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“When was this?”
“When I told Braxton I’d agree to come to Texas.”
“Hmm.”
“We’re way off topic here. Lawsuit?”
“The fucker who hit me was high. When he discovered it was me, he sued for emotional distress.”
“But he hit you.” My temper starts to rise.
“Well, he hit someone again last week. Stoned again and wants to sue emergency services for how they handled his drug test.”
“Can he do that?”
“He can try. But the judge said he can’t profit from the pain he’s causing himself.”
“And others,” I add. “The fact that we have to celebrate common sense is terrifying.”
“I’ve been dragging my feet on closing the house because cash in hand might be more appealing to the fucker.”
“Speaking of… you’re selling your place?”
“Speaking of… you’re not?”
“I don’t see why I would or why I should. Do you?”
“I don’t think along the lines of would or should. I wonder why you’d need it and why you’d want to keep paying on it if you don’t.” His face angles down to mine. “Do you need it?”
“No. But I want it. What if we want to visit?”
He nods, not in agreement, but as if he’s thinking and pacing the conversation with it. “Is it worth hiring a property management company for the times that we’re not there?”
I shrug.
“It’ll pay for itself with the money you make on rentals. You’ll pay off the mortgage in no time and have investment income when you want it. And it’ll be waiting when you want to go and sit on your front porch and lift your chin to the sun and the waves.”
“There is no mortgage, Layton. The Excel contract you spearheaded is lucrative. I don’t have to worry about my house.”
He squeezes my hip. “Good. And, yes, I’m selling my place. It was a bachelor pad, like living in a magazine spread. It was a cool apartment, but it wasn’t ever a home.”
“Oh.”
He rubs a hand down my spine, his finger soothing in their gentle touch.
“Tell me a secret, Pix.”
“No matter how hard I tried, I never wasn’t going to fall in love with you.”
He exhales a sigh and pulls me deeper into his body. “Sleep, baby. Have sweet dreams.”
FORTY-FOUR
SQUEAKY CHEESE
LAYTON
“Idid as you asked.”
