“I had to move everyone’s appointments out a month, and Trixy is dealing with the water damage upstairs in the apartment, but she’s been very understanding. Obviously, I won’t charge her rent until it’s fixed.”
“I just don’t get why Bud would do something like that?” Zoe shook her head as she popped an olive into her mouth, looking off pensively. “He’s already suing you for more alimony because of your grandmother’s inheritance. What’s the purpose of trying to burn your place of business down?”
“To get back at her for having such kick-ass lawyers.” Harm chugged her second beer straight from the bottle then set it on the table, making a loud clunk.
“Or to collect on the insurance money.” Morti eyed Harm with brows drawn together in disapproval, then slid a coaster in her direction.
“Or just to be an ass,” I admitted. “The man is not happy unless he wins, and he hasn’t won yet. His ego can’t handle being a constant loser. Ladies, Bud has succeeded in getting on the one nerve I have left. I need to find a way to prove he’s been faking everything for years. He’s taking things too far, and someone could have gotten seriously hurt.”
“You got seriously hurt,” Zoe pointed out. “Not to mention, now he’s hurting you financially.”
“How’s Matt taking it all?” Harm tilted her head and studied me.
“Not well.” I shook my head slowly, looking around the table until I met each of their eyes. “I’m afraid he’s going to do something he might regret.”
“Like what?” Morti wrinkled her brow.
“I honestly don’t know.” Memories of the look he had given when he found out Bud was behind the fire flooded my mind. “You should have seen his face. It was downright scary.” I rubbed my arms. “We live together, but I’ve barely seen him. He hasn’t been around much in the past two weeks.”
“What do you think he’s been doing?” Zoe grabbed a throw from the couch and draped it around my shoulders.
“Thanks.” I smiled at her, but then my smile slipped as I thought about her question. “All I know is Matt said he was going to make Bud stop harassing me, once and for all. What if he gets arrested? I admit I’ve dated bad boys before, but I’ve never had children with them. I can’t have my baby daddy behind bars.”
“Matt’s a smart guy.” Harm lifted one shoulder. “Family means too much to him. Not just his sons, but his uncle and the family who work for him. He’s not going to let them down by getting arrested.”
“I sure hope not.” I thought about her words. “Speaking of sons, I still can’t believe I’m having two boys. Do you know what that means?”
“That you’re worried they’ll be huge like their daddy?” Morticia asked.
“Yes, there is that, but that’s not my biggest worry.”
“If you’re worried they’ll be wild and crazy, the answer is they will. I have two,” Zoe said, adding, “but with girls come tears and drama. It all evens out in the end. You’ll be fine. In fact, I think you’ll surprise yourself and be a wonderful mother.”
“Thank you for that, but that’s not it, either.”
Harmony’s eyes twinkled. “You’re worried they’ll be recruited as Children of the Clover.”
“Exactly!” I said. “I have to up my game if I’m ever going to rest easy. I need to know once and for all if the legend is true. Did Matt tattoo his penis with a four-leaf clover because of a stupid cult, and will he try to make his boys follow in his footsteps?”
“I really do think you’re being paranoid and overreacting because of some silly book,” Zoe said.
“Silly or not,” I said with determination, “no one is laying a finger on any part of my babies if I have anything to say about it.”
Late that evening, I heard Matt come home.
It was becoming less and less strange to consider the ranch that Matt and I shared as home. We’d been living together for six weeks now. It felt like a lot longer than that, especially when he had been glued to my side right up until the past two weeks. Of course, he still made sure I was eating right and taking my vitamins. He either cooked or brought food home before I even had a chance to try making another meal.
But I still hadn’t given up on my lessons from Zoe.
I rolled out of bed…yes rolled, because it was getting more and more difficult to use my core. I had to pee constantly during the middle of the night. I used the master bathroom which was attached to my bedroom in my hallway of the house. One other bedroom was in this hallway. Then Matt’s hallway had two bedrooms and a full bath.
After I was finished, I didn’t go back to bed. I crept down the hall until I reached the living room. Matt had gone down his hallway. I could hear the shower come on in his bathroom and folk music come on. Inspiration struck. Grabbing cleaning supplies from the walk-in pantry, I made my way down his hallway and prayed he hadn’t locked the door.
He hadn’t.
It was my lucky day, and I was hoping I was lucky enough to see that damned fourth leaf. I quietly opened the door, but the room was filled with steam. Who knew Matthew McGinnis liked a long, hot shower? I would have to tell him that hot water wasn’t good for his skin. I shook my head to focus.
Holding my cleaning spray in one hand, I squirted the glass shower door and began to wipe, straining to see anything. Darnit! The steam was on the inside of the glass door. His hip suddenly brushed the glass, wiping a section clear. A flesh-colored image began to emerge, and I held my breath, squinting, then blew out a big puff of air almost immediately.
Another side-effect of turning forty…
I suddenly needed glasses.
Double Darnit!
I started rubbing harder, when the shower door flew open, blasting me in the face with steam and water. I shrieked and fell forward, grabbing onto him around the waist.
“Tiffany?” he sputtered.
“In the flesh,” I said, then corrected, “er, at least you are, I mean.” Even if I pulled away, I wouldn’t be able to see the fourth leaf unless he grew hard.
Wonder of wonders, I felt a stirring against my chest.
I bit my bottom lip and started to lean back, but in the time it took me to blink the water from my eyes, Matt had whisked me into his arms and marched me out of the bathroom. Buck naked and dripping wet, he barreled down the hall, through the living room, down my hall, and into my bedroom.
Good thing it was the middle of the night, or he might have scared the neighbors through our curtainless living room windows. He could have given poor Mrs. Cartright a heart attack…or palpitations of another kind. Speaking of palpitations, of course, the lights were out in my room.
