Page 35 of Lorna's Savior
“Ooh, what did you cook? I bet it was romantic,” Pip said with stars in her eyes.
Andy snorted a laugh. “If you consider goulash romantic, then I guess it was.” He grinned at this brother’s laughter. His parents shook their heads, and his sisters called him a disgrace.
“Hey, it was the only food I had in the house, but I’ve made sure to stock up in case the need arises again.” He grinned and fist-bumped his brothers. Andy spent the evening eating, talking, and catching up with his family, well into the wee hours of the morning. When he left for the airport the next day, he felt great that he’d been able to reconnect.
Chapter 14
“Stop the elevator!” Lorna yelled as she got out of her car, and saw several people waiting to get on. She quickly gathered her briefcase and purse as she ran toward the car. Stepping in at the last minute, she looked at her neighbors, and when they scowled at her, she grinned, and said, “Thanks.” When she went to push the button for the eighteenth floor, she saw it was already pushed, but didn’t see anyone from her floor. Shrugging, she stood there, and it took everything she had to withhold her sigh when she realized that the elevator would be stopping at every floor on the way up. As people began getting off, she eased herself to the back of the car, and found herself beside a very tired-looking Andy.
“Hey,” she whispered. When he didn’t respond, she frowned. Lorna waited a few more floors, and when they were the only ones left on the car, she reached out and gently shook him. “Hey.”
Lorna gave a start when Andy’s eyes flared open, and she found herself flat against the wall, with his forearm across her throat. “It’s me, Lorna,” she croaked out. “The elevator’s almost at our floor.” As she spoke, the car stopped and the doors opened. In seconds, she found herself in the hallway, and the doors were shutting behind her.
“Shit, are you okay?” Andy reached for her, and winced when she jerked away from him. “I’m so sorry, I must have dozed off.” He scrubbed his face and sighed heavily. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am. The only excuse I have is that I’ve been traveling for the last two weeks, and the girls kept me up late last night.”
Lorna stared at him in shock, surprised by the flash of jealousy that came over her. Holding up her hands, she took a step back from him. “What you do on your own time, has nothing to do with me.” She turned on her heel, but didn’t take more than three steps when she walked into Andy.
“It’s not what you think.” He grinned. “Though, I like the fact that you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“Whatever. Anyway, I happened to be in the LA area, and if my family found out I didn’t stop in, they would have crucified me. So, I stopped in. It so happened that my whole family was there.”
“Who’s your ‘whole’ family?”
“Got any food?” Andy changed the subject quickly. “I cleaned out my stuff before leaving, and just got back. If you offer to cook me dinner, I’ll tell you all about them. We can take this thing between us to the next level, and talk about family.”
“You want to take us to the next level?” Lorna asked in shock.
“I do, do you?”
“I never really thought about that.”
“Oh, well, if we do take this up a notch, I have one request.”
“What’s that? That I feed you?”
“No, that you don’t leave me in the middle of the night, or at least wake me to let me know you’re leaving. It’s a shock to reach for you in the morning and find you missing. Makes me think you don’t want me for anything other than sex.”
Lorna’s mouth dropped open at his confession. She saw the hurt expression on his face and sighed. “It’s not that. I’ve had bad experiences with the morning after in the past, and with me leaving in the middle of the night, I thought I was sparing us both the embarrassment and heartache.”
“First,” Andy said as he stepped forward to pin her to the wall beside her door. “Don’t compare me to your past. We are the present. I like you a lot, Lorna. I want to get to know you a hell of a lot better. If you give me thirty minutes to clean up, I’ll come over, and together we’ll cook a meal, and get to know each other more. I don’t want to put any pressure on you, but I want to take the next step.”
Lorna studied his face for several silent moments, before she gave a brief nod. “I’d like that. Yes, give me thirty to change out of my work clothes and come on over.” She took the initiative and leaned up and kissed him. Her quick peck on the lips turned into a full-blown tongue-twisting kiss. They broke apart when the elevator opened, and their elderly gentleman neighbor from across the hall walked off. They grinned at each other, and opened their own doors. Lorna went in, and leaned against her door with her hand covering her mouth.
“Hot monkey balls,” she whispered. “That man can kiss.” Giving herself a physical shake, she went to her bedroom to change. Because she had thirty minutes, she decided to take a quick shower to wash the day away, and start anew. As she walked toward the kitchen to see what she had in the line of food, there was a knock on the door. Grinning, she went to answer it, and wasn’t disappointed by the man standing there. From the looks of him, he too had taken a quick shower. After inviting Andy in, she smiled as he gathered her in his arms for a hug.
“I’ve missed you,” Andy said into her hair and took a deep sniff. When he reared back and frowned, Lorna asked what was wrong.
“What type of shampoo do you use? Wait, not what type, what brand?” Before she could answer he smiled at her. “Is it something byPure Sunshine?”
“How did you know?”
“Because, I’ve been smelling this scent.” He lifted her hair and sniffed it. “For the last day and a half. What would you do if I told you that my family ownsPure Sunshine?”
“Call you a liar.” Lorna laughed and stepped away from him, leading him toward the kitchen. “There’s no way someone like you would ever have family members that are associated withPure Sunshine.”
For the first time in his life, Andy actually took exception to that statement. Feeling his temper raise, which it never did, he crossed his arms over his chest, rose to his full height, and glared at her. “Judgy much?”
