Page 72 of Delay of Game
“She did? That’s great.”
“She’s settled in.” I stopped before telling him about the financial manager who stopped me on my way out. I tipped my head back, closing my eyes against the monthly fees that my family had been piecing together from a combination of Aunt Mercy’s retirement and our own money until we sold the house. “She has a new friend. Dot. She’s a new resident and moved in across the hall. Apparently, she was a Rockette back in the day. It’s the talk of the floor.”
“Thrilling.” Rob’s low rumble of a laugh sent shivers through my body. “I’m glad you had a good visit.”
“Thanks for ripping off the bandaid with me last time. I just let too much time pass,” I admitted.
“Anytime.”
My chest clenched at the silence that followed, readying myself for a quick good night, ending the unexpected phone call.
“What are you reading?”
I picked up the e-reader off the coffee table, blanching at the name of the book. “Uh…David Copperfield?”
The lie came to me on the fly, and as soon as I said it, I couldn’t remember if that was the name of a Charles Dickens novel or a magician or both.
“The Dickens novel?” Rob asked, his tone skeptical and his response unreadable.
“Yes?”
“Huh.”
“Huh? Do you think I don’t read classics?” I asked, slightly annoyed even if I didn’t read classics. Lily had sent me an eroticshort by Chuck Tingle and I was just about to find out how President Bigfoot pounded this journalist in the butt.
“No.” He drawled out his answer. “I’m just surprised that you’re reading David Copperfield. It’s actually a favorite of mine.”
I winced, completely unprepared to have a conversation about Dickens’ novels with Rob Grant. “Really?”
“What part are you reading?”
I made a panicked search for my phone before remembering I had it pressed to my ear. “Um…when he becomes a magician?”
Not bothering to wait for Rob’s response, I spilled the truth. “Alright, I’m reading a novella called President Bigfoot Pounded me in the Butt.”
The silence pained me. I winced. No, crawled into myself before I found the confidence to push on.
“Lily sent it to me. It’s actually pretty funny.” I cringed, cradling the phone with one hand and searching for that bottle of wine with the other.
“So, you’re not reading David Copperfield?”
“I’m still not sure if that’s the name of a magician and you’re just messing with me or that’s actually the title of the book,” I admitted, sitting up on the couch enough to pour myself another glass of wine.
“It’s both.”
“Oh.” I tipped my head back, regretting not ending the conversation earlier.
“So.” A hint of amusement worked its way into his voice. “You’re sitting at home drinking wine and reading dirty books?”
“I mean, it’s not as sexy as the description would have you believe,” I admitted, wincing as I took another gulp of the wine.
“I bet it’s pretty sexy, Astrid.”
I closed my eyes and squeezed my thighs, not sure what had caused the sudden heat: Rob saying the word ‘sexy’ or the way he said my name.
He sucked in a breath. “I shouldn’t have said that.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said, my voice wobbly. Unsure if the wine loosened my lips or it’d simply been too long since Rob had touched me, I pressed my luck. “It’s a little sexy. I mean, not like ‘in a bubble bath’ kind of sexy, but I am wearing my sexy pajamas.”
