips twitched. “Big weekend?”

“Quiet weekend, actually. Glen is in London on business.”

The information seemed to please him.

“You have my number if you need something.”

“I should be fine, but thanks.”

He stepped away from the car when she closed the door.

In the rearview mirror, Kent stood watching her drive away.

“This is getting awkward,” she said to herself.

“Go! We are going to be fine.” Mary sat with Leo in her lap.

Dakota’s cast had come off the week before, and she and Walt were wearing something other than sweatpants and shorts and ready for a couple of hours away from the house.

“It feels strange . . . doesn’t it feel awful?” Dakota tugged on Walt’s arm when she asked the question.

“Two hours, Dakota. Leo and I will survive.” Mary dangled her hair in Leo’s face and watched him smile. “Won’t we? I think we should invite all the neighborhood kids over and get pizza. Isn’t that a great idea?”

“C’mon, Baby Mama. They’re going to be great.” Walt dragged Dakota out of the house.

Mary giggled at Leo. “We finally got rid of them, didn’t we? Silly parents.”

A list of possible reasons Leo was crying sat beside the list of instructions and every possible phone number Mary might need if there was an emergency.

It was comical watching Dakota squirm about leaving.

It was Dakota and Walt’s first date since Leo’s birth, and overdue according to everything Mary had read on the subject.

Mary moved from the couch to a spread out baby blanket on the floor and lay beside Leo, entertained by his smile. Colorful toys surrounded them, some played music, others flashed lights, two did both.

Thirty minutes after Dakota and Walt had left, her phone rang.

She found her phone in her purse and answered it without looking at who was calling. “We’re fine!”

“We? Who are we?” The sound of Glen’s voice made her heart skip.

She sat down next to Leo and continued to dangle a soft toy out of his reach.

“You found me out, Glen. I have another man in my life.” She wiggled her nose at Leo. “Don’t I?” she said in a high-pitched voice.

Glen laughed. “So Dakota finally caved.”

“I thought for sure you were her calling.”

“How is babysitting time?”

“Leo and I are just hanging . . . waiting for the pizza and beer delivery.”

“I don’t think he’s on solid food yet.”

“The pizza’s for me . . . Leo has a hankering for something other than milk.”

“It sounds like you’re having fun.”

“Leo’s a really good listener, and I have lots to talk about.” She had him giggling with a swish of her hair. “How was the flight?”

“Uneventful. I like flying with Jason. We don’t get enough time together.”

“I’d imagine he’s a captive audience in a cockpit,” she said.

“I think that’s part of the appeal for this trip. That and the fact that our London affiliates need to see our faces more than once a year.”

They talked about how often he went to London.

She told him she’d never been.

He told her he’d take her there soon . . . that she’d better update her passport.

To which she let him know she didn’t have one.

And then Leo became a little upset that he wasn’t the center of Mary’s attention.

“I should let you go,” Glen decided.

“I think there is diaper duty in my immediate future.”

“And as awful as that sounds, I still wish I was there with you.”

“Careful what you ask for. Next time you’re changing diapers and I’ll order the pizza.”

“You’re on!”

Leo offered a louder protest. “I’m being summoned.”

“Go. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

“Sounds good.”

He hung up without saying good-bye.

Mary couldn’t be happier.

She set her phone to the side and picked Leo up. “Just you and me, bud.”

He kept lifting his head from her shoulder as she walked up the stairs to the nursery to change his diaper.

Her first time at the plate, and Leo was good to her.

She sat in the glider with him on her shoulder after the task and rocked his sleepy eyes to rest.

Mary let him sleep on her for quite some time. The rise and fall of his little chest put a flutter in her belly she never thought she’d have. She couldn’t help but wonder if her own mother had ever held her, ever thought about the tiny heart with its rapid beat inside her chest. Did her own father wish to change her diaper instead of being away on business?

Stupid thought. The chances of her biological parents ever
being away on business
was slim to none. Kids not ready for kids was a more likely scenario.

Her thoughts moved directly to Glen. He’d had such a different life, loving parents, stable home. Yet they were both just now entering a committed relationship for the first time.

Mary lifted Leo into his crib and watched him sleep.

It wasn’t until she saw lights from a car outside that she walked toward the window overlooking the street below.

A dark sedan slowed to nearly a stop in front of the house. Mary wondered if it was an unmarked police car, something Officer Taylor said to expect. It didn’t stick around long before it drove away.

Mary crept out of Leo’s room thinking of how lucky she was to have what she did.

Mary found her phone and sent a quick text to Dakota.
Leo is asleep and everything is fine. Enjoy your evening.

A smiley face was Dakota’s reply.

Glen talked to Mary every day, texted her constantly . . . and yet he still missed her.

Their winter trip to London hadn’t happened, so this one was longer than normal. Jason and Glen were due to fly back on Wednesday, and it was only Sunday.

Jet lag alone kept them a half a step behind for two days.

“Did Dakota survive a few hours away last night?” Glen called Mary as early as he could without waking her up. He’d just come off an afternoon lawn party that took place in tents because of the London rain. He had an hour to shower and change for the next round of shoulder rubbing on his Sunday.

“Two hours and twenty minutes . . . and yes. It was good for them. I saw it in their faces when they walked in the door.”

“I would imagine the first time is the hardest, and after that it gets easier.”

“I hope so, or she’ll be sitting on a therapy couch in ten years asking what happened to her own identity . . . how did she become just a mom.”

“What’s on your agenda today?” Glen liked the idea of picturing what Mary was doing. It made the distance more tolerable somehow.

“Furniture shopping. There are a few wholesale warehouses in the valley I’m going to check out.”

His mind flashed to the week of all the chaos. The first thing that needed to be replaced was her mattress. Glen didn’t consider himself a shopper, but hopping from one mattress to the other with Mary by his side changed his mind. “Make sure there’s a comfortable armrest on the couch,” he told her.

“Why?”

“For when we don’t make it to your bedroom.”

He felt her blushing through the phone.