The rumble of the garage door made him check the time. Lori had been gone for just under an hour. Things must’ve not gone so well.
He debated turning the channel rather than having to eat crow when Lori saw him watching the movie without the kids. But the movie was awesome, so he’d take his licks.
Lori appeared a few minutes later, her eyes red and puffy, holding a pizza box in her hands. “Hi. Did you guys eat?”
“The kids ate right after you left. I was just about to grab something. Are you okay?”
She shook her head as she laid the box on the coffee table. “I’m going to change. Be right back.” Lori disappeared and then returned a moment later with tears in her eyes. “I need help with my zipper. Please.” The defeat in her voice sent a dagger to his heart.
After pausing the movie, he jumped up from the couch. As he slowly tugged the zipper lower, he whispered, “Do I need to go beat up Jason?” He’d do it in a heartbeat for her. He loved the time they’d spent together every day. There wasn’t anything he’d rather do than be with Lori. When she smiled at him, he felt like Superman. She made him happy.
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled sadly. “While you have the physique, I’m guessing you’ve never hit anyone in your life, Deek.”
“Untrue. I took boxing in college. I studied hours of film looking for proper techniques and practiced until I had the muscle memory. Came in second in our division.”
Her right brow arched. “I’m impressed. Be right back. Help yourself to some pizza.”
What had Jason Pederson done to hurt Lori? Digging into Jason’s private on-line life might give some clues about what kind of guy he was.
Deek grabbed the laptop he’d brought along and was about to do something that wasn’t entirely legal, but the chances of being caught were slim. He’d never go public with what he’d find, so he’d risk it. If there were any dirt to find on Jason, Deek would find it.
As he tapped away, he uncovered a gold mine of what Jason surely thought were private pictures. They told an interesting tale. And the number of women he’d posed with showed he was a major player.
Lori joined him on the couch wearing gray sweats and a pink T-shirt that clung nicely to her curves. She picked up the remote and hit Play, and then grabbed two pieces of pizza. She put one on a napkin for him, then dug into her piece.
He paused his computer search. “What happened?”
She took a big bite and then closed her eyes. “I ran into the woman Joe had an affair with before his last deployment. And my date was more interested in the color of my dress than me.”
“Then he’s blind. I’ll never forget the first time we volunteered in the kids’ classroom together. I thought you were the prettiest woman I’d ever met. It was just a bonus that you were always nice, and easy to talk to. And the only single mom who didn’t flirt with me at school.”
“Really?” Lori looked puzzled. “Thank you. I think you’re very attractive and easy to talk to as well. Not to mention handy to have around. Apparently, Jason doesn’t think the same things that you do about me.”
“It’s his loss, not yours.” He took a big bite of pizza as he debated telling her what he’d found. The guy was all wrong for Lori. But would she think less of him for hacking?
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t think I was ready to date again, anyway. Especially a guy so handsome he could model for GQ. You can’t trust those types. Joe was very Ken-doll handsome too. I need someone nice, who won’t look at me with censure for eating cookies because I couldn’t resist.”
No way could he let Lori think Jason’s lack of interest was because of the way she looked. He picked up the remote and paused the movie. “I think you should see something I found—”
“Besides, I think I mentioned that my sister Rachel is moving back home tomorrow. She’ll be living here until she finds her own house. She plans to help me fix up this money pit—like you’ve been so kind to do, Deek. The house is what I need to focus on now.” She took another huge bite of pizza, then mumbled around it, “Men can go suck it.”
Did that mean all men? Him too? “Okay. I’ll go, but not until after I show— ”
Lori grabbed his arm. “No. You’re fine. I’m talking about men who are in my dating pool. Not you, Deek.”
Should he be offended by that? Annie obviously felt the same. “Annie’s obsession with sleeping with other men and her asking me to sleep with other women was already making me wonder if all my sex research had been wrong. But now I’m not dating material?”