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“Okay, I have a theory. What I want you to do is say, ‘Tucker is sexy’ when I hit the nail on the head.”
“Tuuckeer,” she grumbles with amusement. “I am not going to answer any of your theories because you are playing with me, and you know I dislike that as much as you dislike me rolling my eyes at you.”
“Touché.”
Slade ignores our behavior carrying on with what he’s doing on his phone, but my ears prick up when I hear Ophelia’s name. Yes, I am multitasking by doing a little eavesdropping.
That name isn’t one you hear often.
Color me intrigued. Is the big guy talking about my Hamlet-Shagspear-Shakespeare-Spitfire?
“Sweetness, who is thisOpheliathat Slade is talking about on the phone? Not that I am eavesdropping.” I need more information to clarify she ismyOphelia even though she will be because Ophelia already told me she knows Phoenix. I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag just yet. I mean, where is the fun in that?
“We’ve just had this conversation before you walked through the door with lunch.” Her eyes spark in anger, and she’s fuming mad. I think I see smoke, like a fine mist rising out of her dreads.
“He isn’t what? Dating another chick?” I need her distracted enough to spill the beans. She will want to set me straight if she thinks she has one on me. I mean, how many Ophelia’s can she know? I’ve already established from my woman that Sweetness tattled on me, bragging about besting me in the Green Room at Coyote Cooter’s.
“Noooo, she’s my friend from Australia, and Mack and I gave her a job for a couple of months at Mack & Cooper Investigations, but now she’s opened an Airbnb in Temecula. I caught Slade texting Mack earlier, and there was an all-out war of the worlds going on as I tried to downplay what Slade was conveying as fast as my fingers could type even though he promised me he wouldn’t let on that I had gotten shot, but he did it to punish me. Mack, my business partner, and Ophelia got upset when they found out earlier, and I had to send proof of life that I was doing okay.”
I take a stab in the dark. “Is she currently working as your replacement with your business partner?”
“She’s been helping Mack…”
I zone out because you have no idea how hard it is for me not to show interest in what she reveals. My heart palpitates at the knowledge my woman is closer than I thought. I have got to see her, but I must tread carefully so as not to tip off Sweetness.
“… it’s a delicate job. Mack is her partner, and they should be wrapping it up today after five days of surveillance and intel gathering.”
What Sweetness doesn’t know is I’ve already met Jordan Mack and Trinny at Mack & Cooper. I was able to find out where Phoenix worked from the ladies she was out with when we were in the Green Room. At the time, I thought she was single, but clearly, these two are not dating anyone else as they wait it out for each other.
Yeah, I admit I had a fascination for Phoenix for all of five minutes, but then I met Ophelia.
And the planets aligned.
I’d bought two extra tickets to Hudson’s charity dinner event to coerce Phoenix along. Still, after working my way into a sit-down conversation with Jordan after telling him of my meet-cute with Phoenix, which had him barking out a loud laugh, we hit it off, and no doubt he did a background check on me to make sure my story matched.
I may have brought a tear to Mack’s eye when I told him how I allowed Phoenix to throw me to the ground. I even showed him a picture on my phone that Shamus (my fellow sometimes-band-member for Hudson Raine when called upon) took in good humor as proof. I ended up handing the tickets over for him and Trinny to use, and I even wangled the third ticket so Trinny’s husband could attend.
You’re welcome.
Granted, Slade would not want to know I was intrigued enough at the time by the feisty, leggy, dreadlocked vixen I had met at Coyote Cooter’s that I decided to swing by Mack & Cooper the Friday I met Ophelia. It was where I had just come from when Shamus and I decided to stop for a coffee-to-go at Peace Café.
I didn’t know Phoenix was out on a long-term job and that there was a man-mountain waiting in the wings for when Sweetness decided to climb that mountain. I certainly couldn’t predict I would be joining her on that long-term job.
The universe works in mysterious ways.
I asked that Mack keep my visit confidential, and I’ve had no reason to tell Sweetness—or Slade for that matter—of my visit. I don’t think the big guy would be pleased to know his woman’s ability to throw me to the ground impressed me enough to learn more at the time.
Hell, if I had my way, I would lock these two up in a small room with a king-sized bed. I would throw in a minibar filled with alcohol so they could blame their lust on drunken stupidity if that is what it takes for them to consummate and make beautiful babies.
This random thought has me genuinely considering the idea if they don’t get a hold of each other and have their wicked way.
Phoenix crosses her arms across her chest and glares at Slade until the power of said glare crawls over his body, and he turns, giving her a shit-eating grin.
I clap my hands together. “Right, now back to Ophelia, so I am figuring I might drop by your office and—”
Phoenix points her stabby finger, hollering, “Ooh, nooo youudon’t! You stay away from my friend Ophelia.”This is just too easy.She’s firing on all cylinders. “Slade… tell him!” she demands.
Without turning around, Slade hollers, “I’m gonna do nothing, Firebird, until you promise me you are not going to give me a hard time.” His shoulder muscles ripple back and forth as he hangs onto his fear and frustration for the woman he loves. Because I don’t doubt he loves her.
