Arrogant Devil(80)

“How are you guys?” Tucker asks, looking at no one but me.

“We’re fine. Jack is treating us to a dinner date,” Edith answers.

She enunciates the final word extra hard.

Tucker notices Jack’s arm around my shoulder and frowns. “Meredith, I tried calling you the other day, but you know how fickle that Blue Stone phone can be.”

I glance at Jack, and he doesn’t even bother feigning remorse. In fact, his face is a mask of indifference. It’s like he doesn’t even know Tucker is standing there. I want to poke him in the ribs and tell him to play nice.

“Oh, um, yeah.” I glance back up at Tucker. “Sorry about that. What’d you need to tell me?”

He glances away from the table. “Well, we should probably talk about it in private. It’s about your divorce.”

He says the word divorce like it’s nasty and pus-filled.

I frown. “What about it?”

He rocks back on his heels, understanding that anything he needs to say, he’ll have to say in front of Edith and Jack. “I was just going to offer you my legal advice pro bono, if you need it.”

“Not necessary,” Jack cuts in. “We’ve already got it covered.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize.” His gaze cuts to me. “Well, regardless, if you need any help, Meredith, you know where to find me.”

When he walks away, the three of us sit in awkward silence. My roll is still buttered and untouched. It feels weird to stuff my face at a moment like this, though just to be clear, I could still easily put away four to five buttered rolls at this very second.

“Since when do I have my divorce covered?” I ask my roll.

Jack sighs and moves his arm from around my shoulders. “I called my lawyer the other day and asked him about our options.”

“‘Our’ options?”

He clears his throat. “Your options.”

Edith excuses herself to use the bathroom then I look up and see her take a seat at the bar. Let it be known, I’ve never met a person smarter than Edith.

“It’s not that I’m not grateful, I am, I just…” I sigh and drop the roll. No one is sadder about that than me. “It feels wrong to have you help me with this, like I’m just running from one guy to another, looking to you to solve my problems.”

His dark brows crease. “Do you really think that or do you feel like you should think that?”

Oh.

Well…good question.

“I don’t know.”

A not insignificant part of me is worried what other people will think.

“We aren’t talking about a rebound here,” Jack continues. “I’m talking about your future, about you rebuilding your life and accepting help freely given.”

The edge of my mouth curls up. “Is it freely given though?”

He rears back, almost offended by the question. Still, it bears asking. “Of course it’s freely given. When I asked you the other night if you wanted me and Edith to be your people, this was part of the deal. You can walk out of my life tomorrow. Quit working for me. Date Tucker. Go back to your husband, and I’ll still be your person if you need me. That’s how it works.”

Well damn.

I’m tearing up inside a steakhouse while an overwrought country song plays overhead. How cliché.

“I appreciate what you’re saying, I really do, but think about it from my perspective. You’re holding all the cards. You’ve given me a place to live and a place to work”—I drop my voice in case the people in the booth behind us are listening—“not to mention what happened last night. That introduces a whole other slew of complications.”

“So let’s uncomplicate it.”

Oh shit.

“Do you not want to repeat what we did last night?” I ask quietly.

If so, what was all that making out we did this afternoon for?

“I do.”

“Are you firing me?”

“No.”

“Are you kicking me out of the shack? Because now that it’s adorable and trendy, I really like living in it.”

He finds that amusing. “No, you can live in the chic shack as long as you want.”

“Well then how are we uncomplicating things?”

“I think I’m going to hire another housekeeper, maybe one with housekeeping experience.”

“Don’t you like the way I fold your underwear?”

He cracks up at that.

“I’m doing it because it’s a lot of work, and I think if you had some help, you’d have more time to focus on what your next step should be.”

“Next step.”

“Yes, like what Edith was saying about charging people for the yoga class. That’s a good idea.”

Interesting…

“Well if you’re going to phase me out, I’ll need severance, and if we’re going to keep doing that other thing, I’ll need hazard pay.”

He moves his arm back around my shoulder. “I’ll consider it.”

“Also, the new housekeeper can give Alfred his baths. I’m never doing that again.”

He’s wearing a panty-dropping smile as he says, “He likes you.”

“He likes everyone.”