caught. I thought about Patrick Mulligan’s Life lessons: How to Take One and How Not to End Up with a Life Sentence .
“Susan won’t be as understanding as I am,” Loretta warned.
“Life Lesson Number One: Don’t get caught,” I whispered to myself. The man had broken his own rule. He’d broken it to see me. A warm thrill blossomed in my chest radiating through my body. I’m pretty sure I grinned.
“You’re not in the best place to start a relationship,” Loretta suggested gently.
This from the woman who gave Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money in terms of how many times she’d married.
“I understand he was all heroic and saved DeeDee, and he is an attractive man, but is that what you want your future to be based on, Maggie? A guy who burst in and swept your dog up?”
Realizing she believed that the first time Patrick and I had met was when Paul Kowalski had tried to kill me and had stabbed my dog, I chose my words carefully. I couldn’t very well tell her that DeeDee (or Doomsday as she’d been called back then) had saved Patrick’s life, helping to drag him out of a burning house, where we’d gone to kill her master, a scummy, blackmailing hitman, Gary the Gun. “I hear what you’re saying, Aunt Loretta.”
She nodded her approval.
I fought the urge to cross my fingers behind my back as I remembered the way he kissed and touched me. “I’ll take it slow with him. I promise.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to be happy,” she hurried to assure me. “It’s just that I wouldn’t want to see you repeat the same mistakes I’ve made. There are no such things as knights in shining armor, who ride white steeds and take you to Happily Ever After.”
Hearing such cynical words from my always “in love” aunt was a shock.
“You’re responsible for your own happiness, Margaret,” she told me solemnly. “Never look to a man to give that to you.”
“Then why keep getting married?” I asked her.
She grinned, but I saw sadness shimmering in her eyes. “Because being happy alone isn’t a heck of a lot of fun.”
“You’re having problems with Templeton?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why everyone thinks that. He’s fine. The problem is mine.”
“Can I help?”
“There’s the blind leading the blind,” God mocked.
I looked to Piss for support.
She licked her paw, squinting at me with her good eye. “He’s not wrong about everything.”
“I think your friend, Elana, is the only who one can help.”
“Armani,” I corrected automatically.
“Armani.”
“I don’t know if finding missing things is even in her repertoire,” I told my aunt, while at the same time I was thinking I’d been an idiot not to ask her for help finding Ghost.
But at least I had DeeDee lined up to help.
For whatever that was worth.…
Chapter Eight
As agreed, I met Candace downtown at eight in the morning. On Saturdays, the stores don’t open until ten, so the place had the deserted, spooky feel of a ghost town. My head had the distant pounding feeling of having left the house without caffeine consumption.
For once, I hadn’t started the day with “Gotta! Gotta!” being panted in my ear. I’d forgotten to set my alarm and had overslept since the dog hadn’t awakened me.
Instead, the cat kneaded my chest, so I woke up to her rumbling purr and her nails piercing my flesh.
I’d vowed then to just remember to set my damn clock since the animal alarm system always proved to be unpleasant.
Massaging the back of my neck, trying to ward off the impending headache, I waited for Candace at the predetermined corner. I wasn’t alone.
DeeDee lay at my feet, vigilant, convinced she was going to spot the missing dog. God, nestled between my breasts, complained about being dragged out at the early hour. I’d told him the only way he was going to get to see Katie today was if he came along on this dog-catching adventure.
He was there, but he was making it clear
“Susan won’t be as understanding as I am,” Loretta warned.
“Life Lesson Number One: Don’t get caught,” I whispered to myself. The man had broken his own rule. He’d broken it to see me. A warm thrill blossomed in my chest radiating through my body. I’m pretty sure I grinned.
“You’re not in the best place to start a relationship,” Loretta suggested gently.
This from the woman who gave Elizabeth Taylor a run for her money in terms of how many times she’d married.
“I understand he was all heroic and saved DeeDee, and he is an attractive man, but is that what you want your future to be based on, Maggie? A guy who burst in and swept your dog up?”
Realizing she believed that the first time Patrick and I had met was when Paul Kowalski had tried to kill me and had stabbed my dog, I chose my words carefully. I couldn’t very well tell her that DeeDee (or Doomsday as she’d been called back then) had saved Patrick’s life, helping to drag him out of a burning house, where we’d gone to kill her master, a scummy, blackmailing hitman, Gary the Gun. “I hear what you’re saying, Aunt Loretta.”
She nodded her approval.
I fought the urge to cross my fingers behind my back as I remembered the way he kissed and touched me. “I’ll take it slow with him. I promise.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to be happy,” she hurried to assure me. “It’s just that I wouldn’t want to see you repeat the same mistakes I’ve made. There are no such things as knights in shining armor, who ride white steeds and take you to Happily Ever After.”
Hearing such cynical words from my always “in love” aunt was a shock.
“You’re responsible for your own happiness, Margaret,” she told me solemnly. “Never look to a man to give that to you.”
“Then why keep getting married?” I asked her.
She grinned, but I saw sadness shimmering in her eyes. “Because being happy alone isn’t a heck of a lot of fun.”
“You’re having problems with Templeton?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know why everyone thinks that. He’s fine. The problem is mine.”
“Can I help?”
“There’s the blind leading the blind,” God mocked.
I looked to Piss for support.
She licked her paw, squinting at me with her good eye. “He’s not wrong about everything.”
“I think your friend, Elana, is the only who one can help.”
“Armani,” I corrected automatically.
“Armani.”
“I don’t know if finding missing things is even in her repertoire,” I told my aunt, while at the same time I was thinking I’d been an idiot not to ask her for help finding Ghost.
But at least I had DeeDee lined up to help.
For whatever that was worth.…
Chapter Eight
As agreed, I met Candace downtown at eight in the morning. On Saturdays, the stores don’t open until ten, so the place had the deserted, spooky feel of a ghost town. My head had the distant pounding feeling of having left the house without caffeine consumption.
For once, I hadn’t started the day with “Gotta! Gotta!” being panted in my ear. I’d forgotten to set my alarm and had overslept since the dog hadn’t awakened me.
Instead, the cat kneaded my chest, so I woke up to her rumbling purr and her nails piercing my flesh.
I’d vowed then to just remember to set my damn clock since the animal alarm system always proved to be unpleasant.
Massaging the back of my neck, trying to ward off the impending headache, I waited for Candace at the predetermined corner. I wasn’t alone.
DeeDee lay at my feet, vigilant, convinced she was going to spot the missing dog. God, nestled between my breasts, complained about being dragged out at the early hour. I’d told him the only way he was going to get to see Katie today was if he came along on this dog-catching adventure.
He was there, but he was making it clear
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