The Sweetheart Hoax (23 page)

“It was your mother’s choice.”

“To work herself to the bone trying to support us and pay her hospital bills? I don’t think so.”

“Where’s Ashley?” he asked. He’d never been able to answer even her simplest questions about the past and the part he played. He moved his head from side to side as he searched the deserted restaurant. “Is she with you?”

“No, she’s not. I try to leave her at home when I hit the bar for an early drink.” The bartender emerged from the back and handed her the takeout box of cake. She signed the tab with shaking hands and felt disturbed to realize the Judge hadn’t budged. She stood trapped between him and the bar. “If you’ll excuse me, please.”

“I don’t want you talking Ashley into anything. She’s immature and spoiled by her mother’s doing, and I can’t have her wasting her life with some dead-end job at a coffee bar.”

“You know, you’re right. I’ve tried to tell her how much more she could make at a gentlemen’s club, but so far she just won’t budge. Must be more of your wife’s doing.”

Margot watched his grip tighten on the chair. “You’re nothing like her, you know.” It didn’t take but a second to realize he was talking about her mother. “The woman never raised her voice to anyone and didn’t have a sarcastic bone in her body. “I can’t imagine where your foul mouth came from.”

“Must have been from you,
Daddy
.” She ducked under his arm. “I’ll give Ashley your best.”

Chapter 24

Phil had spent hours in front of the computer working on CAD. His eyes were tired, and yet his body was wired from sitting still for so long. Rebecca had brought her lunch from home and Danny was back at the hospital. With his stomach growling and an afternoon appointment at Wyndham, he decided to take his chances and grab lunch at the club.

The bartender had just delivered his fish and chips when
McBain
sidled up beside him with a scowl on his face. “You tapped her, didn’t you?”

“Excuse me?” Phil choked. He picked up his tea to clear his throat.

“Don’t play innocent with me, Williams. Maggie was all over me before she left. Then I catch you two together and suddenly she’s not interested?”

Phil carefully set his glass on the cocktail napkin with the club’s logo. “Margot dumped you?”

McBain
clenched his jaw and took a seat on the stool. “I wouldn’t exactly call it dumping.”

So they were dating. Damn. Knowing they’d been together, for any amount of time, really stung. “At least you accomplished your research.”

McBain
scoffed. “Hardly.”

“What do you mean hardly?”

“I mean I never got past first base. One innocent kiss on the sidewalk, and then she shows me to the door. And I’m a great kisser.”

Phil swallowed his gloating smile. “When did she dump you?”

“She didn’t dump me!” He signaled to the bartender for a menu. “She said she didn’t have any interest in seeing me again. And I blame you.”

“Did she say something about me?” Phil asked.

“No, but I saw the way she looked at you at the airport. We hadn’t even made it to the hospital before she was letting me down easy. What gives?”

So Margot dumped him right after they got back. He felt elated and ready to bolt from the club to her house when he suddenly realized he might have more competition than just
McBain
. Who the hell was with her the other night when he found her in her pajamas?

McBain
snapped his fingers in front of Phil’s face. “Hello? Anybody home?”

“Sorry. Did you happen to see Margot later? The night you dropped her off at the hospital from the airport? Around seven-thirty?”

He shook his head. “No. I haven’t seen
Maggie
since she traded in prime rib for hamburger meat.”

“You’re an ass,
McBain
.”

“And you sure are interested in your receptionist.”

“Former receptionist.”

“Details.”
McBain
sipped from his water before slamming it on the counter. “I ought to fire you. I called her first.”

“You can’t call dibs on a woman. She’s not a piece of candy.”

“Says you. I’ve been working her for months. I even told you about her.”

“You told me about Maggie. I didn’t have a clue you were talking about Margot until we saw you at the airport.”

“So you admit you tapped her?”

Phil shoved his plate away and looked
McBain
in the eye. “I didn’t tap her, as she’s not a keg of beer. But if she doesn’t want to see you anymore, I don’t see why I can’t pursue her socially.”

“Fine,”
McBain
said with a sneer. “You pursue her to your heart’s content. But learn from the master. If she didn’t want a piece of this,” he waved his hand from his head to his waist, “she’s not going to give it up for you.”

Phil had to bite his tongue to stop from admitting she already had. He wouldn’t stoop to
McBain’s
third-grade level. “I guess we’ll have to see about that.”

***

In all the years he’d lived in the
Lowcountry
, Phil had never been inside the local hospital. He thanked his hearty
Midwestern
genes for never getting sick and felt a measure of Danny’s apprehension just looking at the imposing brick building. He couldn’t imagine having to visit a loved one in the sterile environment. He thought of Margot. She’d said she missed most of her high school football games because her mom had been in the hospital. She practically grew up within these walls.

Thoughts of Margot had driven him to the hospital to visit Kate and to dig for information.

He punched the elevator button to go up to the ninth floor. The nurse who greeted him at the nurses’ station sat behind a large counter, typing into a computer.

“Which way is 943?” he asked.

She didn’t even look up. “About halfway down the hall to your left.”

He didn’t move right away, but stared at the scrubs she wore under an ugly brown sweater. Puce.

He shuffled down the hallway, a vase of flowers in his arms, and gave a quick knock on the door with Flannery written on the white board outside.

“Come in,” he heard her call.

Kate sat upright in the bed with wires extending from her huge belly to the adjacent machinery. Danny was in a recliner chair in the corner talking on his cell phone. Kate had certainly grown since the last time he’d seen her.

“Well, look at you,” he said, setting the flowers on a table. She was still beautiful, with her dark hair pushed back from her face, but a little of her excited glow had paled and he could see the worry in her vibrant blue eyes.

“Phil,” she said. “I was wondering if you’d ever show your face.”

He looked around. “Not my usual stomping grounds.”

“I wish it wasn’t mine, believe me.”

Danny stood up, phone to his ear, and patted Phil on the back before escaping to the hall to continue his call uninterrupted. Phil could tell from the tidbits he’d overheard there was a problem at one of the sites. Kate’s eyes followed him to the door and then swung back to Phil.

“He’s so stressed out,” she said. “I’m just lying here connected to all these machines and he’s up to his ears in work. I can’t get him to leave me for more than an hour or two. I’m worried about him, Phil.”

“He hasn’t said anything about a problem.”

“That was one of the contractors from Solitude. It’s been one headache after another. You know him, you know how he gets when he’s been cooped up inside for too long.”

Phil certainly did know how Danny was when he couldn’t work. He was like a caged bear. “I’ll talk to him when he gets back, see if I can get him out to the site with me.”

“I’d appreciate it.”

“So are you here for the duration?” he asked.

She shrugged and ran her hands along her belly. “My labor has stopped for the most part, but my blood pressure is still too high. I’m afraid I might be in here for a while. I’m trying not to get worked up. I mean, the longer I’m here, the more time she has to develop, but I’m almost as stir crazy as Danny.” She held her hands in the air. “But please, don’t tell Danny I just said that.”

“I won’t.” Phil was struck by how both Danny and Kate worried over the other. The minute one was out of earshot, all they could do was worry over the other. Danny was one lucky guy. Phil remembered how hard they’d fought to be together and knew luck didn’t have anything to do with their happiness. “Did you say ‘she’?”

Kate’s smile bloomed as if someone had turned on a switch and she was lit from within. “It’s a girl. She’s a girl.” She blushed. “We’re having a girl.”

“I thought you weren’t going to find out?”

“We weren’t, but after all this, I wanted to know.”

“Is there anything you need, other than me getting Danny out of your hair?”

“Actually, there is one thing.” She ducked her head and then looked up at him from under her lashes. “I hate to ask, but I don’t want Danny running any more mindless errands when he could be getting some work done.”

“Name it,” Phil said.

“
Teddy’s driving Margot crazy.”

Kate was going to make it easy for him to fish for information by bringing up Margot first. “I don’t really have the best set up for a dog at my place.”

Kate laughed. “No, silly, I’m not asking you to take him from her. For goodness sake, you’d probably let him loose on the highway.”

“I would not!”

“Well, you’d want to.” She took a sip from an enormous covered cup. “Teddy needs his crate. He’s driving her crazy wandering all over the house.”

“So you need me to get him a crate?”

“Not
a
crate.
His
crate. Danny’s got it in the back of his truck. Would you mind running it over to Margot’s this afternoon? I talked to her this morning and she said she’d be home by now. She had her test today.”

“Sure,” he said. She’d even given him an excuse to see her. “I actually wanted to talk to you about Margot.”

Kate’s blue eyes sparkled. “You did?”

Phil took a seat in the chair Danny had vacated. “Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?”

Kate’s lips twitched. “Not that I know of. Why?”

“Well, the other night when I dropped Teddy off, there was someone at her house. I got the impression it was a man.”

“Oh. I honestly don’t know who it could have been.” Kate looked down at her belly and let out a big sigh. “To be honest with you, Phil, I think Margot is interested in seeing you.”

“She totally blew me off the other night.”

“I think she assumed you regretted what happened over the weekend. Sorry,” she said with a definite blush in her cheeks. “She told me what happened.”

Danny walked back in wearing a scowl. “Fitzgerald is pissing me off,” he said to Phil.

“What is it?” Phil asked, trying to switch gears from Margot to work.

“He ordered the wrong windows for the model and the ones we need for the foyer are on back order.”

Phil slapped Danny on the shoulder. “Why don’t you run over there and take care of this in person? I’m up to my ears with the Wyndham project, or I’d do it myself.”

Danny glanced over at Kate as if asking for permission. Phil felt embarrassed for Danny.

“Go,” Kate said with her finger pointed at the door. “Check it out, make sure things are running smoothly, and if they aren’t, then deal with it. I don’t care how long it takes, I’m not going anywhere.”

Danny walked to her side and leaned over her with his hands on each side of her head. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“Danny, please. I’m fine.”

“But what if you have to use the bathroom?”

“There are nurses here to help with that.”

“Baby…”

“Danny, go. I insist. I’ve got the books Margot brought over and I’m feeling a little tired. I’m going to take a nap anyway. I won’t even know you’re gone.”

He sighed, resigned, and gave her a lingering kiss before straightening up.

Okay, Phil thought, it must be nice to have someone care that much.

“I’ll be back soon,” Danny told her.

“Take your time,” she said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’ll drop the crate off on the way.”

“No,” Kate nearly shouted. “Phil’s going to take it.”

Danny’s head whipped around and narrowed his eyes at Phil. “Why?”

Phil shrugged. “I’m heading over that way.” When Danny just stared, Phil said, “Solitude is in the opposite direction and I’ll practically go right by Margot’s house on the way to Wyndham. I don’t mind.”

Danny made a face at Phil and then at Kate. “Okay,” he said. “Is it going to fit in your car?”