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“Yep.”
I settle in and do my share of the paperwork and answer the phone. We can’t meet JodiAnne’s psychiatrist until tomorrow, and I send a quick email to Polly Donnelly to keep her informed. She’s not going to like it when we tell her that her daughter’s death wasn’t anything more than a tragic accident.
I’m content, put in a few hours of work and think about Zarah. We didn’t make any plans to see each other, only said we wanted to. I don’t know what she does on a daily basis, and she might need to rearrange some things to fit me into her routine, if that’s what she wants. I could text her and ask if she wants to go on a date. I wonder if she’s ever had a simple dinner and movie night out. If not, I’d like to be the first to share it with her.
“Is this how it’s going to be?” Pop says, sipping the dregs of his coffee.
“What?” I ask.
“Your head in the clouds?”
“Better than my head up my ass.”
He’s about to respond, but his cell rings and he glances at the screen. “It’s your mother.”
I sigh. It’d be futile to tell him not to answer.
“Delilah, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Her voice comes through the phone, even-tempered, if not a little annoyed. “I’m looking for Gage. Does he not have a cell phone anymore? I can’t seem to get through.”
“He’s right here.”
“Oh, good. Can I speak to him, please?”
Pop hands me his phone, and I mouth, “Thanks a lot. Mom,” I answer.
He shrugs into his jacket and calls Baby to go outside. She perks her ears and trots out the door. Don’t know why he thought I needed privacy.
“Gage, darling, you’ve been avoiding me.”
I don’t lie, so I don’t say anything.
“Rourke and I would like to see you. The holidays are coming, and we’re having a few people over for a Thanksgiving dinner party.”
“No.”
“But I haven’t told you who—”
“Pop and I are working a case. I don’t have time to rub elbows with King’s Crossing’s rich and famous.”
“Oh, well, it’s just a small gathering, and Lorraine Baxter was hoping to introduce you to her daughter, Tinley. She’s just back from Europe.”
I think about inviting Zarah and the stir she would cause. She’s infamous and disliked as much as she is famous and admired. Ash’s jobs hated her father and took their hate out on her. I’m sure there are plenty more who wouldn’t hesitate a second to hurt her because of her family name. Will any of those people be seated at my mother’s table? Could I look any of them in the eye and not wonder whose side they’re on?
Suddenly, I’m interested to find out.
“Fine, I’ll go, but I’m seeing someone.”
“How lovely. Who is it, darling? Anyone I know?”
“Zarah Maddox.”
I hang up on her sputtering.
I do what I don’t want to do because I said I’d do it, and that afternoon, I drive over to Max’s apartment. Zarah’s presence is going to dog me the whole time I’m there. I’ll wonder if he ever brought her there, made love to her in his bed. If he fed her popcorn while they watched movies on the couch.
Maybe they were too busy trying to tear down Clayton and Ash Black’s empire, but everyone needs a break, and he and Zarah could have hidden out there to escape for a little while. I hate that the jealousy cuts me so deep, but it’s not only jealousy, it’s resignation, too. It’s the knowledge that if Max were still alive, they’d be together right now. He’d be bringing her to Mom’s dinner party, they’d be dating, they’d be going on walks through the woods behind the Maddoxes’ house, he’d be the one by her side, helping her wade through the drugs and discovering who she is under the layers of medication.