“Go forth,” Mark said, “and stop being an ass to your wife.”
Alex didn’t look amused, but he didn’t stop long enough to look much of anything, just strode away up the drive. Mark watched him go and went to find himself another glass of wine, feeling rather satisfied.
He almost bumped into Erica.
She was standing a little way off from the other groups that were gathered around the patio, a glass of wine in her hand. She was wearing a close-fitting black dress with a skirt that left much of her leg bare. Workable for golf, but still elegant, and showing off every one of her perfect curves.
Mark swallowed hard, and tipped back the rest of his drink. “Hey, Erica,” he said, stepping up beside her. “Enjoying the party?”
Erica turned her head enough to smile at him. “It’s going well, I think. The staff has done a great job today. Especially the kitchen. The food’s amazing.”
Mark laughed. “I think I definitely made the right choice there. Although, unfortunately, I can’t steal away the caterers for my own private staff, so we’ll have to find others to do the day-to-day running, but I tasted the hand of our head chef in that, and I think he’s going to work out perfectly.”
“I thought the tournament was a hit,” she said. “And we did some lessons on the driving range. Kids loved that.”
“Good,” Mark said. “I’m in agreement. It was a success. And the fundraiser went better than I’d imagined, honestly.”
“I think you probably have your brother to thank for that, at least in part.” Erica took a sip from her glass. “He pulled in a lot of very wealthy people who like to invest. And you did offer some great perks. Who wouldn’t want a membership to your club?”
“True enough,” Mark agreed. He stalled there, not sure what to say next and not wanting to keep going on about the party. There were better things to talk about than work. The trouble was that he couldn’t think of any of them. “That dress really suits you,” he said finally.
She gave him an amused glance. “Thank you.”
“I mean, it looks really good,” Mark said, wondering when he had completely lost his ability to flirt. He used to be quite accomplished at it, he was sure.
“Thank you,” Erica said again. “You fill out that suit pretty nicely yourself.”
“So I’ve been told a time or two,” Mark answered, finally feeling steady ground under his feet. “But I do try not to toot my own horn.”
Erica laughed, and he felt a warm flush of triumph. He hadn’t devolved into complete awkwardness just yet, at least.
“Well,” she said. “I can assure you that I’m not the only one thinking it. Some of those golf wives over there were checking you out pretty zealously.”
Mark turned to look in the direction she was indicating, and a group of women looked hastily away, whispering between themselves. He shook his head. “You’d think, eventually, they’d figure out that people can see them,” he said, looking back at Erica, who looked like she was trying not to laugh again. “They’re not exactly invisible. Or quiet.”
“They’re also probably drunk,” Erica pointed out.
“They’re probably not the only ones,” Mark said.
Silence fell between them again, broken by the low murmurs from other discussions and the occasional laugh rising above the conversational noise. Mark searched his thoughts for something to say. He opened his mouth, and Erica’s phone rang.
“Sorry,” she said, reaching into the purse slung over her shoulder to pull out the ringing phone and glancing down at the screen. She smiled apologetically. “I’ve got to take this.”
“Of course,” Mark said. “Go. I’m sure I’ll survive.”
She laughed, and stepped away to take the call, walking rapidly toward the edge of the patio where she could be away from the background sounds of the other guests. Mark watched her go, and sighed. So much for suave.
Chapter 11
Jamie was already in bed when Alex got home, the twins put down for the night. She heard him moving carefully around the dark room, trying not to make enough noise to wake her if she was asleep, but didn’t open her eyes. She didn’t want to talk about the child support suit that woman was trying to level against them, and she didn’t know if she could make herself listen to light-hearted news about Mark’s party when the child support was all she could think about.
The bed dipped with Alex’s weight, and she expected him to lie down alongside her, but he didn’t. He sat where he was and she opened her eyes enough to see the dark form of his body against the lighter gray of the room. His head was bowed, his hands resting in his lap.
“Jamie,” he said quietly, and she almost startled, sure for a second that he’d somehow noticed her staring. “You awake?”
She considered not answering, but that was the kind of thing that would start even worse fights. “I’m awake,” she said quietly.
Alex turned, reaching out to switch on the lamp as he did so, and she blinked against the sudden blinding brightness. When she could see again, he was closer, looking down at her with a furrowed brow. She waited for what he had to say. There was a long pause.