The Science of Loving (35 page)

“I’ll be here.” Well at least he wasn’t flying off the handle, but he wasn’t going to be happy when he found out how poorly I handled this shit.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers, Absolutely Nothing

I’d been in my room staring at the ceiling since Daddy and I came home. And if Daddy was surprised by Mat’s absence, I was relieved he kept it to himself because I wasn't ready to talk yet, not about him. I was too raw. God, if it hurt this much after just two weeks, I should be glad I walked away before I grew any more attached—w
hy should he settle for a mouse—
I’m the one that had better settle for mice, or I’d get chewed up like Ashley
—so the sex wouldn’t great, there’s more to a relationship than sex—
I could hear my inner skank snort as she gave me her back—it was going to be hard getting that genie back in the bottle.

“Baby girl, I made dinner.”

“Thanks Daddy, but I’m not really hungry.”

“Come keep your old man company.”

“Okay, I’ll be out in a minute.” Thank God all his tests were negative. His getting hurt was a wakeup call; I wouldn't take him for granted. Letting go of Mat was difficult, but losing Daddy? I’d never survive that. So, I left my pool of apathy, and dragged myself to the bathroom, flipping on the lights.

“—
you’d best take a good look in the mirror—”
I looked like crap. A few splashes of water weren’t going to fix this mess. “—
why would someone so obviously out of your league, bother with someone like you—”
Giving up, I trudged out to the living room to curl up on the end of the sofa.

Daddy set a glass of milk next to a steaming bowl of tomato soup, surrounded by a grilled cheese sandwich cut into triangles—comfort food. This was Daddy’s standard prescription for a broken heart.

I sighed, dunking a triangle corner into the soup as “Oh Yeah” by Yello moaned sexily through the room, Les's ringtone for Mat. My phone had been moaning and pinging all afternoon. I’d stopped reading the texts when my despair grew so deep, I feared I might never climb out. I hit ignore then turned it off. Daddy’s raised eyebrows were his only comment as he sat down with his own sandwich; obviously, he’d figured it out.

Grabbing the remote, he browsed the cable guide before settling on the science channel. My soup and sandwich miraculously disappeared while we learned all about wind turbines. And when the closing credits rolled I was tucked into his side. After giving me a squeeze, he carried the plates to the kitchen. “I need to go out for a bit. Can I leave these for you?”

“Sure Daddy, thanks for dinner. Hey, watch out for those mad bikers.” Daddy smiled bending over the back of the sofa to give me a peck goodbye before leaving me in my lonely apartment, with even lonelier thoughts.

I puttered to the kitchen and stood at the sink, letting the dishwater warm my stiff fingers. “
—he’s not going to stay, you know… Eventually he’ll want to trade up. Men like him don’t settle for timid wallflowers. Just recognize this for what it is, you’re nothing more than a rich pity fuck—”
Mat really had swept me off my feet.

“—
you think he isn’t tapping all Danny’s friends…You’ll end up just like the rest—”
I was really going to miss Danny, but I didn't want to be around when he moved on to the next friend—
I wasn’t going to be another Ashley, dammit
—and it would’ve been nice getting to know Carmen and Stewart better.

I wiped fresh tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. Shit, going back to my old life would be intolerable now that I’d been ‘properly fucked.’ I envisioned my future: Mom standing at the head of an endless line of Averys with a clipboard—
no wait, that’s too bourgeois
—tapping a perfectly manicured nail on an IPad, saying over and over,
“You could do worse, his connections are impeccable.”

Maybe I should just find out where Les bought her purple-p and swear off men altogether.

Now that I knew Angie was being cared for, I dug into my wings with gusto. I was on my third beer and second basket of fries when Jack came in. Wiping my greasy fingers on a napkin, I prepared to stand, but he waved me down, climbed on the stool next to me and ordered a Guinness.

“How is she?”

“Grieving. What the hell happened?”

“That’s just it… I don’t know. We made plans to spend the morning together and pick you up this afternoon. Then Stephanie called and said she had to talk to her. Figuring she wouldn’t want me around, I convinced Angie to meet with her at my friend’s espresso bar where I could have someone looking out for her. Next thing I know, Reggie’s on the phone telling me an ex-employee of mine is with Stephanie, and they’d stopped Angie when she tried to leave. By the time I came through the door, Angie was barely hanging on to her composure.”

“I should’ve left her mother a long time ago, but I was afraid to while Angie was a minor. Could you imagine what would have happened if she’d gotten custody?”

“Jesus.”

“So this ex-employee?”

“Yeah, that’s a whole different level of messed up. I didn’t do myself any favors by coming unglued when Angie told me my ex-partner might have screwed with our books; I pretty much lost it. I took off for a while to regain my cool, and when I got back, she was gone. I think I scared her then I abandoned her without finding out why she was so upset. Shit.” I dropped my face to my arms resting on the bar.

“Yep, you’re going to have to work on that son.” I nodded, recognizing an order when I heard one. “I take it, this employee didn’t leave by choice.”

“No. Recently, one of my partners began acting out of character. He started doing things behind our backs, like hiring Avery and pushing to change our business model. When we confronted him, we discovered things were even worse than we’d imagined. I still don’t understand why he let things get so out of hand. It just doesn’t make sense. In the end he left us no choice but to dissolve our partnership.”

“So, this might all be a case of sour grapes.”

“Hopefully. All I know for sure is Angie wasn’t herself after their talk.”

“Well, I can make some educated guesses about that. Even if you hadn’t made Stephanie your enemy right from the start, once I filed for divorce, it was unavoidable. Since she can’t control you, she’ll want to get rid of you so she can have unhindered access to Angie, and her trust fund.”

“Would it be out of line to ask how all that works?”

“No, if you’re serious about pursuing my daughter.” And the look he gave me said I’d better be. “You need to know. The terms of the trust are explicit. If the beneficiary marries without a prenuptial agreement, they forfeit the right to act as Trustee, and an independent Trustee takes charge, overseen by a Trust Protector.”

“But while you’re the current Trustee, Angie can’t touch it, right?”

“Yeah, but if anything happens to me, she becomes trustee.”

“Shit… What are we talking about here, comfortably rich, obscenely wealthy or profane enough to shove a man into traffic?”

“Profane enough to make sure her daughter remains a spinster. Hell, if Angie got a cat, Stephanie would probably have it drowned.”

“Fuck… Sorry.”

“No need to apologize, ‘fuck’ covers it nicely.”

“Well, I plan on sticking around, but money’s got nothing to do with it. My family is coveting her mechanical skills, and if I don’t fix this, I’m going to have to go into witness protection.”

“I was hoping you’d say that. Angie needs someone like you. This accident reminded me I won’t always be around; I need to know if something happens to me, she has people looking out for her.”

“Speaking of family, I called my mom; she and Danny are kidnapping Angie for coffee tomorrow. They’ll find out what happened.”

“She may not be ready to talk.”

“Don’t let Mom’s hippie, earth-mother act fool you, there isn’t a nut she can’t crack. The KGB is no match for a James’ woman on a mission. She also said I needed to make a grand gesture—well, after calling me a knucklehead and a few other choice things—and I have an idea, but I need your help…”

There was a ruckus at my bedroom door the likes of which only one person I knew could make, and Daddy was talking to someone in the living room. I think he liked Mat too. Not to mention, now thanks to me, Mat had all the contents of his man-cave… Shit…

I buried my head under my pillow—
God, what was Danny doing here
—I was exhausted. I cried most of the night before falling into a fitful sleep shortly before dawn. “Go away Danny.”

“No way, José.” My bedroom door burst open. “Why’re you still in bed? Up…up…up!”

“Why are you here?”

“It’s Sunday morning… Duh.” She started jumping on my bed, singing her own version of “Reveille.” Badly.

“
Get your ass up

Get your ass up

Get your ass up, it’s the morning

Get your ass up

Get your ass up

Get your ass up, it’s day

The coffee shop is calling

Our inner goddess bawling

If you want to stop my mauling

You’ll get your ass in gear

Get your ass up

Get your ass up

Get your ass up it’s the morning…”

“Okay, okay… I’m up. Just stop the cacophony and get out.” I hated morning people. I was going to miss our Sunday caffeinatings, although napkins everywhere were probably rejoicing.

“Uh huh, I’m not falling for that one, again. Un-ass the mattress mighty mite or I’ll call
Mami
from the living room.”

Shit, Carmen was here? “Your mom’s here?”

“You know it… and Les is waiting at the coffee shop, so chop-chop… You got five minutes.”

Danny bounded out of my room, Tigger like. “Four minutes…”

Shit, I tripped out of bed, racing to get dressed before she sicced Carmen on me, and she would. Facing the mother of the man I was dumping, wasn’t the best way to start the day, and the last thing I wanted, was to do it in my underwear. Danny officially sucked. Besides, I should be pissed at her for not warning me that Mat hit on all her friends.

Carmen and Daddy were sitting on the sofa laughing when I entered the living room, and Danny was at my desk leafing through the latest edition of
Nature Reviews
.

“Good morning,
mija.
” I stood stiffly, enduring Carmen’s hug before finally surrendering and hugged her back. I’d really wanted to be a part of this family. “Let’s not keep your friend waiting. It was nice seeing you again Jack. I’ll call later in the week to let you know what’s going on.” What?

I slid into the booth where Les was already waiting as Carmen and Danny sat across from us. After we gave the waitress—appropriately zipped up this time—our orders, Carmen asked, “So what stupidity did my son do to upset you?”