No More Mr. Nice - By Renee Roszel Page 0,67

grab them before they broke and didn’t watch where I was going. But the school was great, and they’re paying for all this—” she swept a thin arm about “—and they’re fixing my glasses.”

“That’s fine.” Jess felt a sad tug at her heart and came over to perch on the bed. She noticed the cast held the kid’s autographs. “May I sign?” she asked, indicating the marking pen sitting on the bedside table.

“Oh, sure.” Molly smiled cheerfully.

A large bouquet of flowers also sat on the table beside the bed. Jess had noticed them when she first came in—a big bouquet of miniature pink rosebuds and tiny cream-colored carnations amid a delicate cloud of baby’s breath. The arrangment was perfect for a young girl like Molly. One expected to see flowers in a hospital room, of course. This arrangement, Jess realized, must have cost at least one hundred dollars. Far out of the range of Molly’s friends.

She touched a diminutive rose. “Where did these come from?

“Mr. Niceguy,” Molly whispered. “He brought them himself.”

“Oh, that’s lov—” Jess halted, her eyes widening in confusion. “Mr. Who?”

Molly was looking at the bouquet now, her plain features animated with happiness. She reached for an envelope and handed it to Jess. “Look at this.”

Jess fished out ten small pieces of cardboard, then realized they were tickets. She scanned them, reading aloud, “‘Taylor Swift Concert. December fifteenth. Oklahoma City Pavilion.’” Her words died away as she looked up at Molly. “These are impossible to get. And they’re right down front,” she murmured, more to herself than anyone. “Where did these come from?”

“Mr. Niceguy brought them,” she repeated softly. “He told me to make sure everybody from the retreat got one.” She relaxed back against her pillows with a dreamy expression. “I’m going to get better really fast, now. Taylor Swift is so cool.”

“She’s thick, man,” Moses added with a leer.

Jess glanced at him, feeling woozy from the mere possibility that Lucas Brand had not only managed to get tickets—which must have cost him a fortune from some scalper—but he’d delivered them himself. And flowers, too? She scanned Moses’s face, trying to keep her mind on track. “Thick? I presume that no longer means stupid?”

Moses chortled. “You pre-zoom straight.”

“It means she has a good body,” Annie explained, sounding irritated. She gave Moses a sharp crack in the ribs with her elbow. “You are so annoying, jerk-face.” She said it with a flirtatious smile, and everybody laughed.

There was a throat-clearing from the door, and Jess turned to see Jerry, Lucas’s chauffeur. “Say, Jack, dude!” he called with a grin. “Gotta go.”

Jack, who had been sitting quietly behind the main group, stood and nodded at Molly. “Check you later,” he offered, with the beginnings of a surprisingly charming smile.

Molly smiled back and blushed. “Give Moron a hug for me.”

Spitball, who’d been eating what looked like leftover pudding from Molly’s lunch, set the empty bowl aside and kidded, “If that mutt stinks like usual, he’ll have to give him a tomato juice shower first. Peeeuuuu!”

“Hi there, Ms. Glen,” Jerry said with a wave when he noticed her.

She smiled and waved back, feeling confused. Once Jack and Jerry were gone, she asked, “Where are they going?”

“Oh,” Annie said, “Mr. Niceguy hired Jack to come out and do chores, and take care of Moron—like clean him up when he comes home stinking. Jack goes out there every day after school, does his homework and a few other things around the place, eats dinner, then Jerry takes him home.” She leaned back in her straight chair and glanced furtively at Moses. “See, Jack wants to keep Moron, but the apartment building where he lives won’t allow pets, so Mr. Niceguy’s letting him sorta keep Moron this way. That Mr. Niceguy is totally awesome.” She added proudly, “I’m the one who called him and told him about Molly being in the hospital, and we talked about a bunch of stuff.”

Jess stared. “You did?”

“Yeah. First time, he had to call me back, but he’s major cool.” She gave Moses a coquettish look and added mischievously, “And a total stud.”

Moses snorted and rolled his eyes, and Jess detected the touch of jealousy she was sure Annie had been hoping for.

After that, she lost track of the conversation. The image of Lucas as a “total stud” was too upsetting, considering their fiery sexual past. She tried to think about other things—like the things Lucas had been doing for the kids. Was this the same man she’d met just