Page 46 of Getting Lucky

“You have a corgi!” Iris all but shrieked, her enthusiasm contagious.

So Maisie opened the door, and Ein and Chaco bustled up to Iris to give her licks and tail wags, Chaco only showering her with admiration for a moment before she defected to Jack.

He crouched down to pet her, saying sweet nothings in a soft, gentle voice that did things to Maisie. She couldn’t help but think about the last time he’d been here, and when he looked up, she could tell from his smoldering gaze he was thinking about it too.

“What’s his name?” Iris asked, jolting her attention away from Jack. Einstein was still loving up on Iris, a little lady’s man like always.

“Einstein,” she said.

Iris’s eyes lit up. “Oh, did you name him after the corgi inCowboy Bebop?”

“I did,” Maisie said, surprised. Most people figured his namesake was the scientist, what with his old man ways. But the anime series, which could best be described as a space western, had been her favorite as a teenager, and to her mind, there was no other appropriate name for a corgi.

“It’s one of Jack’s favorite shows,” Iris said.

“Oh?” Maisie said. She looked back at him. He’d stood up again, but Chaco was pressed up against his side, like she didn’t want to break contact with him. “You didn’t say.”

He fidgeted uncomfortably. “I must have been…distracted.”

They both knew by what, and Maisie had a flash of the multiple orgasms she’d had that night. Had she really thought it a good idea for him to carry in her bedroom furniture?

“Are we going to bring out the old furniture?” Jack asked. “Or do you just want us to put it in the living room or something until someone can show up and grab it? If I remember correctly, there’s probably enough space.”

Iris glanced at him with an assessing look, and it wasn’t hard to imagine what she was thinking. Jack knew the dogs, and he’d seen the living room. But there were no cutting remarks, no teasing. It was like she’d made the observation and tucked it into her brain bank.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Maisie said. “I’ll donate the pieces to one of those places that does pickup.”

“Pretty big Christmas present,” Iris observed, glancing back at the boxes while she continued to give Ein pets.

Maisie sighed, shooting another look at Jack. “My sister Mary is what you might call the bossy type. She doesn’t much approve of the way I live my life.”

“So she got you new bedroom furniture?” Iris asked with understandable confusion.

“All of the stuff in here was my parents’. She thinks it’s time for me to move on. Apparently, my little sister, Molly, agrees with her enough that she helped pick out the new stuff.”

“How long have your parents been gone?” Jack asked softly. And it struck her that it meant something, him asking that question. He wasn’t a man who pressed.

So she answered.

“They died in a car accident almost ten years ago.” A corner of her mouth ticked up. “So really, maybe they have a point.”

“Still,” Iris said, giving Ein a final pat and getting to her feet. “They shouldn’t press you before you’re ready.”

Meeting Jack’s eyes, Maisie said, “Sometimes it takes me a while to come around to things, but I think I’m getting there.”

“We’re still talking about furniture, right?” Iris said, but there was no bite in her voice. She was just a teenager being a teenager.

“Yeah, that and a whole lot more baggage.”

“We all have baggage,” Jack said abruptly. The warmth in his eyes startled her, but he looked like a man at war with himself. “Let’s move the stuff upstairs first. Then we’ll take this in. Should I order the pizza?”

“Hey,” Maisie said, giving his arm a fake punch, because, in all honesty, she really wanted to touch it. “That’s my job. If I’m not the one who brings the pizza, what do I have to add to this moving party? You two are obviously the muscle.” She gestured to Iris, who could probably, at most, move a nightstand.

“Fair enough,” he said. “But only if you get half pineapple and pepperoni.”

Iris made a face, and Maisie mimicked it. “I question your taste, but you do have those arms, so yes, I will make the call. Though I reserve the right to feel sad about it.”

“Agreed,” he said, reaching out a hand, and as she took it and shook, she had to wonder if maybe he wanted to touch her too.

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