Page 64 of Forever and Other Lies

Damn, if the carpet hadn’t become clean after they repeated the steps twice over. The pattern and colors were becoming visible. It was a beautiful rug, although it was now sopping wet.

“Help me roll it,” Jayna leaned down at the far end.

He moved to the other side, rolling the carpet.

Jayna hit the play button on an old-style MP3 player and Van Halen’s “Jump” blasted through the speakers.

“Thought you liked country?”

“I do. But this kind of work calls for head-banging, stomp-your-feet kind of music.” Jayna grinned and jumped up on the rolled carpet. Water squirted out from the edges.

“Come on, Brennan, you might as well jump,” she laughed.

He shook his head and climbed on top of the rolled carpet. Jayna jumped again, and he lost his balance. She reached to steady him but lost her footing as well. They both tumbled off, falling into the soapy carpet water on the floor.

No one besides Jayna could have talked him into this. He stared down at his soaked jeans and then at her soaked t-shirt. Oh, man. He really wished he hadn’t looked. He wished her snort was still annoying. But no, it was adorable as hell. She looked damn good in soapy carpet water.

Why had he agreed to meet back at Patty’s after running home to change? They should have just called it a night. It was a dumb idea. He didn’t need Jayna to help him decorate his home. He could just ask his mom for help. His mom had good taste.

Yet, here he sat, staring at the door, waiting for Jayna. They’d made plans to eat dinner and peruse the Wayfair catalog. But the plan he should be following was to end this charade of a relationship. Mario had backed off now that his daughter was hot and heavy with another co-worker. Derek was off the hook.

Absent-mindedly, he twirled the amber-colored whiskey in the low tumbler, his eyes trained on the door. He didn’t mean to smile when she walked through it and rushed toward him.

The chair across from him scraped along the concrete floor and she sat down. She had taken a quick shower, and he caught a whiff of her freshly shampooed hair. Grapefruit this time. Her shower must be lined with over a dozen bottles of shampoo.

She set a large tablet on the table and hung her purse off the back of her chair.

“I thought you were bringing the catalog?”

“It’s online,” Jayna replied. “Did you order yet?”

“Just drinks.”

Ivy appeared with another whiskey for him and a frosty margarita for her.

“Thanks,” she smiled up at the server. “My favorite.”

“Any news on that missing nurse?” Ivy asked Jayna as she set the glasses on the table.

Jayna’s smile slid. “No, nothing. It is so out of character for Greta. She has simply vanished. No one has heard from her.”

“I don’t have a good feeling about this.” Ivy pursed her lips. “Has anyone asked Jamie to help?”

Derek scoffed, and both women glanced at him. Psychics, mediums, tarot card readers; it was all a big scam. Not that he disliked Jamie. Admittedly, she did have great intuition. But psychic abilities? Not very likely. Besides, this missing nurse had probably met some guy and took off on an adventure.

No one knew Greta well enough to say this was out of character for her. Nick and Burke had discussed the case the other night while playing poker. Greta had not shown up for work. Her family had not heard from her and filed a missing person report. Her car was gone, and her clothing still hung in her closet. No signs of foul play were found. It was a mystery that he doubted Jamie could solve with a crystal ball.

“I’ll have two pounds of wings, please Ivy,” Derek placed his order, changing the subject.

“Oh, I could do wings,” Jayna said. “We’ll do my special order. Wing roulette.”

“Wing roulette?” he questioned.

Ivy chuckled. “I don’t know if he’s up to the challenge, Jayna, my girl.”

“I’m up for any challenge,” Derek defended. “Just to clarify, what’s the challenge?”

“It’s actually Jayna’s creation,” Ivy stuck her notepad into the pocket of her apron. “I keep telling Patty he needs to add it to the menu. It’s a mixture of mild, medium, hot, and suicide wings, all in the same basket. You never know which wing you’ll get until it’s too late.”

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