Thirteen Million Dollar Pop Read Online Free PDF Page B

plates of buffalo wings, timber fries, beer bottles, and hurricane glasses with the pink swill of strawberry margaritas in the bottoms. The Wild Beaver wasn’t her choice, but some of the guys from the office liked itbecause of the sassy female bartenders, and the girls were happy to come along; so even though it was her good-bye to the office before maternity leave, she didn’t protest.
    “What about one of those bartenders? You can fight through the competition.”
    “Maybe. Not sure assless chaps and dancing on the bar are good credentials for my next girl,” Chad said, scanning the sexy pair pouring drinks for a few rows of guys.
    “Don’t try and act like a grown-up for my benefit—it doesn’t wash. You’d love a girl in assless chaps.”
    “Speaking of grown-ups, wasn’t Grandpa Behr supposed to be meeting you?”
    “He is.”
    A pause ensued, during which Chad seemed to wrestle with himself over something he had to say.
    “Suzy …” he began.
    “Yeah?”
    “Nothing.”
    “What?”
    “It’s just … what are you getting out of this?” Chad didn’t wrestle very hard or for very long. “I just don’t see it … I mean, how many divorces does this guy have rattling along behind him?”
    “One, for god’s sake, Chad,” Susan said.
    “And that other stuff. All that other
stuff
. This guy’s got
baggage
. He’s got a frigging luggage carousel spinning around his waist. And now with the kid on the way … I just don’t see it.”
    “I do. And luckily you don’t need to.”
    “All right, all right.” Chad retreated. “You want another drink?”
    “No, I’ve had my one beer,” she said.
    “You’re some kind of saint, Suzy.”
    Behr made his way through the faux-log-cabin-themed bar toward the tables in the back. The crowd he waded through hadmade good use of their happy hour and were well on their way to being juiced. It was still early, but the music was loud. The place was a long way from the lodge it was trying to resemble. As he cleared a column, he saw her sitting there, pregnant, looking like she was ready to leave. And her little buddy Chad was there next to her, like a dog waiting underneath the table for a scrap to fall. He walked over to them, ran his hand over her blond hair.
    “Hey, Suze,” he said. “Some place you picked.”
    “Guys from the office picked it,” she said, smiling up at him.
    “I feel ten years too old to be here.” Behr shook his head.
    “Fifteen,” Chad said, “and overdressed too. How you doing, Franklin?”
    “Chadwick,” Behr said. “Still trying to develop that personality, I see.”
    “And that’s coming from the master. Well …” Chad said, pushing away from the table, “duty calls.” He gave Susan a half hug, stood, and made for the bar, where a gaggle of young professional females were sizing up a row of shot glasses along a six-foot-long wooden beaver tail.
    “Be careful out there, player,” Susan called after him, then turned to Behr.
    He didn’t know if her little party was done or if some of her coworkers were at the bar. He meant to offer her the chance to stay, but “You ready to go?” is what he said.
    The units at Broad Ripple Arbor were clean and neat and spacious, with brand-new stainless steel appliances, cream-colored walls, and spongy gray carpet. There was a pool, a common room with a big-screen television, a fitness center, and an outdoor barbecue. The residents were mostly young professional couples, and more and more of them were having babies, which was giving the complex a family feel. It was near the Monon Trail, which was good for jogging, rollerblading, strollering.
    Behr’s feelings were mixed. He didn’t feel at home in the well-scrubbed, almost cookie-cutter complex.
We should have a house
, he thought, as he followed Susan, a car length back, but the town house was a big step up from their current situation. There was no denying that. A three bedroom had just come available at the Arbor. It