“Gentlemen,” Cash said. Arthur raised his eyebrows. “May I present Roxanne Neil, my girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? Damn, that was quick. She wasn’t sure what she thought about that, but they would discuss terminology sometime when the old school chums weren’t around.
“Pleased to meet you,” Rox said and walked over to stand beside him. She didn’t duck under his arm. Too much, too soon. “Cash and I have worked together for three years, now. And how long are y’all able to stay?”
“Well, that depends on Casimir, here,” Arthur said. He tilted his head, looking at the bandage. “His sister seemed to think he needed houseguests.”
“Ana set you two on me?” he asked. “I should have known.”
“His sister meddles,” Arthur explained, “and believes that she has his best interests at heart. She used to try to boss him around when we were at school, even though she lived in The Hague and we were in Switzerland.”
“I should have known you two would have all the dirt on Cash,” she said. “Let’s go to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee and talk.”
Arthur perked up and smiled. “Coffee sounds divine. Doesn’t it, Maxence?”
The other man sent a sharp glance toward Arthur, but then relented. “Yes, thank you. Just black, please.”
Arthur said, “God forbid you enjoy anything, Max. Come on, let’s get to know Casimir’s girlfriend.” His frank look raked Rox from her face to her toes and back up. His eyes lingered on her bosom, and he smiled.
“Hey, Arthur,” Rox said and pointed with two fingers to her face. “Eyes up here, buddy.”
He did meet her gaze then, but his pale silver eyes narrowed as his smile grew more mischievous.
Cash stepped between them, cutting off their eye contact, and said something quietly to Arthur. When he stepped aside, Arthur was gazing up at the ceiling, but he was still smiling.
Maxence was staring at his phone like he wasn’t taking part in the skirmish.
Cash said to him, “At least I shouldn’t have to worry about you anymore, eh, Maxence?”
“Certainly not,” Maxence said, and he tugged at his collar.
“Let’s have some coffee, shall we?” Rox offered.
Cash led the way to the kitchen.
Maxence was one step behind him, walking with his hands held in front of himself, the perfect posture of self-control.
Rox wasn’t sure how she had ended up last but suspected that her spirit animal, a herding shepherd dog, was at work somehow.
Arthur strode in front of her, and he slowed, letting Cash and Maxence get farther ahead of them.
As Maxence and Cash went through the door to the kitchen, Arthur turned, grabbed Rox’s wrist, and dragged her two steps to the side.
She yanked her wrist back. “What the fuck!”
He turned her by her shoulders and shoved her up against the wall.
“What the hell do you think you’re—”
“The bandage on Casimir’s face,” Arthur hissed. His eyes, which looked more baby blue because they were practically nose-to-nose, widened and were dead serious. “What’s under it? How bad is it?”
Oh.
“I don’t know,” she stammered. “He won’t let me see. Ever since the accident, he’s kept a bandage on it. He even puts a towel over his head before he gets out of the shower. I don’t know how bad it is.”
Arthur scowled, and she heard grinding from his jaw. “We need to find out how bad it is and what he intends to do about it. Has he left the house?”
Rox wasn’t sure whether to shove Arthur off of her or not. They did need to be close enough to whisper. “Only for doctor appointments, and not at all since the last one a couple weeks ago.”
“Damn it. He holes up like that. We’ve got to get him out of here.”
Arthur stepped back and let her pass, and they were walking toward the kitchen just as Cash pushed the door open and glared at Arthur, and then he held out his hand to Rox to guide her into the kitchen.
On the way in, Arthur told him, “You need a haircut. I have a man here who makes house calls. I’ll see if he’s free this afternoon.”
Dang. Rox had kind of liked Cash’s shaggy, surfer look.
SANCTIMONIOUS BULLSHIT
That night, the four of them had French food delivered from a small bistro rather than drive an entire block to the very same restaurant. They ate in Cash’s formal dining room instead of the television room, sitting in chairs like medieval Spanish thrones at the dark wood table.
Cash sat on her left, at the head of the table, while Arthur had seated himself right beside her and thus out of Cash’s reach. Maxence sat on the other side of the table, across from Rox.