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But first, find a new home for these flowers—like in the trash. Wiping my hands together, I grab my work bag and head to the front office.
“Hey, Christine, any chance you have a phone charger? Need just enough juice to power this bad boy back on and get home.”
Christine smiles and reaches for her cord. “What, no big red engine?”
“No. They’re strictly a drop-off-only service. Have to fend for myself on the way home.” I plug in my phone, rest it on the counter, and peer up at the clock. T-minus three hours. I hope he’s in a bad mood when he gets home. I love it when he’s grumpy and feisty. It brings out his dominant side. I smile, thinking about that mean, low growl he does so well. A shiver runs down my arms.
I. Can’t. Wait.
My phone lights up. “We have life!” I chuckle. A notification pops up that I have a voicemail from my lawyer. I unlock my phone and click play.
“Makayla, it’s Jonas. I wanted to give you a heads up. I reached out to Christopher’s lawyer and informed them of the pending order. Christopher’s lawyer denies his involvement in any harassing calls or gifts. According to his lawyer, when he was made aware of the circumstances, he was rather urgent in stating that you get in touch with him directly or through his lawyer. Give me a call back and let me know how you want to proceed. Bye for now.”
What a lying jerk. He’s insane if he thinks I’m going to talk to him. I press the number for my lawyer when something catches my attention.
The door to the principal’s office opens. “Hey!” Jenny greets me.
“What. . . are you doing here?” I end the call.
“I tried calling you, but it went straight to voicemail. I stumbled across a job listing. The school is looking for lunch aides, so I came in to apply!”
“That’s great!” She walks up and gives me a hug. “Well, this kind of works out. Any chance you wanna give a poor, homeless friend a ride home?”
“Um, duh!” Turning to Mary, she says, “Thanks again. I’ll get all that information you requested.” Then she addresses me. “Ready?”
“Yep.” I unplug my phone and thank Christine.
We head outside to her car. “Hey, let’s hang out. I just signed up for this dating app and need second opinions on some potentials. I promise I’ll give you tons of wine if you say yes.”
“Ugh, I wish I could. I kind of have plans tonight. Speaking of, any chance we can stop by the grocery store? I need to pick up some food for dinner.”
Her cheery smile falls. “Ben, I assume?”
Shit. Maybe I should have insinuated different plans. “Yeah. I mean, I was going to make him dinner. He’s done so much for me.”
“And the fire? Has he solved the big ol’ mystery about the fire yet?” Her tone is laced with annoyance, but I can understand why. Arson is a pretty scary word, even though we both know it was an accident.
“Speaking of that. . . you didn’t happen to light a candle in the kitchen, by chance, did you?” That came off kind of accusatory. “Not that it matters. Ben just said they claim a lit candle and the gas were the cause of the fire.”
Her posture stiffens. Taking a deep breath, she cusses under her breath. “Oh God, I forgot about that.” She turns her head my way, a haunted look in her eyes. “It was one of those aromatherapy cleansing candles. It was silly. I thought we could drink wine and cleanse our auras. I lit it, then you came in from talking to Ben, and I completely forgot about it. Oh my God, I truly did burn your house down.” Her breath hitches. Tears well up in her eyes.
“Hey.” I reach over and cup her shoulder. “It’s okay. Like I said, it was an accident. Honestly. I’m just glad neither of us got hurt.”
“I can’t believe this. I’m such an idiot. Should I go talk to the police?”
“No! Seriously, they’ll come to the same conclusion, and that’ll be that. No need to give them pointless information.”
“You know, we can call my insurance. See if they’ll cover it. I’m sure I have some sort of accidental burning a house down coverage.”
Finally, her smile returns, and I bust out a laugh. “Well, when you check, ask if they have a policy for beating up cheating exes who don’t leave their uninterested ex-wife alone.”
Her head whips back in my direction. “Uh-oh, what happened?”
“He’s back to his old ways. Calling and hanging up. He sent me flowers atworktoday.”
“How does he know where you work?”
“No idea! To be honest, it makes me nervous. What if he followed me here?”
