after the shower.” She laughed and glanced briefly at her husband, who nodded and walked away. I assumed he went to call Jane. “I’m okay.”
Her eyes brightened with tears and I reached out and grabbed her hand. She sucked in a deep breath and blinked once or twice. “It scared the hell out of me. I can’t imagine how you felt.”
“Well, it wasn’t a good time,” I murmured. It was distressing to realize that my brush with violence had reminded her of her own past. “Thankfully, Shawn managed to hear me.”
“Yes, he seemed pretty protective.” She raised an eyebrow and I laughed out loud.
“He’s a nice man.” I pursed my lips. “I wonder how long that asshole was in my apartment.”
“He didn’t make any noise?” Connor asked from his place on a couch.
“No. I came home, put the food in the kitchen, and went into my bedroom. I changed clothes, and by that time Shawn was home.” I flushed when his gaze hardened, but continued. “We ate in the living room and he left after about an hour. I went down the hallway and realized that the back door was open.” I stopped then. I couldn’t repeat it. Not so soon.
I brought the wineglass to my mouth and finished it off in one uncouth swallow. “He must have sat in there and listened to us talk the whole time.”
“And your new neighbor didn’t realize you had another man in the apartment?”
I glared at Connor. “As you might remember, men don’t get invited into my bedroom.”
He flushed and stood. “I’ll go down to the gallery and brief the security staff. If you give me your keys, I’ll retrieve your car and bring it over here.”
“Thanks.” I picked my purse up off the floor and rummaged through it.
Mercy watched him retrieve the keys and leave before she turned to me. “I take it the two of you are pretty far from being friends.”
“He just didn’t like it when I cut off his supply of pussy.” I blushed when her husband Shamus busted out laughing. “Christ, I’m sorry. I forgot you were here.”
“No, it’s fine.” Shamus came to me and held out a hand for the empty glass. “Do you want some more?”
“No, thank you.”
I waited until he left the room. “I don’t have any underwear.”
“Oh.” She was silent for a moment and then turned slightly. “Honey! Would you go to the store for Casey?”
“Oh, my God!” I shook my head. “I can’t send your husband to the store to buy me panties.”
She frowned. “Don’t be silly. Honey!”
“What?”
“Will you go to the store and get Casey some underwear?”
“What?” He came out of the kitchen and raised an eyebrow.
“Well, she didn’t bring any of her things with her.” She pursed her lips. “And while you are there you could get me and the baby a candy bar.”
He snorted. “I see you operating.”
“Really, you don’t have to go to the store.” I’m not sure I could survive if he went and bought me underwear.
He frowned. “Well, she’s about your size, right?”
“Well, yeah, about seven months ago.” She glared at him as if at the reminder of her past waistline.
He nodded and then walked toward the stairs and went upstairs to their bedroom. Men are such odd creatures really; I can’t imagine what he was up to. When he reappeared with a gift box, I flushed.
Shamus cleared his throat. “Well, I bought these for you for your birthday but then I figured since you were having my kid you deserved diamonds.”
“You’re damn straight I did.” She grabbed the box, pulled off the lid, and sighed. “Great taste darling.”
She handed me the box. Dark blue panties and a bra were nestled in the tissue paper. I doubt I’d ever owned lingerie as pretty as what I was holding. “I can’t take these.”
“Please.” Mercy chuckled. “Maybe your new neighbor likes blue.”
“Oh Christ.” I grabbed the lid and closed the box. “Thank you. I’d like to reimburse you.” I looked toward Shamus.
He laughed. “No way. It’s not often that I get to buy that kind of thing for a beautiful woman who isn’t my wife.”
“Men,” Mercy muttered.
“So, how are you?”
I stared at the ceiling for a minute and turned my head to look at Jane, who was sprawled out beside me on the pull-out couch. It had been comforting when she’d insisted on staying with me, but I’d pretended to be exasperated.
“I’m mad.”
“Good.”
“I bet that asshole touched all of my clothes. Everything will have to be cleaned.”
“You can take the day off. I’ll just reschedule Kenneth Victor.”
“He’ll be a total jerk-ass about being put off.”
“I don’t care.” She snorted. “Mathias is running a check on your new neighbor. He’s got a friend who’s going to get us a copy of his employment file with the Boston PD.”
“Are you serious?”
She laughed. “Yeah. You’re my friend and I’m going to make sure that you are safe with that guy. Also, starting next week you are going to sign up for a self-defense class of some kind.”
“Sweating is overrated.”
“You need to be able to protect yourself.” She turned her head on the pillow to look at me. “How about a handgun?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Stun gun?”
“No.” I sighed.
“Mace?”
“I’d just end up blinding myself.”
“Large stick?”
I laughed out loud. “Shut up.”
“Well, let’s hope that the cops processing your bedroom don’t list your sex toys among the contents in the closet.”
That was discomfiting. “Fuck, I’ll have to buy new stuff.”
“Excellent. I love going to the sex toy store.”
