“And he obviously likes you, or he wouldn’t still be there.”
“Well. . .”
“Is he a good lover?” Beth asked suddenly.
“Yes,” Amanda answered. Everything she’d done with him had been good, even if they hadn’t had intercourse.
“I called to ask you about the column,” she said, making a quick change of subject. “Am I allowed to answer questions from teenagers?”
“What kind of questions?”
“There’s one from a sixteen-year-old who’s worried that she hasn’t gotten her period yet.”
“That’s a little young for our audience.”
“Yeah, I was afraid of that.”
“How’s the column going?”
“With everything that’s been happening, I haven’t had much chance to work on it. But I’m back on track now.”
“Good. Why don’t you e-mail me what you’ve got in the next few days?”
Amanda swallowed. “Sure.”
“Hang on to Zach. He’s a keeper.”
“Beth!”
“Okay, you’re the one writing the advice column.”
“Yes, and I’d better get back to work,” Amanda said quickly. After giving Beth the number at the new house, she hung up. Then, feeling like she should get the phone situation under control, she hooked up the phone with voicemail and called the landline from her cell phone to test it.
When she was finished, she looked toward the hall to see if Zach was going to come investigate the noise she’d been making. When he didn’t emerge, she looked down at the letter she’d answered, folded it up again and erased her response.
She’d been trying for something easy, and all she’d done was waste a bunch of time.
Well, she’d better find something more suitable and write out a reply—in the next hour.