I was about to tell him he was welcome, when he said, “That Holly St. James is a knockout.”
I laughed as I realized I wasn’t the woman he was referring to. “Holly? Isn’t she a little old for you?”
He stopped and pursed his lips at me. “Says the woman married to the man who could be her father.” He picked up a fry, dunking it in his ketchup.
I shrugged. “You know that’s not real.”
He wagged the fry at me. “Be honest. You’ve had the hots for him for some time. Real marriage or not, you like him. And I like her.”
“Does she know this?” I asked.
He shrugged and grinned. “I’ve got time.” He shoved the fry in his mouth and then proceeded to put some ketchup on his burger.
“Really?
You’re going to pursue something there?” A part of me was happy. His intention to court Holly suggested that he really did plan to stay. He wouldn’t pursue a relationship if he was in a mind to leave.
“Sure. Why not?” He picked up his burger.
“No reason. Just gauging how serious you are.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Very serious.” He took a bite of his burger. “They do have good beef here in Nebraska.”
“Nebraska is number one in beef,” I said with pride.
We ate lunch, catching up on the latest gossip from Chicago. Then, we drove to the apartment complex. The apartment was small, but it was bright and clean. It had a view of the river out in the distance.
“What do you think?” I asked him as we finished checking out the bathroom and closet.
“It’s doable. There’s just me, and I don’t have that much stuff. I can’t beat the price. I paid twice as much for half the space in Chicago.”
“So, you’ll take it?” I knew he planned to stay, but getting an apartment was solid proof of his intention. I felt giddy that my best friend would be close.
He draped an arm around me. “Yep. Let’s go find the manager and sign the papers.”
It didn’t take long to get all the documents signed and for Tucker to put his deposit down. The manager said that since the place was empty, he could move in this weekend.
We drove back to the center of town and parked at the inn. I was so glad to have my best buddy in town.
“Do you need me to help with anything?” I asked since I had the day off.
“Nah. Like I said, I don’t have much. I do need to deal with some paperwork to get my license to teach here. And I’m tired from the drive. I think I’ll take a nap if you don’t mind. I figure you have to get back to work.”
I hadn’t told him I had the day off, but instead of pushing myself on him to entertain me, I said, “Take a nap. I’ll see you later.”
I gave him a hug, telling him to call me if he needed anything. Then, we made plans to meet for dinner. I figured Mo would be glad not to have me around, and the truth was, I could use another night away to figure out what the hell I was doing and how I was going to continue in this marriage farce. I knew I had to. I’d agreed to it, but we couldn’t continue on like this. Maybe it was time to accept that he wasn’t going to change his attitude about us. I needed to respect that he couldn’t get past our age difference and that I was his friend’s daughter.
I didn’t want to go home, and my dad would still be out working, so I decided I’d return to work. I had a report and an agenda for the public works meeting Mo asked me to put together, so I decided I’d finish that up.
I was walking back toward City Hall when I passed the Italian restaurant and saw Mo sitting at a table near the window. My initial reaction was to go in and let him know I was heading back to work. But then I noticed a woman with him. A woman who had her hands on him. I looked closer and realized that wasn’t just any woman, it was his ex-wife Shelley.
What was she doing in Salvation? Why was she making goo-goo eyes and eating off his plate? Better yet, why was he accepting it? He didn’t tell me he was having lunch with her. As his wife, shouldn’t I know about that? Fake marriage or not, if his lawyer saw them together, it could ruin our plans. Couldn’t it?
To avoid going in and ripping her red-headed extensions off of her head, I moved on, heading back to City Hall. I kept my head down to avoid Trina and locked myself in my office to finish up the report and agenda. I was happy with the work, but unlike other things I’d done for Mo in the past, this one was going to be handed out to public work staffers, and I wanted a second opinion as to whether it was good enough. I called over to Mo’s office, but he still wasn’t back from lunch yet. I nearly called Tucker at the inn to see if perhaps Mo and Shelley had gotten a room there. Mo said he’d be faithful during this fake marriage, but Shelley had a way about her. Like a siren that lured men to their demise. And Mo, well, he’d married her once, so she clearly had some sort of pull on him.
But I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of acting jealous, especially in front of Shelley. So, I decided I’d ask Trina what she thought. It was a risk because she was even more prickly since becoming pregnant, but right now, my work was the most important thing I had. I picked up the folder with the report and agenda and carried them out to the main area of the mayor’s office.
“Trina, would you mind going over this agenda and report the mayor asked me to put together for him?” I set the folder in front of her on her desk.