Page 97 of Embracing the Change

“Who’s wasting now?” I teased.

I could hear the smile in his voice when he said, “Shut up and let me sleep. You never do the work. If I’m going to make us both come in the morning, I need rest.”

“It isn’t me who refuses to let me on top.”

“I’m not a woman-on-the-top kind of man.”

“Because, if you were, you wouldn’t be able to control the rhythm.”

“Precisely.”

“And force.”

“Correct again.”

I sighed dramatically before saying, “If you were anybody else, I might find this vexing.”

There was outright humor in his, “It’s good I’m me then.”

It was indeed.

I snuggled closer.

Jamie held me tighter.

And not long later, we both fell asleep.

CHAPTER 11

DIOR

Nora

Late the next morning, my phone rang in the elevator as it rose to my floor, bringing me home after I’d attended the most desperately annoying committee meeting of women who were planning to raise funds to pay for an exhibition to be brought from a museum in France and displayed at The Frick.

I looked at the screen, felt my face get soft, and took Jamie’s call.

“Hello, darling,” I greeted.

“Hello, baby,” he replied. “I know you have your Skype with your kids soon, but I wanted to run something by you quickly.”

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped out, saying, “I have twenty minutes, and I can text them to share I might be a few minutes late if you need more time.”

“I sense I won’t, but I don’t want to make assumptions.”

Again, Charlene had warned Alyona of my arrival because my front door was open before I got there.

I smiled at her, pointed to the phone, and mouthed, Jamie.

She nodded, her gaze brightening with joy for me (I truly adored my Alyona) before I walked inside.

I went to the living room and sat down to get my weight off my high-heeled sandals while saying to Jamie, “I just got home, I’m no longer teetering on four inches, please share.”

“I asked Monica to pack a few more things to send to your place.”

“If the assumption you were referring to was that I wouldn’t have a problem with that, you assumed correctly.”

“No,” he said. “In making that request, I thought I’d ask her to pack all my clothes to send to yours, so we could live there while you get started on any changes you wish to make to the brownstone.”

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