Chapter 40
Saturday night, Velvet Underground Speakeasy
T he mob boss takedown in the back had certainly broken up the party but not completely. While the bartender played the piano, Lady Eleganza Le Tuck was slow dancing with a wrinkled, sloppy drunk, his face pressed into her bosom.
Gabby pulled up the ride-sharing app on her phone, but stopped herself before she finished ordering the car. Not that he’d want to give her a ride after she tied him up, but she couldn’t help but scan the bar for Markus. When there was no sign of him, she went back to her phone.
Betty sidled up to the booth. “You need a ride, girlfriend?”
“Yes, please.”
“Give me five minutes, and we can go home together.”
While Betty wrapped up a few things, Gabby googled “did I break a rib?” As she took some deep breaths to see if it caused pain, a queen who was about six inches taller than anyone else in the room took the mic from the drunken banker and called out, “Any of y’all men in uniform looking for a date tonight?”
After what seemed like an hour but was probably five minutes, Betty strode across the bar with several bags and a sense of purpose. “Get your stuff, babe. Let’s get out of here. I gotta get home to Hugh.”
“Thanks so much for your help tonight.” It was going to go down as an epic event that finance guys would talk about for years to come.
As Gabby slid out of the booth, she scanned the room, but there was still no sign of Markus. It was just as well. She was a grown-ass woman with kids, with no business acting like a teenager.
“So I take it you weren’t doing a regular executive assistant job this week?” Betty angled for more information.
“Yeah.” There was no point denying the EOD job given that Betty had seen several arrests. “It was more of a… CIA thing.”
She fanned her face. “Dear lord. This is just too good. Don’t tell me all at once because I want to savor it.”
Gabby winced as she tried to walk down the stairs.
“Are you going to need something to sleep tonight? I think I have some Vicodin from when Hugh had that root canal.”
“I might not even need it.” She hadn’t slept all week.
As they schlepped out to the parking lot, Markus caught up to them. “Gabby, hold up.”
Gabby’s breath caught in her throat. “I thought you’d already left,” she said, relief swamping her at the sight of him. It wasn’t like he’d run through the airport to stop her from leaving forever, but here she was feeling it, just a little.
“I saw you perform,” Markus said to Betty, “you have a gorgeous voice.”
Betty blushed and pressed her hand to her heart. “Aren’t you sweet,” she said, suddenly sounding like a Southern belle.
“I thought you were lip-synching?” Gabby said.
“Of course I was lip-synching, but don’t act like that’s not a thing. I still can’t believe Ashlee Simpson was canceled for it. I do ‘Pieces of Me’ in her honor sometimes.”
“That’s… thoughtful.” Markus turned his focus to Gabby. “Anyway, I was thinking you might need a ride. I know you came with Fran.”
“Actually—”
Betty bodychecked her toward Markus. “That’s a great idea, Markus. Gabby’s house is really out of the way for me.”
Before she knew it, Gabby was headed for Markus’s car, her nerves on fire with awareness of him, her brain screaming that this was going to be awkward.
Markus made a show of opening the passenger-side door for her and waited until she had buckled before carefully shutting it. The feeling of being treated like a lady, especially by a man as handsome as Markus, was unsettling. She was a double agent one minute, a princess the next, and about to go home to be a Croc-wearing, lunch-making mom. It was enough to give a girl whiplash.
He started up the car and changed the playlist from what must have been his pump-up music to Sade, and he cut his eyes her direction. What was happening?
It’s not like she’d ever been relaxed around Markus, but the last few times she’d seen him had been… less than perfect. Yesterday, she had ripped out her earpiece and given him the silent treatment. Today, she’d drugged and zip-tied him. But before that, there was the kiss. Gabby stared forward at the road. “So… uh.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Markus with a chuckle.
“Sorry again for tying you up,” said Gabby.
“No problem. It was nice to see you break someone else’s nose this time.”
“Hey!” She elbowed him. “I didn’t fully break yours… did I?”
At a stoplight, Markus touched her hand and squeezed lightly, and shivers ran from her fingers all the way up her arm. “Nah. I was fine. You did an amazing job, Gabs. You tied up three senior EOD agents, two Mafia bosses, and Kramer. I mean…” He scratched his head. “How the hell did you do that?”
The light turned green, and he focused on the road again, giving Gabby enough clear headspace to answer a question. “I guess no one was expecting it.”
“I certainly wasn’t.”
It was dark in the car, nothing but oncoming headlights cutting across his face, making it hard to read his expression. Pride, amusement, sadness? She was just guessing based on her own feelings.
Was this going to be it for her and Markus?
“Before I drugged you and tied you up—” She flashed a hopeful smile. “I had a really nice time.” God, she just described a national security mission as “a nice time.” She could smack herself in the forehead. Parts of it had been, though.
Instead of teasing, Markus said, “Me too. I haven’t had so much fun on an op in forever.” His brown eyes soft, he said, “I’ve never looked forward to putting in my earpiece so much.”
“It was really nice talking to you every day. I’ll miss that.” She sighed. “I guess it’s back to doing laundry alone listening to Sloane Ellis’s divorce tips.”
Speaking of laundry, she hadn’t touched a load since starting at the EOD. It was going to be bad.
Worse than that, the ride was over. He pulled into her driveway at Avocado Avenue.
“So I guess this is it,” she said with an actual sigh.
“You’re going to miss me,” he said, teasing.
“Um, yes.” There was no denying it.
“Let me walk you in. Make sure all the bad guys are gone.”
That sounded nice.
“There aren’t many guys you can trust with your life,” Gabby said. It was true.
“Oh, I seem to remember being tied up in a back room earlier today,” he said as Gabby opened the door.
“I wasn’t sure I was thinking one hundred percent straight where you were concerned.”
Inside, all the lights were on. Burt was in the La-Z-Boy watching local news with Mr. Bubbles on his lap. Bubbles looked up and wagged his tail but didn’t move.
“I don’t even get a greeting, Bubbles!” she scolded with a laugh.
Gabby never thought she’d be so glad to see Burt or his stupid TV. A near-death experience will make you grateful for the strangest things. If she didn’t keep her mouth shut, she would invite Burt to stay permanently.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, looking around at an otherwise empty house.
“Vera took them out for pizza and bingo,” Burt said without even glancing her way.
Gabby glanced at her smartwatch. It was ten o’clock, a solid hour past Lucas’s bedtime, and he was probably playing an arcade game while drinking a gallon of soda. Before she let frustration boil over, she reminded herself that it was not a school night, and they were probably having a blast with Granny. Everyone was fine. Granny could be good cop and she’d be bad cop. After tonight, she knew she was up to it.
Markus checked the rooms one by one. There was no evidence of any danger, but an unholy mess had piled up during the last two weeks. “Do you feel safe?” he asked.
“I do.” Smirnov and his men were in jail, along with Fran. Everything was in its rightful place, except for the laundry. Everyone was safe, and that was all that mattered.
“Thanks again, Markus. I really appreciate you.”
“I know. I was the only one who got a coffee card the other day.”
Gabby felt her cheeks flush.
“I was kind of hoping I’d get another one tonight.”
“A coffee card?” She shook her head at her own foolishness. “I didn’t have time or I probably would have. Or maybe something even sillier, like a potted plant or a Tupperware container of homemade cookies.” She shook her head. “Activate mom-mode at your own risk, Markus.”
“Cookies? You’re speaking my language.” Markus looked serious.
“Don’t joke with me, Markus, or you’re in for it. I’ll end up making you ants on a log, and you’ll be embarrassed to eat lunch in front of all the other spies.”
He threw back his head and laughed. “You do that. I could use more celery in my life.”
Before she could overthink it, she stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Like Betty said, she was “Gabby motherfucking Greene.” If she could be a spy, she could make the first move, which wasn’t even really the first move, because he’d kissed her once already.
For a blissful moment, her brain shut down. Markus placed a hand on the small of her back and pressed her flush against him. Her world was nothing but the feel of his skin against hers. “Markus?”
“Mm-hmm.” His voice was soft, and his lids heavy.
When she didn’t finish her thought, he feathered kisses along her jawline.
With a groan, she broke the kiss and leaned into his chest, the heat of his body melting into hers. “How do you still smell good after tonight?” she asked.
He chuckled.
“No, really. I held you hostage, and you still smell like aftershave.”
At that moment, Betty Danger drove by, tapped her horn, and yelled, “Get it, gurl!” out her window.
Markus squinted. “I thought she said your house was out of the way.”
With a shake of her head, Gabby said, “No, she lives like two houses down. She’s my best friend.”
With the spell broken, Markus smiled slyly. “So now that the mission is over, how about dinner? Next Friday, I’ll make reservations somewhere nice.”
The invitation sent a spike of joy through her being. She wanted to scream, “Yes!” and text everyone she knew, aka Justin, that she was going on a date with Markus, then spend all week selecting the perfect outfit that would make it look like she wasn’t trying too hard. She hadn’t had it this bad for a guy since, well, she’d never been this head over heels. A smaller part of her whispered, “Slow down, Gabby. You’re not ready.”
She wanted to tell that little voice to shut up, and hug Markus tighter. Instead, she looked into his eyes. “I really like you, Markus. Like a lot.” She overemphasized “a lot” to the degree she felt it. “But… let’s not do dinner, not yet.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“If you haven’t had a chance to use that coffee card yet, how about we grab a coffee?”
Looking a little unsettled, he said, “Um, sure, if you want to take it slow, that’s fine. How about after work next Monday?”
Relieved she was going to see him outside of work, even if she wasn’t ready for candlelight, she said, “It’s a date.”
Flirtatiously, he said, “You mean ‘a date’ or a daaaaaate ?”
She laughed.
“See you after work on Monday.” It wouldn’t hurt to keep him guessing.
After seeing Markus off, Gabby walked back into the house in a mild panic. Had she just said no to Prince Charming? Well, maybe not Prince Charming, but the hottest man she knew in real life. No, she tried de-escalating her inner monologue—she’d declined a romantic date and counter-offered with a Monday afternoon coffee. Still, her ribs hurt more at the thought.
Stop it, Gabby. If she leaped into a relationship with Markus, she’d probably just start washing his shirts and packing lunches without ever getting her own life together. And Markus was fine, more than fine. Wondering whether he was going on a daaaate wouldn’t do him any harm. When the time came, she’d let him know what was up. She had value and was worth waiting for.
Either way, Granny was still out with the kids, and she should take the time to wash her face and collect herself. Thank you, Granny. For the first time in her life, she had an involved co-parent. But when she flicked on the lights in the bathroom, she stared into the frightened eyes of a woman who had just risked spending eternity alone, not to dramatize the situation. Better not to think, she did a full-on skincare routine and slipped into some sweats.
She turned on the last chapter of Sloane Ellis’s Divorce: A New Beginning . As she used the little rose quartz face roller to iron out the wrinkles, or whatever it was that the face roller was supposed to do, she let Sloane’s dubious wisdom wash over her.
“Change can be difficult to accept. Even if things aren’t perfect, it might feel safer to stay the same. The same routine, the same people—oftentimes, the same disappointments, the same stagnation, the same feeling that something is missing. Change means risk, but also unknown rewards and pleasures. There is no telling what life will bring when you take a different path.”
In the other room, Burt snored so loud in the La-Z-Boy that he woke himself up and shouted, “Vera!” before settling down again.
Burt—now there was a risk she hadn’t seen coming.
She turned up Sloane, who, for once, made sense. “But change is also inevitable. You can be dragged into new things kicking and screaming or you can embrace change with creativity and openheartedness. The kicking-and-screaming way—that way is going to hurt, and you probably won’t notice the new positives over the sound of your own complaining. Be open, and it’ll go much better.”
There had been so much change in the last two weeks. Before Alice and Valentina had walked into her life, she’d been frozen. The marriage might have been over, but she was still acting like Phil was about to come home from work.
Who would have thought she would do so well at spying?
And Granny… Gabby could probably be a little more open and trusting of her than she had been.
For one, bingo wasn’t the devil.
For two, Granny was another driver and loved her grandkids.
For three, the kids were having an adventure with a grandma. Even though it was hard for Gabby to watch sometimes, everyone should have some adventure. It was certainly doing her some good.
It was time to hand over her old bedroom for good to Granny and Burt. She needed a new bed and new decorations that didn’t reflect compromises at the furniture store with Phil. Trying to agree on a bedspread had been like trying to achieve peace in the Middle East, a sign of larger problems in retrospect.
At the thought of another night on the futon, she googled “mattress” and one-click ordered a “mattress in a box” that promised the best night’s rest of her life. Sure, not everyone had given it five stars and it wasn’t cheap, but she was entering a new era of calculated risks. That futon had beaten her up almost as much as Fran had when all she had to do was stop fighting for the status quo. The master bedroom was all for Granny.
She texted Justin. Will u help redecorate my bedroom?
He texted right back. Does this have anything to do with Agent Beefcake?
NO. It’s not like Markus would be spending the night with her kids down the hall and Granny and Burt on the other side of the wall. Her life was a lot to walk into, another good reason to take it slow. And who knew if he was even interested in that. Or if she was ready. Working together, or even having dinner, was a little different than a real relationship with a grown-ass woman with children and responsibilities. But… she could hope, and her futon was no field of dreams. If she didn’t build it, he wouldn’t come. Not that he was coming, especially now that she’d downgraded the date to coffee. She needed to stop thinking about coming at all. Stop getting ahead of yourself, Gabby Greene!
In an impassioned voice, Sloane said, “Repeat after me: change, I am yours!”
Gabby took a deep breath and did as told. In a passionate voice that rang through the house, she yelled, “Change, I am yours!”
In the wake of silence following her passionate exaltation, she heard a crowd of people in the kitchen noticeably not talking. Granny stage-whispered, “Kids, stay where you are. It sounds like your mom—” She cleared her throat. “Has a gentleman over.”
This prompted barfing noises, probably from Kyle.
“Stop it, Kyle. Your mother is a young woman, not even in her sexual prime yet.”
“Granny,” Gabby yelled before the kids were any more traumatized. “It’s just me!” And she rushed into the kitchen to wrap Granny and the kids in the biggest hugs of their lives.
“Don’t squeeze so hard,” Granny complained. “You’re going to crack a rib.”
“I’m just so glad to see you,” she said, her own ribs aching.
Kyle flipped her faded hair and said, “Mom, you’re acting really weird.”
Gabby put her arm around Kyle and squeezed. Illegal, low-stakes gambling was fine. Not what she would have picked, but hey.
His words rushing out in a jumble of excitement, Lucas said, “Mom, you should have seen it. The cops were here tonight. They arrested Shelly and those weird guys who were parked outside. It was so cool.”
“Mischa seemed so nice. He looked just like my cousin Ilia back in the day,” Granny added with a shake of her head. “I can’t imagine he did anything bad.”
Gabby squeezed them tighter. Maybe the week had been nothing but staying up late and pizza for them, but she had almost lost everyone she loved.
“Mom, what is the matter with you? Why are you crying?”
“I love you guys. More than you’ll ever know.” Gabby kissed the tops of her kids’ heads and shut her eyes, just savoring her happy ending.
“Oh-kay. Love you too,” Kyle said flippantly, but it was the first time she’d said it in a very long time.
“Are we going to the mall tomorrow?” Gabby asked, and wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to act normal. “Purple hair or bust?”
Kyle pulled a faded purple strand out and inspected it. “Actually, I was thinking I might go red. Maybe with one purple streak.”
Gabby’s heart almost stopped. “Really?” Blinking back tears, she said, “L’Oréal intense red copper does run in our family.”
Kyle backed away slowly. “I’m going to bed now. You’re acting really weird, Mom.”
“Brush your teeth!” she shouted, in a desperate attempt to flee emotion, as the kids ran up the stairs.
It might be a new landscape—co-parenting with her grandma, fake red hair all around, a coffee date with Markus—but everyone was safe. Sloane was right; change was a good thing.
For the first time in a long time, all was right with the world.