Page 27 of Tony

“You want to see the rest of the place?” she asked, standing and pulling on his hand. Grinning, he allowed himself to be pulled up and followed her across the foyer into the dining room. An antique oak table graced the room with a large oak china cabinet and side bar next to the wall.

A hall cut through the middle of the house leading to the kitchen behind the living room. Spacious and updated, he could see her right at home here.Making breakfast. For both of them.Before his musing could take him further, she pulled on his hand again.

“Back here is the laundry room that leads to the back yard.” They peeked out together, viewing the snowy vision of her yard with mature trees. Leaning down, she noticed that her back patio had been shoveled as well. “Your employees are certainly efficient, aren’t they?”

He laughed as he pulled her into his arms. “Yes, they are. But they’re even better friends.”

Looking up, she said softly, “So they did all this for you?”

“You still don’t understand, do you? When Jennifer called Gabe to say that you were heading into a storm, any one of them would have driven to make sure you were all right. But what they really wanted was for me to pull my head outta my ass and be the one to go to you.”

“I could have handled myself you know. I’ve been on the streets and I’ve been on my own.”

Tucking another strand of hair behind her ear again, he leaned down to kiss her forehead. “Yeah, but you don’t have to now. So, I called Jobe yesterday and asked if he would clear out your drive and just case out your house for a security system, he jumped on the chance to help. Not just for me…but for you as well. There’s not a one of them that wouldn’t do anything to help you.”

Smiling, she led him into the room across the hall which turned out to be a study with built in bookcases lining one wall. The bay window had a cushioned seat, perfect for reading. He walked over to look at her books and saw romances mixed in with her paralegal text books. Turning to look over his shoulder, he lifted an eyebrow.

Catching his questioning gaze, she just shrugged and said, “Well, a girl’s gotta have something to read besides legal books.”

“Thank God.”

Laughing, she walked out, waving for him to follow. Up the wooden staircase, they came to a small landing. A quick glance showed two smaller bedrooms with a bathroom in between and then she led him into the master bedroom. Over the study, it also had a bay window with a cushioned window seat. A queen bed with a floral comforter graced one wall, with a dresser and chest of drawers on another. The master bath featured a shower and separate tub along with a double sink.

“This is really modern for an older house,” he noted.

“The former owners had done a lot of renovating before having to sell. They had done the bathrooms and kitchen. Then my neighbor and I have been working on the inside.”

Instantly on alert, he asked, “Neighbor?”

Sherrie wandered out of the bathroom, saying, “Yeah, he lives next door.”

“And just who the hell is ‘he’ that lives next door?” Tony growled.

Turning around, she asked incredulously, “Are you jealous?” Giggling, she continued, “He’s a darling man with a lot of house renovation experience who volunteered to help me with any of my projects.”

Stepping close, Tony said, “Well, from now on, he can take his project helping somewhere else.”

Swatting his arm, she said, “He also happens to be about seventy years old.”

Grumbling, Tony said, “Don’t think that old man doesn’t check out your ass every time you bend over in front of him.”

“Well, I said he was seventy, not dead.”

Turning to run out of the room, she screeched when he scooped her up and tossed her on the bed.

“He’d have to be dead to not check you out. But seriously,” he said looking down into her eyes as he leaned over her body, “You need help around the house, you’ve got me now.”

Grinning, she pulled him down for a kiss but his cell phone ringing interrupted the moment. Glancing at it, he looked back at her as he answered. “Yeah, Jennifer, what do you need?”

“Good morning to you too, grumpy,” she laughed. “I just wanted to make sure you and Sherrie got home safely. I tried calling her phone but she’s not answering.”

“We’re good,” he said, giving his patent short answers.

“Good as in safe or good as ingood?”

“Good as in that’s as good an answer as I’m going to give,” he replied.

Sherrie, laying under him listening to the conversation, grabbed the phone from his hand. “Jennifer? We’re safe. And not just good, but great. So great that he’s on top of me on my bed and your call interrupted what would have been a phenomenal kiss.” Hearing Jennifer squeal to Gabe in the background, she said, “So goodbye and I’ll talk to you tomorrow when I’m back at work.”

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