“It was your idea to go into catering.”
“You own the building. You know what? We’re getting sidetracked.”
“Yeah. We are. And the pizza is getting cold.”
“I’m not sure I want it anymore. What if it has that guy’s bad juju all over it?” she asked, even as she looked forlornly at the pizza box.
“It’s impossible for cheese to hold any bad juju,” I said.
“Thank God.” She ripped open the box. The pie inside was still steaming. “What were we talking about? Oh yeah, if you were going to tell Slash about all this.”
“No. I’m not telling him anything. There’s nothing to tell. The guy is being weird, but he hasn’t done anything outright to me. Besides, I’m no longer going to be living here in a few days, so I doubt I’ll have any more problems.”
“I still think you should tell Slash.”
“Look, the man bought me a car and asked me to move in with him and I’d really like not to give him a reason to go into full-on overprotective mode. It’s a little much as it is. I’ll tell him—if there’s anything to tell—when we find out who this Kurt guy is.”
“Hmm. Fine. Your circus, your monkeys.”
I grabbed a slice of pizza and bit into it. I chewed and swallowed before saying, “I don’t want to be foolish about this. I don’t want to bring this to Slash and have it grossly blown out of proportion.”
She took a paper napkin and wiped her greasy fingers. Then she pulled out her cell phone. “How do you spell Creeper’s name?”
I spelled it for her.
“Mkay, let’s see what we have here.” Her thumb scrolled down the page, and she shook her head. “Nothing.”
“What do you mean nothing? In this day of social media, you’re telling me you can’t find this guy online?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“I don’t believe you.”
She handed me her phone. “Okay, I believe you,” I said after a moment or two of scrolling. “Now my red flags are like, flying in the wind.”
“I can have Brielle do some digging, if you want?”
“Brielle? As in your best friend from high school who can Irish step dance? That Brielle?”
“She’s got a knack for ferreting out information. Horace’s garage is well known, as is her brothers’ tattoo parlor. She meets a lot of people just because of her family. She needs a good project. She’s kind of bored.”
“She can have at the mystery man, then.” I finished off my slice, feeling satisfied. “Let’s get to work making this cake topper. I’ve got a hot date furniture shopping in a few hours.”
“And you say you’re not committed. That’s like uber-committed,” she said, reaching for another slice.
“The baby growing in my uterus? That doesn’t scream uber-committed?”
“Not nearly as much as a new chenille couch. Now that shit is expensive.”
* * *
I shut the door of my new car and hit the clicker. A huge grin split my face when I heard the beeps of the alarm alerting me that the doors were locked.
“That sound is never going to get old,” I said to Slash, who was parked next to me and leaning against his motorcycle.
“You’re stunning when you smile.”
A shiver of want raced down my spine and settled low in my belly. I marched up to him and placed my hands on his chest. “Hey.”