Page 134 of GAF Factor

“Does it matter? Nothing would help.”

He kicked the ground with his toe, looking like a kid who was sad after losing a baseball game. I knew I was going to regret this, but I just couldn’t stand to see Fox so depressed. It was making me depressed, and I was already struggling to find cheer anywhere I went. “What about a movie?”

He perked up at that. “Any kind in particular you were thinking about?”

Man, I was going to owe myself big time for the sacrifice I was about to make. “You said you likedOklaho?—”

He snatched me up before I could finish saying the word and spun me around. “Yeehaw! Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about, Lori!”

“Who?”

“Best movie ever, am I right?”

He kept spinning me harder and faster. I squealed for fear of flying out of his arms, but he took it as a sign of excitement.

“Let’s go, Lori! With any luck, we’ll have time to make it to the box social!”

As he set me down, I stumbled back, dizzy from his sudden release. He grabbed my hand and dragged me down the hall, making me wish I had never made the suggestion. But it was too late for that now. There was no escaping what fate had in store for me.

Fox was sleeping like a baby.He’d dozed off about an hour into the movie. I could only imagine that his devastation over the loss of Funyuns had wiped him out. It was awkward at first when he snuggled into my side and wrapped his arm around my stomach. I thought for sure someone would walk in and accuse me of being some kind of home wrecker.

And I was right. Someone did walk in, and that someone was his wife.

But Anna just grinned at me. “He got to you, too.”

“This isn’t what it looks like,” I said, my voice laced with panic.

She quirked an eyebrow at me. “It looks like you were kind enough to watch his favorite movie with him. He likes you.”

“Like a friend. That’s it. I swear.”

“I know. Trust me, that’s not the way he holds me,” she said, a mischievous grin appearing on her face. I suddenly got the feeling that this was the least seductive position Fox would ever be found in, which made me feel a hell of a lot better.

After peeling myself from his arms, I followed Anna out into the hallway. “Does he do that a lot?”

“What? Take in strays and trap them? All the time.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s protective of them.”

“Of women?”

She nodded, her face turning solemn for a moment. “His mom died when he was young. And it wasn’t pretty. Since then, he’s always had a bit of a protective side for women.”

“Especially for you.”

She chuckled at that. “You have no idea. So, has he gotten you a throwing knife set yet?”

“A what?”

“I’ll take that as a no. Don’t worry, it won’t be long. He’s probably got it on order as we speak.”

“Why would he order me throwing knives?”

“Because he gets them for everyone. Eva was the first. And since her, it’s been a sort of tradition. He gets me a new set every year,” she grinned. “So, why are you over here instead of lounging around at the mansion?”

“Boredom. I just spent the better part of a week lounging at a cabin with IKE. I can’t spend any more time on my back.”

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