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I laughed, wondering what on earth he'd gotten himself into. I recalled Cass saying he had a daughter. I wondered how old she was. I grabbed my trusty laptop and went on another Google expedition. Simon regularly took the high profile cases that came through the courts so I knew I could dredge up a lot of information on him.
He and his wife had separated twelve months ago. They shared custody of their four year old daughter, Madeline. I was a bit taken aback. I hadn't expected his marriage breakup to have been so recent, though to most people a year is a lot of time. And a four year old daughter? That's some baggage.
I giggled. Since when was I in the position to judge other people? If that was baggage, then I had a semi-trailer load full.
Picture after picture popped up as I scrolled my mouse down through the images supplied curiosity of Star News. I sighed. The man couldn't take a bad picture. He was seriously gorgeous. And his daughter was adorable with her dark curls and pretty smile. I tentatively clicked on an image of his ex-wife.
Wow.
Wow, was she hot. She looked perfect, with her long legs, wavy golden hair down to her bum.
I slammed my laptop shut, feeling dejected. As much as I knew I was being stupid, I couldn’t help myself. He could have anyone. I really needed to get a grip. One late night phone call does not mean the guy is into me. And let’s not forget the fact I am completely unstable when it comes to relationships. And the fact that he was closer in age to my parents than me! They would have a fit. There were so many reasons why this would never go anywhere.
The thing that surprised me most was how even after all the negative thoughts rushed through my head, I really didn’t care. It had been so long since I’d felt any sort of connection with anyone, letting go would be near impossible.
Somehow my phone found its way into my hands. Email was too slow, too easy to ignore. I needed answers now dammit! Thank god for SMS.
30 kids! Not all yours I hope.
There. Light enough to be friendly, but specific enough that he would hopefully tell me about his daughter. And his ex-wife.
No, only one is mine, thank god. I have Maddie for the week while her mom is on a business trip in Asia.
Well that didn't really tell me much. I needed answers now, and Google wasn’t telling me shit. I could feel unstable jealous Emma worming her way into my thoughts. I did my best to push her out, but she was a persistent little bitch. My god, I was crazy. The reality of my behaviour was starting to set in. I needed to settle before I lost the plot completely.
As quickly as that reality hit, it disappeared completely. What went wrong with his wife? She was beyond hot. Awesome ass, long legs. Whatever it was, surely he could do better than me. I sighed at the realisation that unstable Emma was planning on sticking around for a while.
I needed to distract myself, I decided. I started pulling things out of the cupboards. Some might suggest that I am a clean freak when stressed, and there may be some truth to that theory. I grabbed the rags from the laundry, turned on some music and began cleaning. I was bouncing away to the music, so absorbed in my cleaning mission I didn't even notice Tom stumble into the room. The music disappeared. I spun around.
“Hey!” I cried out in protest. “I was listening to that.”
“Yeah and I was sleeping.” He grumbled, putting on a pot of coffee. “Can’t you wait for a normal hour before you go all domestic on me?” He complained. He yawned, stretching his arms behind his head. His scruffy blonde hair looked just as it did every day, which made me wonder if he ever bothered to brush it.
“Two things asshat.” He ducked as the rag I threw at him hurtled past his head. “One this is my house, and two its fricking 2pm-” My phone started ringing. Tom scooped it up with interest.
“Give it to me!” I screeched, running at him. Tom, amused by my reaction held the phone just above my reach. My knee hit his groin. As he lost balance temporarily, I took my chance and lunged for the phone. Too slow.
“Hey, that was low, even for you.” Tom shook his head in mock disgust. “Is this the crush? Oh, I so have to say hello.”
I watched in horror as Tom answered the call. I threw my face in my hands and collapsed down onto the bench. This was bad. I tried to block out his voice. I didn't need to hear what he was saying to know I needed to be very embarrassed.
“Asshole.” I muttered.
“Hello?” Tom didn't even bother to hide his amusement. “Emma? Yes she's here. And who may I say is calling? Simon. Right, finally. I've heard so much about you. Em doesn't shut up about you.”
I groaned, stumbling to the couch. I was so embarrassed. This was really bad. I threw myself onto the couch and buried my head in the arm
“Uh-huh. Right. Yes I understand that.” Tom nodded, his face serious, as if he was deep in the middle of an important meeting. “I do need to know what your intentions are toward my Emma. Are you planning on becoming intimate?”
“Fuck you Tom!” I screamed loudly. My face flamed. I wanted the couch to swallow me. I was going to kill Tom. It may take a while, years even, but he was going to pay for this.
“Right. Just be safe. And remember, if it's not on, it's not on.” He wandered out onto the balcony, knowing I wasn't likely to follow him out there.
Could this get any worse? I wondered how hard it would be for Tom to 'accidentally' fall over the balcony of my level 10 apartment with me still standing within confines of the apartment.
“Sure, I will put her on.” I felt the phone hit me on my back. I reached behind to grab it. I contemplated hanging up. This was beyond embarrassing.
No. That would only make things more awkward. I would have to speak to him eventually.
