Headed for Trouble - By Suzanne Brockmann Page 0,68
The night after Maggie’s party. If Arlene didn’t agree to marry him by Saturday, he’d change the rules of the game. Because enough was enough.
He was in the process of cleaning the hell out of his crappy studio apartment. He’d already spoken to Jules and Robin about taking charge of Maggie for the second half of the weekend, since Will and Dolphina were going to a wedding on Sunday.
But until then, with his incredible restraint, he was showing Arlene, in glorious living Technicolor, that he was one majorly serious mofo.
At least he hoped that was how she was reading it.
Right now, she was looking at him as if he’d completely lost his mind. And as Maggie went into the building, the door swinging shut behind her, Arlene whispered, “She won’t be home until ten. I can call Will and make sure—”
Jack stopped her with a kiss. “I love you,” he said. “But I gotta go.”
“Jack,” he heard her say, laughter and bemusement in her voice as he climbed into the Zipcar. He waved at her as he pulled away.
Long-term goals. Long-term goals.…
He was in this to win it—and Saturday wasn’t all that far away.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The party at Laser-Mania was a huge success.
Maggie’s schoolmates were wide-eyed when they realized that a movie star was one of the guests. They were also astonished at the concept of having the entire huge amusement complex to themselves.
But as Jules well knew, those two things went hand in hand.
“I don’t know how to thank you,” Arlene said to Jules as they stood at the railing in the spectator loft and watched Robin talk to Maggie and the other kids down on the laser battle course below. The large area had recently been redecorated to look like the hulking remains of a decaying spacecraft—very science fiction, and not at all reminiscent of Iraq. The laser weapons, too, were very ray gun—otherwise Jules was certain that Maggie would’ve picked another location for their party. “I can’t even begin to imagine how much this cost.”
“Not as much as you think,” Jules reassured her. “And definitely less than bringing security in, to try to protect Robin in a Friday night crowd. He’s kind of a hot target—that’s just something we live with. The studio knows it, too, and they help pick up the cost of protecting him. It’s a worthwhile investment for all parties.”
She smiled at that, and it softened the angles of her face, making her look much too young to have a daughter Maggie’s age. “You’re so lucky,” she said. “I mean, to have found him.”
“I am,” Jules agreed, as down beneath them Robin explained the rules to a game that was really called Balls, but that, for today, he was calling by the more PG-13 name Pairs. “He’s amazing.”
Teams of two attached themselves together with a harness and a three-foot-long bungee cord. They would then compete in a laser tag game with another likewise-attached team. First team to annihilate the other won. You got more points if both team members survived, but one person standing was okay, too.
But once your teammate was “killed,” and her laser vest lit up, she had to stop and drop, which was limiting for the survivor, who was now attached to a “dead” body.
It was a fun game, even for beginners. And Jules knew that before the evening ended he’d be dragged into it, and forced to handicap himself by doing something ridiculous. Like taking off his boots and limiting himself to firing his laser ray gun with his toes. Or tying his feet together and firing his weapon with his hands behind his back.
Right now Maggie had teamed up with Robin, while a very pretty Asian American girl named Keisha was giggling as she attached herself to the skinny boy named Jason.
Maggie’s smile was a little bit forced, and she kept looking over at the door that led into the gaming area, as if she were waiting for someone to come in.
Dolphina and Will were setting up the room where they’d all have pizza—yeah, right, that’s what they were doing, alone in there. Arlene’s friend Jack had yet to arrive, so maybe Maggie was waiting for him.…
Arlene nodded. “Yeah, they had a big fight. Lizzie’s pretty volatile.” She sighed. “Mags is really upset, and I feel guilty, because I keep thinking maybe it’s for the best.”
“Look who I found, lurking out in the parking lot.”
Arlene practically did a triple-lutz, she turned around