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“I don’t care.” I shrug. Nic’s car is pulled up at the curb a few feet away. Nic and Finn are standing next to it. Nic’s got a hand on Finn’s arm, keeping him still. Seeing them, I smile wider than maybe I’ve ever smiled in my life.
“God, Jeff, I just don’t care. Do what you want. Or don’t. It’s not my business anymore.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Nat?—”
“Stop calling me Nat.” I’ve always hated that nickname.
“Baby, I want you back. We were so good together. Give me a chance to show you,” says Jeff, his arm sliding under my elbow like he’s going to walk with me.
He makes a gagging sound, jerking back suddenly.
Finn’s got a hand on the back of his shirt collar, holding Jeff in place as I pull my arm away from him. Nic liberates my hands, taking hold of the takeout bags.
“Pretty sure we heard the lady say no, asshole,” says Finn mildly.
“We did,” agrees Nic. “And the rest of the street besides.”
Jeff glares at them, twisting out of Finn’s grip and adjusting his tie. Impotent. The expression on his face is impotent.
I start laughing all over again.
“I’m serious, Natalie.” Jeff is all earnest now, and it makes me laugh even harder. Finn and Nic head for the car, and that strikes me as a fine idea. God knows, I’ve got more important things to do right now.
Nic sets the bags in the car. Finn opens the passenger door for me, but I stop, holding up a hand to stop them, too. My ex-boyfriend is staring, confused, humiliated, and maybe getting angry, but he’s still not getting the hint.
“You’re not actually leaving with your boss, are you?” he asks accusingly. “Pretty trashy, Nat, sleeping with somebody from the office.”
Nic steps into his space before I can even get my head around that hypocrisy.
“I’m not her boss, asshole. I’m her boyfriend.”
He hands me into the car. Jeff sputters, turning red, then faintly purple, before spinning around and heading off into the crowd.
“Thank God,” says Finn. “I thought he’d never leave.”
“Home?” asks Nic.
“Home,” I agree.
The gray SUV is parked across the street as we pull away from the curb, somebody watching from the driver’s seat. But it would be a long, long time before I remembered it.
29
FINN
Ireally ought to spring for a better coffeemaker, but considering all the time we’ve been spending at Nic’s, it’s kind of hard to justify.
Maybe I should run over there and bring his here? Maybe not. Swapping appliances is probably crossing some kind of line.
Nic’s is usually where the three of us have been spending our time since this whole thing got started. He’s got the bigger bed, not to mention Cat, who’s still protesting last night’s move to my kitchen.
I’m not taking any chances. Until Nic’s brother turns up, one way or another, Nic stays with me here in my apartment. Natalie, too, if I can talk her into it. She thinks I haven’t noticed she never agreed to stay here until Barry’s found, but I’ll talk her into it. I have ways of making her pay attention. Not all of them are naked ways, either.
“It’s too early for plotting,” murmurs Nic, sliding his arms around my waist from behind, kissing the back of my neck and making me shiver.
“What are you talking about?”
“That look on your face,” he says, rubbing his cheek over the spot he just kissed. He hasn’t shaved yet. Being Saturday, he might not shave at all.
