Page 14 of Earl

“Hi.” He cleared the huskiness from his voice, but it didn’t work.

“Hi.” Her voice was low and sultry and far better than he anticipated.

“Thanks.” For the first time in his life, he was tongue-tied.

“You are most welcome.” There was a hint of amusement in her voice that had him blushing.

Blushing? Christ! Dragging fingers through his hair, he started pacing. “Are we sticking to phone calls, or is this just a one-time thing?” He cursed himself for asking that question, in case she decided that it would be just the one time.

“I think we will stick to the phone calls. I would not want to be responsible for you having carpal tunnel. That was a very neat trick by the way.”

“What was?” His heart settled and he could breathe easier.

“Making me feel guilty.”

“I was just stating facts. I am not the best texter in the world.”

“You are right, this is much easier. So, we are really doing this.”

“We are. And I promise to wait for your timing. You will decide when we meet. I can assure you that I am not an ogre.”

“What if I am?”

“I seriously doubt that.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “I love waking up to the sound of your voice.”

“Uh huh.”

“What?”

“You are going to expect me to be calling you every morning.”

“Would you?” He laughed softly. “You could be my wake-up call.”

“I am sure you have an alarm clock.”

“Which does not sound as…er… as pleasant as you do.” He had been about to say sexy, but did not want to give her a reason to stop the conversation.

“I’ll buy that. How was the workout?”

“I haven’t gotten to it yet.” And he realized that he probably will not have the time. He had some early morning meetings and time was slipping by, much too fast for his liking.

“I will let you…”

“No!” He tempered his voice when he realized he was practically shouting. “I mean I have time. Are you usually up this early?”

“I have a deadline, remember?”

“You did say that. When will you tell me what the deadline is for?”

“Somewhere down the road.”

*****

“Bitch, I haven’t seen you in two weeks!”

Teresa was as thin as a rake and very white, her creamy complexion offset by fiery red hair, she had inherited from her Irish mother. Freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, and her large green eyes were her best features.

She was a fashion editor and sometimes would be gone for days at a time. Cathy had met her several years ago when she started doing designs for Romano’s and they had become fast friends. The only hitch in the relationship was the constant bickering between her and Justin.

---