Page 101 of Tap Left
I squint and suddenly wish I’d brought a pair of binoculars. Rookie mistake. You should always have binoculars at a stakeout.
“I don’t know. But she looks like she’s incognito for sure.”
The woman is wearing a long leopard print overcoat and a giant floppy hat with huge sunglasses. It’s like something straight out of a movie when she glances over her shoulder and then darts inside the building.
I suck down my coffee and stuff the rest of my muffin into my mouth before scooping up my handbag.
“C’mon,” I mumble. “Let’s go.”
Mellie dutifully follows me across the street and into the building. The doorman, Frank, pales when he sees me, and that’s how I know he’s in on it too. He reaches for the phone, and I shake my head.
“Don’t you dare, Frank.”
“Whatever you say, Mrs. Daire,” he answers sheepishly.
We ride the elevator to the top, and I spring out of the doors the moment they open. And there it is. The confirmation of my suspicions. Daire is sprawled out across the sofa, snoozing, while Grazi tends to the puppies. She gasps when she sees me and belatedly attempts to run and hide before she realizes the ridiculousness of that idea.
“I can explain.” She sets the puppy in her arms back into the playpen.
Daire’s eyes spring open, and he immediately looks to Grazi to save him.
“Oh, no, I can’t explain,” she shrieks. “And I can’t save you either.” She runs to the elevator and makes a quick getaway while I cross my arms and wait for Daire’s explanation.
“I was tired,” he groans. “It’s really hard.”
“I know it’s hard. That’s pretty much the whole point. You want to have a baby, but you can’t even take care of a few puppies.”
“It isn’t the same,” he argues. “They’re puppies. It will be different when it’s my own kid.”
“How?”
“It will be ours,” he says as if that explains everything.
I sigh. Daire gets up and uses his cane to walk to me. And it isn’t fair because he knows it’s a losing battle when he touches me. That’s exactly what he does, stroking my cheek in his hand, rubbing my back with the other.
“I’m sorry,” he apologizes. “I didn’t mean to let you down, LB.”
He kisses me, and some of my annoyance melts away. But Mellie clears her throat, reminding me she’s still present, and also that I’m supposed to be mad right now.
“Right.” I take a step back. “You need to take this seriously, Daire.”
“I do,” he says.
“Then prove it,” I tell him. “Without any help from anyone. I need to see that you understand what you’re signing up for and it’s not just some romantic notion you have in your head.”
He sighs. “It isn’t, Lola. But you’re right. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it.”
The bed shiftswhen Daire climbs back into bed, and it wakes me up.
“What are you doing?” I murmur.
“The pups were crying,” he says.
“But it was my turn. You should have woken me.”
He pulls my body into his. “You looked too peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you.”
I snuggle into his chest and breathe him in. He smells amazing. And he’s so warm. It’s no wonder the puppies favor him. They spend half the day piled in a heap on his lap whenever he gets home from work. Luckily since the shop has been doing so well, I’m able to spend more time away from it. We juggle our schedules and take turns with the responsibilities surrounding the puppies and the house. We get tired, and we bicker, and some nights we just end up eating cereal for dinner, but Daire has done what he set out to do.
