happy when theyâre barefoot and pregnant. But I do want to see you loosen up a bit. Let your hair downâeven if itâs just for a little while.â
The sincerity in Louisaâs eyes touched Diana but she felt awkward, even embarrassed, about discussing her lackluster love life.
âWeâre supposed to be talking about you.â
âWe are. Weâre discussing my wish to see you happy. I donât care if itâs with a man, woman, dog, animal, vegetable or mineral.â She chuckled. âI need to leave this world knowing you have something that brings joy into your life. Is that too much to ask?â
Stumped, Diana tightened her grasp on Louisaâs hand. âNo,â she said, wiping a few more tears from her eyes. âItâs not too much to ask.â
Chapter 5
B randyâs big, wet, sloppy kisses were always the highlight of Marcelâs day. At ninety pounds, the Doberman pinscher had a ferocious bark and a low growl that frightened and intimidated strangers. Few people knew the dogâs theatrics were all an act.
âHowâs my girl doing?â Marcel asked, scratching behind the dogâs ear.
Brandyâs jaw sagged as her eyes rolled back with pleasure.
âDaddy missed his little girl,â he cooed as if talking to a real baby. Pushing up from bended knee, Marcel continued into the house. To his relief, the place was empty of maids, chefs and the occasional freeloader.
Panting, Brandy trotted next to her master into the kitchen where she was promptly rewarded with a doggie treat.
âIt doesnât take much to make you happy, does it?â he asked at her exuberance.
Brandy barked.
âI didnât think so.â He tossed her another treat, and then went to the refrigerator to find something for himself. âI wish we could trade places for a day,â he said. âIâd love to lounge around on Italian leather all day.â
Brandy looked around as if to say, Who, me?
Marcel laughed. He would probably never break Brandyâs habit of relaxing on his expensive furniture whenever he wasnât around.
Taking out all the items he needed for a good sub sandwich, Marcel broke the news of his parentsâ possible divorce to his âlittle girl.â He took her silent attentiveness as concern. Most likely Brandy was simply waiting for him to drop or toss her a piece of whatever he was fixing.
âI mean, have you ever heard of anyone getting a divorce after forty years?â
Woof!
âMy point exactly.â Marcel piled more condiments onto his sandwich. âThis puts everything we talked about the other night in a whole new light, donât you think? Finding a woman and settling down is supposed to be permanent. Now that I think about it, almost everyone I know is on either their second or third marriage.
âA lot of them have two or three different sets of children. Not to mention the children they have with people they never married. Itâs crazy.â He glanced at Brandy.
She lay down and placed her head in between her front paws.
âThis doesnât mean Iâm reneging on finding you a mom. Iâm just saying that maybe itâs going to take a little more time and thought. If Iâm going to do this, then I want to do it right and only one time.â
Brandy moaned and continued to look pitiful.
âI promise. Iâm not trying to back out of this.â He sliced his sub in half and struggled to fit it on his plate. âHell, I donât know what Iâm saying.â He turned and walked out of the kitchen. It took him a few seconds to realize that Brandy hadnât followed him.
âStop being a drama queen and come on,â he said over his shoulder, heading into the entertainment room. When she still refused to come, he rolled his eyes and settled into his favorite spot on the leather sofa and activated the plasma television by voice command.
In the back of