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“Yeah. He offered to help but I hate having to drag him into things like this. Makes me feel like a failure.”
A small huff preceded MaryAnn’s annoyed protest. “Well, that’s stupid.”
Mouth open in surprise, Olivia turned to stare at her. “What?”
“She’s right,” Shannon said with a shrug of her shoulders. “He’s your broker. It’s his job to make sure you have what you need to move houses. If you need him to kick some ass, then that’s what he’s there for.”
It was a fair point. If he hadn’t been her husband, she probably would have asked him to step in already. Pride was keeping her from letting him do his job, and as MaryAnn had said, that was just stupid. “Well, when you put it that way, I guess I can’t argue.”
Their margaritas arrived, and Olivia’s stomach dropped to her knees. She had never seen margaritas in a bucket. At least it looked like a bucket, akin to what a child might use to build sandcastles at the beach.
“Ho-ly shit,” she whispered. “It’s huge!”
“That’s what she said,” Shannon said, laughing hysterically at her juvenile joke.
Olivia forced a laugh. This wasn’t one drink, no matter how she tried to slice it. It was enough to knock out a baby elephant.
James was going to kill her.
Chapter12
The sound of a car in the driveway pulled James from the quarterly reports he’d been working on all evening. What time was it? Rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes, he squinted at the clock on his computer screen. Ten after ten. Cutting it close, just barely sliding in under the fifteen-minute grace window she had.
It didn’t mean he couldn’t have some fun, though. Putting on his best ‘Daddy face,’ he went to go wait for her in the entryway, his arms crossed for added effect.
The sound of maniacal giggling met his ears before they even made it through the front door. He was reaching for the knob when the door swung open and two very drunk women stumbled inside, tripping over each other and landing at his feet.
“Daddy!” Olivia’s brown eyes lit up when she looked up at him. “I’m home.”
“I see that,” he managed through clenched teeth. “Hello, Shannon.”
“Hey, Mr. Sexy. I’m gonna go now.” The beautiful blonde pushed up and immediately lost her balance again. She collapsed against Olivia, sending the pair into a renewed fit of giggles.
James sighed. He was pissed that Olivia had so blatantly defied him, but it was pointless to even attempt a lecture at this point. “Stay here. Both of you.”
“Mmm, I love a man who takes charge.” Tilting her head back, Shannon grinned up at him. “Will you be my Daddy, too?”
“No!” Voice full of outrage, Olivia shoved at Shannon’s shoulder. “He’s my Daddy!”
Stepping around the pile of naughty little girls at his feet, James glanced outside, relieved to see their driver backing out of the driveway. Since Olivia had left her car at the office, he’d assumed Shannon was driving, but at least they’d had the sense to use a rideshare.
By the time he turned back around, Shannon had managed to struggle to her feet, and was attempting to pull Olivia up with her. He rushed forward when they wobbled, just catching Olivia before she hit the floor. Unfortunately, he didn’t have enough arms to catch Shannon as well, and she stumbled backward into the entryway table, sending one of Olivia’s favorite vases tumbling to the floor.
The shattering of glass seemed to sober the pair right up. “Oh, no! Our honeymoon vase!” Olivia wailed.
“Oh, shit!” The horror in Shannon’s eyes would have been comical if he hadn’t been so annoyed with the pair of them. “I’m sorry, Liv! I’ll clean it up.”
Visions of his wife’s best friend slicing her hands to ribbons in his front hall filled his head. “Stop!”
The snapped order stopped her before she’d had a chance to move an inch. James said a silent prayer of thanks that she still had some sense about her. “Just stay there before you cut yourself.”
Olivia’s elbow connected with his gut. Luckily for her, she was too drunk to put much effort into the swing. “James! You can’t yell at my friends!”
“I can when they bring my wife home three sheets to the wind and bust up my house. Sit.” He’d managed to get her to the stairs and he plopped her on the bottom step. “If you move a muscle I’ll bend you over and whip your bottom right here in front of your friend.”
Even as annoyed as he was, her pout was adorable. “You’re a mean Daddy.”
“You haven’t even seen mean yet, little one. Mean is what happens tomorrow when you get home from work.”
