Finally Bella said, “It wasn’t no waitress I saw you with. To me she looked like a two-dollar type. You took her for a walk up Second and then you went in a house with her.”
“What house? What are you talking about?” He frowned with genuine bewilderment and rubbed the back of his head. Then, as the incident came back, “For God’s sake, that was no house, it was a store. She’s married and has five children. Her husband sells secondhand furniture. I told her we needed another lamp for the parlor. If you don’t believe me, go inside and take a look. You’ll see the lamp I bought.”
Bella was convinced, but not mollified. She said, “Why didn’t you tell me that when I asked you the first time?”
“I didn’t like the way you asked me, that’s why. Didn’t even give me a chance to explain. Just came leaping at me like a wildcat.”
“Did you have to punch me in the face?”
“If I hadn’t, you’d have torn my eyes out.”
“One of these days I will.”
He showed her an easy grin. “Don’t do it when your mother’s around.”
“She won’t stop me the next time. Nothing will.”
Kerrigan let the grin fade. He didn’t like the look on Bella’s face. There was a grimness in her eyes that made him know she meant every word she said.