“We still need to get you shoes,” I tell her.
She nods, but her focus is not diverted. “I hope the baby’s a boy. We have enough girls. I want a brother.”
Grimacing, I say, “We’re actually hoping this one’s a girl. Meg’s having a boy, so you have a little brother on the way already.”
She picks off another piece of her breadstick and pops it into her mouth. “Tommy thinks it’s really weird that Meg’s having Dad’s son and you’re the one he’s marrying.”
“Who’s Tommy? Is this the same kid from before?”
Nodding, she says, “Meg went to talk to his mom since you weren’t here. We’re friends now, kinda, but I think his mom’s just afraid of Meg.”
I can’t help smirking a little. “Makes sense. Meg’s a little scary.”
“But they think it’s really weird.”
“Our family is a little weird,” I concede, since that’s not exactly a secret I can keep. “But we’re all happy, so that’s okay.”
“Dad slept in your room when you were gone,” she states, almost conversationally. “I think he really missed you.”
I hate to think of him sad, but it makes me feel good anyway. “I missed both of you so, so much.”
Bella nods, taking a drink of her lemonade and eyeing me up. “You didn’t really go to an internship, did you?” She pauses long enough for me to answer, but when I don’t, she goes on, “Dad said you did, but that doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t you tell me goodbye if you knew you were leaving?”
“Honey, it’s complicated to explain. I would not have left without saying goodbye if I had a choice, no. I wouldn’t have left at all, because I love you and your dad, and there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than with you.”
“Tommy said you probably got kidnapped by one of Dad’s business associates.”
I really don’t like this Tommy kid. “Tommy doesn’t know anything,” I inform her, opening the little black folder the waitress dropped off a few minutes ago. I reach into my purse and dig out some cash. “Are you ready to get going?”
“Lemme finish my lemonade,” she says, clutching the cup in her hands and sucking it down.
I assume the topic is dropped as we head back out to the car and climb in. Adrian closes the door behind us and climbs in the driver’s seat, but before we even get out of the parking lot, Bella goes on.
“And Tommy does too know stuff. He knows lots of stuff. His uncle’s a cop, so they talk about Dad sometimes. People know who he is, even if they haven’t met him.”
“A cop, huh?” I murmur, glancing in the rearview mirror at Adrian. “What’s his name?”
“Uncle Brian is all I know.”
“What kind of cop is he?” I ask.
“I don’t know,” she says, shrugging unhelpfully.
Well, she’s not a very good junior spy. I’ll have to get with Meg and find out what the mom’s last name was and get a more detailed report about that meeting. We never discussed it since she “handled” it, but if this little pipsqueak has cop relatives, we should probably look into it.
Adrian catches my eye in the mirror, nodding briefly to let me know he’s got it under control.
This is also not my favorite part of life with Mateo. Ordinarily I don’t think much about the fact that Mateo is actually a criminal, but I definitely feel some anxiety when things like this crop up, subtly reminding me. The good guys feel like the bad guys, but that’s because we’re the bad guys. Childrearing in this environment is going to be a little more difficult. And I’ve only experienced the early, mild anxieties of raising the girls.
What’s it going to be like raising sons in this family? What fresh hell will it be to raise the next generation of criminals to quietly reign over this city the way Mateo does? I’m a little relieved it’s Meg’s son that will take his place; I don’t want mine to be in that kind of danger. Maybe I’ll only have daughters. Mateo probably wouldn’t be very pleased, but I’d sleep a lot better at night.
—
“I was curious as to why I had to bring a bathing suit to a bridal shower. I guess this explains it.”
As we all lounge by the pool, I look over at the relative newcomer. I wanted to have some kind of get-together since a bachelorette party was out of the question. We’re basically all pregnant; no one can drink.
Well, some can; Meg is mixing drinks at her poolside bar for those lucky ladies.
The newcomer is Willow Wilde, Elise’s friend and the wife of some guy who does PI work for Mateo. I’ve met him a few times, but they don’t come around the mansion much so I haven’t made friends with her yet. I’m more surprised Meg hasn’t. Meg is all about making friends.