Page 37 of The Best Bad Decision

They were insane.

“Take them both out to eat tonight because Atlee has a late meeting. You can tell them I complained about it when you ran into me.” They might’ve had a point with fucking with everyone right about dinner time. “Shift errands to the middle of the week during lunch because we both work regular hours.”

They really hadn’t thought this through.

“You’re both retired.” Duh. “Stop trying to take your wives out on the weekends when there’s more to watch.”

Going still, they blinked and I could almost see light bulbs flashing bright over their heads. They really would make good anime or cartoon characters because they were both wonderfully stereotypical old men.

When they seemed to have gotten it, I glanced between them. “What else? We’re on a schedule here.”

They really needed to get to the point faster.

“Are you okay?” Gerald’s brain came back online faster. “Atlee is polite but he’s…not…he doesn’t…”

And his brain stopped again.

Paul’s had turned on, though. “He doesn’t have as much personality as you and he’s very serious. Are you happy? You don’t date someone just because they’re lonely and on the rebound. You can’t be that nice. You’re important too.”

Aww.

They were insane and cute.

“We started just slowly getting to know each other after his divorce. You’re right. He was lonely and too focused on just work. But he’s very sweet and it’s nice to have someone stable.” That was more important than I’d realized.

“I’m not sure why Valerie couldn’t appreciate that.” As they started to nod, I played my trump card. “He’s like you guys. A good partner. You’re helpful around the house. You look after your wives. Look at this conversation right now. You were upset you couldn’t take them out on dates. That’s sweet.”

Bingo.

They both stood straighter and nodded more decisively as Gerald cleared his throat. “Those things are very important in a relationship, so I’m glad he knows that.”

Frowning, Paul sighed. “Valerie just didn’t appreciate a real man. She likes drama and ridiculousness.”

And teenagers, evidently.

“We’re going to watch out for Atlee, though.” Just in a variety of different ways. “Valerie is still poking around and trying to drag out her chaos.”

And time to give them a little snippet of gossip.

“Did you know she’s convinced his mother they’re getting back together? She’s trying to plan a second wedding when he’s fighting to get the first over with.” Their eyes went wide but they’d officially run out of time because Gerald’s phone pinged.

It had to be warning him about his wife getting closer because they both sucked in a breath before turning around and scurrying back to their houses.

They were adorable and ridiculous, and faster than I’d expected, because we all made it inside before Betty pulled into the driveway.

I managed not to laugh until I was safely behind my front door, but it was a close call. They were all just so much fun, it was all I could do to keep a straight face somedays. “Okay, now I have to figure out how to run into the girls and see what happened over coffee.”

Those nosy men needed to learn how to budget their time better.

“And I have to figure out plans for the weekend so everyone knows when downtime is.” That clearly wasn’t as obvious as I thought it would be, so changes needed to be made. “I could complain more when Atlee has to work late but I don’t want people to think I resent his job.”

I’d have to think about that.

“Alright, shower…dinner…downtime and then I’ll stalk my cutie.” I’d gotten used to seeing him as much as I wanted, so needing to be patient was painful. “Oh.”

No, I had a better plan.

Shower…downtime…stalking and then pizza for my cutie.