Page 53 of Moonlighter

He flinches. “Just give her the bag. And of course I hope she’ll call me. But even if she doesn’t, I want her to have this.”

“All right,” I agree cheerfully. “Will do.” And then I shut the door on him, which feels pretty good.

When I carry the little bag into the bedroom, Alex is waiting just out of sight. Wearing only a hotel bathrobe, she looks about as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

“Did you hear any of that?”

“All of it,” she nods. “Thank you for playing Bad Cop.”

I slap my chest. “I think it comes naturally to me.”

But my joke doesn’t seem to put her at ease. In fact, she looks pale. “Hey, sit down. Are you shaking?” I guide her toward the edge of the bed.

“I know it’s silly.”

“Not silly,” I argue. “But I’ll admit that I’m a little mystified. I heard you give a tongue lashing to a trio of sexist executives last night. But this needle-dick frightens you? He’s not worth it.”

“Iknowthat, but he could seriously complicate my life. And…” She sighs. “Nobody has ever hit me before. It’s like he burst the bubble I was living in, where my wits were always enough to keep me safe.”

That makes me pause. I forget, sometimes, that not everybody feels physically capable of physically defending themselves. “I know he scares you, but you’re going to be okay. You have the resources to defeat him.”

“I do,” she agrees. “And isn’t that just plain lucky?” She takes the bag and holds it up in the air. “He needs money to make more of these. So I’m going to bribe him. That’s all he ever wanted from me anyway.” She makes a face. “And now he’s going to get millions just for leaving me alone—”

She breaks off at another knock on the door. “I think I know who that is,” I tell her. I pick up the gift bag and take it into the living room. When I look through the peephole, I see Gunnar.

I open the door and give him the bag without a word.

Then I go back to Alex, wrapping an arm around her. “They have to check that bag for bugs.”

“Yikes. I was too wound up to think of that.”

“I got you. Can I ask a stupid question?”

“Sure.”

“Have you thought about just keeping Tatum in the dark? What if you just never told him about the baby?”

“Believe me, I’ve had this fantasy many times. But I can’t disappear to a convent for six months. During my third trimester, I’ll meet with dozens of industry executives. It would get back to him.” She shivers. “I don’t want to spend the next year wondering when he’s gonna turn up asking questions. I have too much on my plate already for that kind of uncertainty.”

“Yeah, okay.” I notice she has a hand spread out on her stomach. I reach down and cover it. “If you want to keep your secret a little longer, don’t make this a habit just yet.”

“You’re right.” She pulls both our hands away.

“What does it feel like anyway?”

“Well, nothing much. At the beginning, I threw up all the time. Now I’m just hungry. But pretty soon I’ll be able to feel the baby move. They say it’s like a little flutter at first.”

“Wow.” Maybe I’m just slow, but up until now, it didn’t really sink in. There aren’t two of us sitting here right now. There are three.

Until Alex stands up suddenly. “We should go to dinner. I just need to put on clothes.”

Not for my sake. The joke is on the tip of my tongue, but for some reason, I hold back my snark. “All right. Let’s go,” I say instead. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

She gives me a weak smile and disappears into the closet.

14

Eric