Was he unable to shield his it anymore? “Why would something be up with me?”
“You’re in bed this early,” Roz said as she walked further into their room, closing the double doors behind her. “I can’t recall the last time you were in bed this early.” She began removing her clothes so she could take a shower. “When did you get back in town?”
“Around five.”
And he didn’t bother to call and let her know. But that was typical Mick. “Another long day?”
He looked back at his phone. “Every day. You?”
“Every day.”
After kicking off her shoes and removing her blouse and her pants, she tossed her phone on the nightstand and sat on the bed beside him in her bra and panties. “I had dinner with Nikki. I would have come home to have dinner with you if I knew you was going to be back in town early.”
He said nothing, so she went for it. “We decided to take a girls’ trip.”
Mick didn’t look away from his phone. “Who’s we?”
“Nikki and me. I just told you I had dinner with her. We’re going on a girls’ trip.”
Mick glanced at her as if it was presumptuous of her to assume he’d let her go on some trip, and then he looked back at his phone. “Where to?”
“The Essence Festival in New Orleans.”
Roz knew Mick didn’t view it as a big deal because she’d gone to the festival a few times in the past. But on his terms. Which meant flying there, on his plane, with heavy security. Driving there with Nikki alone would never be on his terms. Which was why Roz was hesitant to tell him that part. But she knew she had to.
“We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon.” No response from Mick. “That’s why I need to let her know tonight that I’m going.”
Still no response.
“We’re driving,” Roz finally said.
And that was when Mick looked at her. “What do you mean you’re driving?”
“We decided it would be neat to drive to the festival this year rather than fly. I just wanted to let you know.” She was about to stand up and go to the bathroom, but Mick pulled her back down. And continued staring at her. “What?” she asked him.
“You must be out of yourgotdamn mind if you think I’m going to let you drive twenty hours anywhere.”
“It’s not twenty hours and it’s not just me driving. It’ll be me and Nikki driving.”
“No.”
“It’ll be fun, Mick.”
“Didn’t I say no?”
Now Roz was getting hot. “Why the hell not, Mick? I’m a grown-ass woman. I can go anywhere I wanna go.”
“Not if I say your grown-ass isn’t going,” Mick fired back. But then his tone softened the way it only did for Roz. “Unless you have a driver and a full detail with you,” he added, “you aren’t going.”
Roz frowned. “But we don’t want any of your goons following us everywhere we go. No way, Mick. You know how I hate that shit. I’d rather not go at all than to have somebody following me like I’m some prisoner.”
“Then you aren’t going.”
“I won’t be by myself, Mick, goodness! Nikki will be with me. You trust her enough to be second-in-command of the entire Sinatra Crime Family, but you don’t trust her enough to protect me? Although I can take care of myself and don’t need anybody’s protection.”
But Mick was back to scrolling through his text messages and didn’t respond. As if that conversation was already over as far as he was concerned.
But it wasn’t over for Roz. She felt as if he was being unreasonable. “Nikki will be with me, Mick,” she said again. She knew she was losing the fight when he went hardline on her. “It’s something I want to do for myself. It’s something I’m going to do for myself.”
