Page 57 of Falling

“Have to make up for that last burger,” she pants when I walk into the living room. She’s pulled the bike next to what should be the dining room window. I watch her stick her ass in the air as she pedals. I’ve barely managed to shower, and she looks like she’s training for a marathon. There’s no way I’m burning off the calories from a trip that ended at one this morning.

“Should we make an appearance at the office today?” I ask.

“I’d say yes. Rand has already texted this morning to see where we are.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That we’d see him this afternoon. No reason to tell him we’re shacked up in my apartment,” she says. “He said something about dinner tonight after.”

I can feel the acid in my stomach at the thought of keeping what we’re doing from Rand. It’s not right, but I need to give Geneva the time she asked for.

I can’t think of the last time we had a secret between the three of us. What about his wife, Brontë? She’s not stupid. She’ll guess what we’ve been doing right off the bat. I’ll have to figure out how to avoid her as much as possible.

“Whew,” she says, turning off the machine. “That felt good. I’m heading for the shower.”

She pats my chest on the way to the bathroom. I shuffle to the kitchen. When did she have time to find the coffee pot? Doesn’t matter. I pour myself one into the largest mug I can find. I can’t remember ever drinking coffee from something that says “Don’t make me cut a bitch” on it. I guess when in Rome.

I’ve almost finished when she walks out of the bedroom with nothing but a towel on. Suddenly, I can think of a lot better ways to spend the afternoon than at the office.

“Do you mind if I meet you at the office later? I want to get this place at least livable.” That crushes that fantasy.

“Yeah, I need to see if everything made it to my place anyway.” I cross the room to pick up my shoes. Sitting on the couch, I pull them on. “I’ll sort through the Rover and bring your stuff to the office.”

“Perfect,” she says. She seems different than yesterday in the car. I hope she’s not already regretting us being together. I thought I’d have more time to convince her this could work before she got cold feet. “Okay, I’ll see you at the office,” she says and walks back into her bedroom.

I finish tying my shoes and stand. I’ve been dismissed. I’m too tired to stomp into her bedroom to find out what this is all about. I’ll get to the bottom of it later.

Picking up my duffel, I slip out of the apartment. My Rover is right where I left it. That bodes well for easing my mind about Geneva’s safety.

Climbing in, I start the SUV. Now to remember where my apartment is. I chose to be farther out of downtown. She might like the hustle of being right in the thick of it, but I prefer a little more solitude. Besides, there’s a river running through the south side of town. Why wouldn’t I want a view of it?

It takes me ten minutes to reach my place. Grabbing my bags from the back, I ride the elevator to the top of my new building, and I open my door and toss my bags inside.

The first thing I see is exactly what sold me on this place. A large bay window looks out over the river. There’s a reason I splurged on the penthouse. First, the view, but more importantly, I plan on being just as wildly successful as I was before. With our combined business know-how, this new venture should soar. This place will remind me of that goal.

Walking into the bedroom, I find my bed has also been made. I bet money that was more Brontë than Rand. He lucked into a good one when he found her. Who would have guessed a one-night stand would turn out to be the one? Mine certainly never have.

I return to my living room and slump on the couch. I’ll get around to setting up my place eventually. Tomorrow sounds soon enough.

I’m just getting comfortable when my door buzzes. I should have waited to submit my approved visitor list until I’d been here a while. With a sigh, I open my door.

“Hey, you made it,” Rand says, stepping inside.

“Barely.”

“I’m honestly surprised to see Geneva didn’t feed you to some bears along the way. Beer?” he asks, handing me one from the six-pack he’s carrying. He places the rest in my refrigerator, and we both return to the couch.

“She’s not that bad. We had a pretty good time,” I answer.

“Dude, you don’t have to sugarcoat it for me. I know what my sister is like.” I can feel my irritation starting to rise. There’s no way I’ll be able to sit here if Rand decides to bash his sister in front of me. “I’m glad it was a good trip though. I was worried when I didn’t hear from you.”

“We got snowed in. Besides, you know reception in the national parks is not so great.”

“That’s what G kept saying. I talked to her on the way over. It sounded like she was rearranging furniture.”

“You know how she likes her feng shui.” I tip the bottle back and swig half of it. “Where’s Brontë?”

“She’s at the office, fussing at the people finishing up the offices. I think she’s nervous that you won’t like it. So, please, rave about it regardless.”

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