What Lovers Do(42)

Millie slides her sunglasses onto her head, craning her neck past Shep to me.

“Shit,” I whisper, turning my back to them and calmly walking toward the pond.

“Hi. I’m Millie.”

“Double shit.” I cringe, slowly turning around and pinning a fake smile to my face. “Hi. Sophie.”

She makes quick, confident strides toward me with Shep right behind her, a huge frown on his face. “Fun glasses.”

I smile, stiff and awkward. “Thanks.”

“How do you know Shep?” She slants her head to the side.

She saw me in his arms.

Shep sighs. “Sophie shops at Wash Your Tail. Her dog, Cersei, likes to run around with Julia and George.”

Millie nods slowly. “So you’re … friends?”

“Yes,” Shep and I say at the exact same time. It’s too timed. Too obvious.

Friends who hold long embraces in the park.

Another slow nod from Millie. “Oh!” Her eyebrows jump up her forehead. “Are you the one?” She shifts her gaze to Shep. “Caroline said you were dating someone you met at the shop. You told Howie.”

“We’re not dating.” I feel the urgent need to make that clear. “Just friends.”

Shep eyes me while smirking. It’s the I’ve-seen-you-naked smirk.

I return the you’re-not-real-in-my-world scowl.

“Well…” Millie shrugs “…that’s probably for the best. Shep’s … a lot.”

“I’m a lot?” Shep scratches his chin, jaw clenched.

Millie crinkles her nose into something akin to a half apology, more like a “sorry to be so brutally honest” smile.

“I’ll drop them off at your place next Monday morning.” Shep does a great job of dismissing her.

Millie lowers her sunglasses to her nose again. “It was nice meeting you, Sophie. Say …” She digs into her purse and pulls out a business card, handing it to me.

“Jesus Christ …” Shep mumbles.

She ignores him. “You have beautiful skin. I think you could keep it looking that way for many years. If you’re interested in some skincare designed by some of the world’s leading scientists, I’d love to give you some samples to try. I can also let you try some amazing products that are incredibly nutritious and so good for your body. I can speak from experience, they are life changing.”

I stare at her card in my hand because I can’t look at Shep. If I do, I won’t be able to stop myself from giggling. He’s fuming and it’s hilarious.

“How generous of you. If I’m interested, I’ll definitely contact you.”

“Do. Really. I’d love for you to see what I’ve seen. I can be reached anytime. Have a great rest of your week, Sophie.”

“You’re incorrigible,” Shep mutters as she breezes past him to her car.

There’s no way she doesn’t hear him; he’s not that discreet. Yet, she’s clearly mastered the art of ignoring him.

After she gets into her car, I shift my gaze to him. I’m not sure why he looks embarrassed, but he does. Embarrassed and livid.

“It’s funny, there have been several times that I’ve wanted to ask about Millie’s profession, but I didn’t because it didn’t matter for our friendship.” I hold up her business card. “Multi-level marketing. Interesting.”

He shakes his head. “You have no fucking idea. Millie single-handedly ruined countless relationships with friends of ours and alienated so many family members because she is a walking sales machine.”

“Some people do quite well. She’s a natural.”

“She’s a disaster. And stupid. God, so incredibly stupid. She had a car, a perfectly good car, a nice car, an expensive car that was paid off. But her big corporate employer convinced her to take a new car. A bonus with all the strings attached. As long as she met her sales quota each month, she didn’t have to pay anything for the car. But … the months she didn’t meet it, she had to pay over eight hundred dollars for that month’s car payment. Which … fine. I get it. For someone who doesn’t have a car and who’s really good at their job, then it appears to be a good deal. Sadly, Millie is awesome at her job, except when she’s not. And believe me, there’s nothing worse than someone trying to meet a quota with only a few days left to do it. She became rabid. Relentless. No one was safe from her high-pressure sales, not even the person at the grocery store bagging our groceries. You know those ‘no soliciting’ signs? She thinks they don’t apply to her.”

Wow. Shep’s had a lot on his chest. He’s taking a hatchet to the barrier of Shep World, and I don’t know how I feel about that. There are a million ways I could respond. I could play devil’s advocate. I could pile on and wholeheartedly agree that Millie is, in fact, incorrigible. But I’d rather not talk about Millie. I like the version of Shep that doesn’t involve him thinking about Millie because smoke shoots out of his nostrils, and it’s not a pretty sight.

I’m stuck. Do I respond? Does he want me to respond? Do I change the subject? Then, will he think I’m being insensitive to his feelings?

“My new best friend sent me flowers today.” Positive. I stick to the positive stuff.