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Mara sighed and asked me, "Would you mind?"
"If you talk to Nico? It's none of my business."
She chewed on her lip. "But we're together now."
"We met this week. You don't owe me any explanations, and you sure don't need my permission." I patted her leg. "Go on, it's okay."
Mara slid off my lap. "All right, Nico, let's talk."
I watched them wander off toward the little house. Once they'd gone inside, I got up and stretched, trying to think of what I should do while Mara was gone.
Damian raised his brows at me. "You're one brave guy, Ollie. Don't think I would've let my new girlfriend run off with her ex."
"They didn't run off. They went into the house for privacy."
"How much history do they have? Did they date for a long time?"
I hesitated, not sure why, before I answered. "They were married for two years. Knew each other since college, though."
Damian's brows hiked up even more. "Damn, that's... Are you sure you're okay? I like Mara, but if she still wants to hear what her ex has to say, I'm thinking it's not as over as you might want to believe."
"You met Mara a couple hours ago. I know her better."
"Uh-huh." He sat up, straddling the chaise. "Look, man, I'm your best friend. It's my job to make sure you're not jumping headfirst into an empty pool."
"Mara is the most amazing girl I've ever met."
"Yeah, but is she really over her ex?" He held up his hands when I started to protest. "Hey, just doing my best friend job here."
"I know you mean well, but stay out of it. Okay?"
"Sure. Whatever you want. Keep your eyes open, that's all I'm saying. My Ludar lidar is pinging like crazy."
"Your Ludar lidar thought Trina was the perfect woman for me. But she dumped me for another girl."
"It's not a foolproof system."
Yeah, Damian loved to talk about Ludar lidar. He was a Ludar by heritage, but they didn't have lidar back when his ancestors fled Romania. That was a modern technology, like radar but with lasers instead of microwaves. Whenever Damian thought I was making a mistake, or stepping into iffy territory, he would tell me his Ludar lidar was pinging.
"You said your piece," I told him. "Let's drop the subject, okay? Help me figure out what to do to distract myself while Mara's having a heart-to-heart with her ex-husband."
Damian glanced at the Kittens, who were gathered at the other end of the lawn, laughing and making big hand gestures. "I wonder what those luscious ladies are up to."
"No frigging idea."
He got up, smiled, and slapped my arm. "Let's go find out."
Sure, I wanted to go hang out with my ex while Mara had a private meeting with her ex. Which meant I didn't want to do it at all. This day had started out so good, with my girl and my best friend. Now it seemed primed for getting flushed down the toilet, with all my good luck swirling and swirling until it dropped into the septic tank of life.
Yeah, that was my luck. A rotten shithole buried under my feet.
I could tell from Damian's expression that he really wanted to meet the Kitten Brigade.
"Sure," I said, "let's go see what they're up to."
Chapter Twenty-Three
Mara
