Rock Chick Regret (Rock Chick #7)(24)

He didn’t speak again until he went back to the paperweight, picked it up and brought it to the counter.

“Can you gift wrap that for Daisy?” he requested.

“Certainly,” I replied and then busied myself with the invoice, his credit card and the gift wrap.

He was silent until I started to put the finishing touches on the bow. My gift wrap was a matte pistachio green, ultra-thick paper, the inside was a sumptuous, opalescent cream and the bow was powder blue organdie, it was Art’s signature wrap and I thought it was lush.

“You should know, I never told Daisy you came to see her or called her after Nanette’s party,” Marcus said.

My head came up and I almost (but still managed it) couldn’t hide my surprise.

His eyes locked with mine. “She knows now,” he went on.

“Is that so?” I asked with sham fascination but my heart was beating in my chest.

“She’s not happy I kept it from her,” Marcus explained.

I just stared at him.

“She had a tough time in that social circle. You were the only one she liked. When you were gone, she missed you.”

My stomach clutched. Painfully.

I didn’t let it show. Instead, I put his wrapped box in a powder blue bag with the word “Art” in fancy pistachio script on the side, the handles made of pistachio, satin ribbon and I handed it to him.

The door opened and Ralphie walked in. Marcus looked at Ralphie, nodded then took the bag.

His eyes came back to mine. “She still misses you,” he finished.

Then he was gone.

It wasn’t until a few days later I realized that even though I knew after watching hundreds of customers make hundreds of decisions about hundreds of purchases, Marcus had decided what he wanted the minute he picked up the paperweight but he still stayed until Ralphie returned.

Now, how bizarre was that?

* * * * *

“What are you doing?” Buddy asked Ralphie as I watched Veronica Mars mouth off to her father (but in a plucky, cute as a button kind of way).

I lifted my head again and looked at Ralphie who was still at the window.

“Nothing,” Ralphie replied.

I put my head back on Buddy’s thigh as Buddy muttered under his breath, “Jesus.”

My mind was occupied with Veronica’s episode-to-episode dilemma.

See, Veronica was torn between Duncan, the high school class president good boy and Logan, the high school ne’er-do-well bad boy. Personally, I was kind of rooting for the bad boy because he was great at delivering a one-liner. However the good boy was so sweet. The wildcard was Weevil, the leader of a high school, car-stealing, Hispanic, biker gang. I thought Veronica had good chemistry with Weevil and Weevil had great eyelashes and fantastic tattoos.

Therefore, my mind on Duncan, Logan and especially Weevil, I didn’t have time for Ralphie’s antics.

I heard, but didn’t pay much attention to, Ralphie leaving the room.

I heard, but didn’t pay much attention to, Ralphie opening the front door.

Lastly, I heard, but didn’t pay much attention to the murmur of male voices. Ralphie and Buddy had a big g*y posse and this g*y posse showed up loads, usually this degenerated into copious French martinis or lemon drops or cosmos and impromptu viewings of Auntie Mame (the Rosalind Russell version, not the Lucille Ball version) or Steel Magnolias.

Alternately, this could degenerate into a round of arm wrestling. It was anything goes at Ralphie and Buddy’s house.

“Look who finally came in from the cold,” Ralphie announced and my head came up when Buddy muttered, a lot louder this time, “Jesus.”

I stared, mouth open and everything, at Hector “Oh my God” Chavez standing in Buddy and Ralphie’s living room.

He was wearing jeans, black boots, a flannel shirt (untucked) and you could see his white t-shirt at the open collar. His thick, black hair needed cutting and he needed a shave.

He’d never looked better.

I kept staring as Buddy gently pulled me up to a seated position then stood up slowly and Ralphie started the introductions.

“I’m Ralphie and this is my lover Buddy and I think you know Sadie,” Ralphie said as I reluctantly got to my feet.

Hector had a small grin playing at his mouth. He shook a smiling Ralphie’s hand. Then he shook a frowning Buddy’s hand. Then his eyes cut to me.

I’d checked the Ice Princess at the door. She wasn’t allowed in, not to Buddy and Ralphie’s house.

What did I do now?

I didn’t have a chance to figure it out.

Hector moved, came right to me, right in my space, one of his arms slid around my waist, he pulled me to his warm body, gave me a gentle squeeze and he kissed my temple.

That’s right. He kissed my temple.

“Sadie,” he said against my temple.

I tilted my head back and stared at him.

I couldn’t speak. At least my mouth was no longer hanging open, for that, I could be grateful.

While Hector looked down at me and I stared up at him silent, Ralphie decided to speak.

“Sadie, what’s the matter with you? Hispanic Hottie has been out with his posse of cute boys, warning off the bad guys for weeks and now he’s in here and you have your chance to say thank you and you’re silent as a ghost,” Ralphie snapped.

“Ralphie –” Buddy said warningly.