Page 167 of Push

Time to find a cleaner.

The notifications from the unknown number were constant. Still, I ignored the steady stream of “I hate you” popping up on my screen and focused on requesting a booking from a woman promising utter perfectionism in her cleans—right up Gwen’salley.Tick. Back in my messages, I took a screenshot of the string of hate from the unknown number, forwarded it to Wayne, and hit “Block.”Tick.

My phone started bleeping.

Grinning, I answered the only call I wanted to receive with a drawled, “Why, hello there, beautiful.”

“Stop that,” Gwen hissed.

I laughed. “Are you blushing, my sweet Gwendolyn?”

“No.” Her answer was too quick—she was totally blushing. “I’ve just jumped in a taxi. I’m on my way home.”

“Oh?” My spine straightened. Alarm bells started ringing. “I thought Marnie was driving you home?”

“Marnie’s three sheets to the wind on cheap cocktails. Romeo and I struggled to get her up the stairs to her place.”

“Romeo?” I laughed. What the hell kind of a name was that? “Is he Marnie’s latest conquest?”

“Uh, he’s… I’ll explain when I get home…” Gwen sighed. “Sort of. Maybe.”

Alarm bells weren’t just ringing anymore—they were blaring like tsunami warnings. “Gwen, has something happened?”

“No…Yes…” She let out another sigh. “It’s complicated.”

“Complicated…how?”I tried to keep my voice calm, but I was anything but. I jumped out of the rocking chair. The pacing happened all by itself. The fluffy rug in Noah’s nursery may as well have been a pit of hot coals. I couldn’t stand still.

“Complicated, like… I ran into your mother at the yacht club.”

I jolted to a stop. “Why the hell were you at the yacht club?” Gwenhatedthat place. Christ. Bad idea. My mother’s home turf, and I wasn’t there to protect Gwen. My fist clenched.

“Marnie talked me into it,” Gwen said. “Something about cheap drinks but not cheap men. That point we disagreed on. Anyway, she’s now safely in bed and will probably wake up regretting all her life choices in the morning.”

“Okay, we’ll plan a brunch catch-up and hangover cures for tomorrow. So, what happened with the Troll Queen?”

Gwen snorted. “You’re brave enough to call your mother that?”

“Yup. I’d say it right to her face, too. She’d love it. All she’d hear is that she’s the queen. So, quit stalling, doll. What happened?”

“The usual.”

“Bad-mouthing you and shit?”

I almost didn’t hear the choked “Yeah.”

A familiar stab got me in the ribs. My mother was pure evil. “You stand up for yourself?”

“Yeah,” Gwen admitted softly. “Eventually.”

“That’s the stuff. Don’t let her talk that trash to you. Not a word she says is true. Got it?”

The pause stretched for a lifetime. “Some of what she says is true. Toby… There’s something I need to tell you.” She blew out a long breath. “Shit, this isn’t a conversation we should have over the phone. I’m only ten minutes away. When I get home…we should…talk.”

Talk?That was ominous. “Cool. Cool. Yeah.Talk.”

“Tobes. Everything’s good between us.”

Was it? It didn’t feel good right now. “Yeah.”

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