He thinks for a second, his brows furrowed. “Did she approach you and ask if you were Astrid?”
I think back to the conversation, which is a little fuzzy because I was so thrown by her speaking to me in the first place. “Hmm… no, I… nope. She asked what my name was.” I slouch for a moment. And then I perk back up. “But like, ten to twenty faces in one night. That’s… well, I’m not a certified makeup artist, but I did all the girls’ makeup for Twyla’s wedding, and everyone said it looked better than anything they’ve seen before.”
“And I have no doubt you’d make those women look more stunning than they’ve ever been before, but you have to admit, it just seems… odd,” he says, and I pout a little, but I do nod. “May I see the card she gave you?”
I pull my purse onto my lap and find the card in the pocket I tucked it into, handing it over.
He lifts a brow. “No business name? Address and phone number and referred by Crystal.” He ponders that for a moment. “I just don’t know what to think about it.”
I suddenly gasp as it dawns on me. “Strip club!” He looks at me funny. “Strip club. Where else would there be ten to twenty women a night who’d need their makeup done? And did you see that woman’s body? Her fake bazoobles were so big they could only belong to a stripper. Come on. You know I’m right,” I tell him. “And I have no problem working with a bunch of single moms trying to pay for nursing school. Get dat money, girl,” I add with a snap of my fingers in the air, making him smile.
“Well, I’ll give you that would make sense, but we don’t know for sure. Let me look into the address on the card. It should be easy to check what business is at the location, and if something weird comes up, we happen to have an MIT computer scientist on the payroll,” he offers.
“My lovely brother-in-love?” I smile.
“The one and only—”
“Hey, lovebirds. Your next appointment is here,” Theresa’s voice comes from the phone on the desk.
“Thank you, Theresa,” Neil calls out, and when there isn’t a click, he singsongs, “You can hang up now, Theresa.”
We hear her and Nita’s “Damn!” before the click finally comes, and I laugh.
“I’m going to take this—” I snatch the card out of Neil’s hand. “—so I can see what I can find on the old Google machine while Scout boy and I wait for Daddy to get home.” I boop him on the nose with my fingertip, and he lifts a brow at me. “I don’t know what that was.” I shake my head, but my face says “but I don’t give a fuck.” “It’s these damn endorphins. Weird stuff happening in all’a this.” I make circles in the air with my hand to include from my head to nether regions.
“But good-weird, right?”
I smile as we both stand. “Definitely good-weird.” I stand on my toes and smack a loud kiss to his lips before sashaying my way to the door. “See you at home,” I say when I spin to blow him a kiss.
He’s watching me, walking several steps behind me, and grins as he says, “Text me when—”
“—I get there. Got it.” I snort. “Bye-ee.”Chapter 14DocWhen I got home, I found Astrid on the patio in the hot tub with her Kindle, Scout taking a nap in the shade but keeping her company. When I opened the back door, he lifted his head long enough to make sure it was me, and then the asshole just went back to sleep. Apparently, I’ve been disowned and replaced.
But I can’t even blame him.
She smiles at me from her spot and sets her Kindle down on the side, tilting her head. “You hungry? I made dinner. It’s in the oven and will be done in about ten minutes,” she informs, and I shake my head at her but smile all the same.
“You don’t have to—”
“—cook dinner every night, goddess,” she mocks. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Can’t a girl show her man she appreciates all the hard work he does to put such a lovely roof over her head?” She lifts her hand, palm up.
My heart squeezes. “Her man, hm? I like the sound of that. Much better than feeling like you need to earn your keep.”
She nods then glides through the water toward me, standing up slowly and giving me a look that instantly makes my dick hard. “Oh you like that?” she asks, bending forward and placing her folded arms on the side of the spa and squeezing her tits together.
I literally gulp.
Taking the one stride that separates us, I reach out and stoke the knuckle of my pointer finger down her cheekbone, remembering the last time she was at this height below me, taking my cock down her throat.