Page 18 of Drop Dead Gorgeous

I had to be wheeled out in a wheelchair, of course, but that was fine with me. Siana had taken my shopping bags and purse with her when she went down to get her car and pull it around to the entrance—or exit, as the case may be. When she stopped under the portico the nurse pushed the wheelchair out through the double set of automatic doors and a rush of chilly air washed over me.

“It’s cold,” I said in disbelief. “No one told me we’re having a cold snap!”

“A front rolled in early this morning,” the nurse said helpfully, as if I actually needed telling now. “The temperature dropped over thirty degrees.”

I always enjoyed the first real cold snap of the fall, but I’m usually better dressed for it. The air even smelled fall-like, with a crisp scent of dry leaves even though the trees hadn’t yet begun to turn color. It was Friday, the night for high school football. Soon people would be heading for the stadiums, dressed in sweaters and jackets for the first time since spring. I hadn’t made it to a football game since opening Great Bods, and suddenly I really missed the smells and sounds and excitement. Wyatt and I would have to make a point of going to a game this year, either high school or college, it didn’t matter.

I would have to hire another staffer at Great Bods, someone capable of filling in for either me or Lynn, I realized. If things went as I planned, I’d be pregnant by Christmas. My life would soon be changing, and I couldn’t wait.

Getting into Siana’s car and out of the wind was a relief. “This makes me want a hot chocolate,” I said as I buckled up.

“Sounds good. I’ll make some for us while we wait for Wyatt.”

She drove carefully, no sudden starts or stops, and we made it to my condo without any major explosions of pain. My car was parked in its spot under the portico, which meant that while she’d had my keys, Mom had arranged to collect my car from the mall parking lot. I’d thought of it the night before, but then forgotten to mention it when everyone was awake.

Wyatt called on my cell as we were walking in the door, and I stopped to fish the phone from my bag. “I’m home,” I told him.

“Good. I got away earlier than I thought I would. I’m on my way home to get my stuff now, so I’ll be there within the hour. I can pick up something for dinner, so does anything appeal to you? And ask Siana if she wants to stay and eat with us.”

I relayed the invitation and she accepted, then we had to decide what we wanted. An important decision like that can’t be rushed, so I told Wyatt to call back when he left his house. Then I sat down and held myself very still until the head-pounding subsided. Ibuprofen, here I come.

My condo was chilly because the air-conditioning was on. Siana switched the thermostat over to “heat” but on a low setting, just enough to take care of the chill, then got busy with the hot chocolate while we discussed what we wanted to eat, and I used the chocolate to chase two ibuprofen tablets. Was that a winning combination, or what?

We decided on something simple and comforting for dinner—pizza. I knew Wyatt’s tastes in the pizza department, so Siana called in the order. The phone rang a few minutes later and she handed the cordless to me. I expected it to be Wyatt, but the Caller ID window showed “Denver, CO.” I’m on the national do-not-call list to stave off telemarketers, so I had no idea who could be calling from Denver.

“Hello.”

Silence met my polite greeting. I tried again, slightly louder. “Hello?” I heard a click, then the dial tone; annoyed, I disconnected and set the cordless down on the table. “It was a hang-up,” I told Siana, who shrugged.

Wyatt did call within five minutes and I gave him the pizza information. He arrived twenty minutes later, carrying his small duffel and one large and one small pizza box, and we fell on the pizza like starving hogs. Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but I was hungry and so was he.

He’d changed clothes, into jeans and a long-sleeved Henley shirt in a dark green that made his eyes look lighter in comparison. “I’ve never seen you in cold weather clothes before,” I said. “You’ve always been a summer romance.” Knowing I was about to go through a winter with him was oddly fascinating.

He winked at me. “There’s a lot of cold-weather cuddling coming up.”

“Let me know ahead of time,” Siana said as she picked a black olive out of the gooey cheese and popped it in her mouth, “so I can clear out.”

“Will do,” Wyatt said, then, with a hint of sarcasm in his tone, added, “I don’t want there to be any accidental SDS sightings.”

Siana choked on her olive and I burst into laughter, which made my head give a sickening throb because I’d moved too suddenly. I stopped laughing and grabbed my head, which made Siana simultaneously choke and laugh—she’s slightly perverted—and Wyatt regarded us both with a satisfied glint in his eyes.

The phone rang again and he picked it up, since we were both preoccupied, Siana with choking and I with holding my head. He looked at the Caller ID and asked, “Who do you know in Denver?” as he punched the talk button. “Hello.” He did the same thing I’d done, repeating “Hello,” in a louder voice, then disconnecting.

“That’s the second time just since I’ve been home,” I said, releasing my head and picking up my slice of pizza. “I don’t know anyone in Denver. Whoever it was hung up the first time, too.”

He checked the Caller ID again. “It’s probably a prepaid calling card number; a lot of them are routed through Denver.”

“Then whoever it is, is wasting minutes.”

Mom called before we finished the pizza, and I assured her I was feeling better; the ibuprofen had kicked in so I wasn’t lying, at least so long as I didn’t make any sudden movements. She asked if Wyatt was staying the night, I said yes, she said good, and she was able to hang up knowing that her oldest chick was in good hands.

Then Lynn, my assistant manager, called. Wyatt grumbled, “What is this, Everyone-Call-Blair night?” but I ignored him. Lynn gave me the rundown on the day, told me she had no problem covering for me until I was able to get back to work, and said not to worry. I made a mental note to give her some extra vacation days.

The phone was quiet after that. Siana and Wyatt cleaned up the pizza remnants, then Siana hugged me and was out the door. Wyatt immediately lifted me out of the chair and sat down with me on his lap for some of the cuddling he’d mentioned. I relaxed against him, fighting a yawn. As tired and sleepy as I was, I didn’t want to go to bed yet.

He didn’t talk, just held me. I think I’d have to be dead not to physically respond to him, though, so I began to notice the heat of his body, and how good it felt for him to hold me, and how good he smelled. “It’s been almost forty-eight hours since we had sex,” I announced, unhappy with the growing total of minutes.

“I’m well aware of that,” he muttered.

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