Page 9 of Miracles and Marriage
When lunch was finished, Cal excused himself—to be available for an important phone call due from Europe.
“For the first time since I’ve known him, his timing is superb,” Mark said when Cal left.
“Oh?” Zoe asked.
“I was hoping I’d get a moment alone with you. I’d like to invite you to dinner, if you’re free.”
“I’d love to,” she replied. Had a script been written out, it couldn’t have gone better.
“Tonight?” Mark asked.
“Terrific,” she said, smiling.
Her heart didn’t skip a beat. There was no sense of weightlessness or flutter of excitement. But Mark was entertaining and maybe feelings would develop. She couldn’t expect love at first sight. That was a fantasy in books.
Cal was in a meeting when she returned to the office. She wanted to let him know about her dinner date, but couldn’t leave a message with his secretary. She hoped the cryptic note would clue him in.
The afternoon flew by. Cal stopped at her desk at one point, on his way to meet with some of the operatives.
“So?” he said, holding up the note she’d left.
“Date tonight,” she said.
He nodded and moved on. Zoe watched him walk away. She was disappointed he didn’t want to know more. He’d set it up, wasn’t he curious? Sighing, she turned back to the analysis she was working on. He’d know soon enough if she and Mark would make a match of it.
Her phone rang.
“Zoe,” she answered, glancing at the time. Another hour or so and she’d take off.
“Hey, thought you were coming to see me when you got back from the cottage,” her sister said without preamble.
“It was late last night and I came to work early this morning.”
“Obviously. I called before but you were busy. You doing okay?” Chloe asked.
“I’m hanging in there, if that’s what you wanted to know.”
“Feeling okay?”
“Much better.”
Zoe sighed softly. It was a day-by-day thing at the time of her period. The rest of the time her life seemed normal.
“I’ve been thinking what you need is a social life to find some man to fall for,” Chloe said.
“I’m ahead of you there, I have a date tonight.”
“Really, who with?”
“Cal introduced me to one of his friends.”
“Why would he do that?” Chloe asked.
“I told him about the situation.”
“He came to the cottage, didn’t he? I thought he might when he almost browbeat me into giving out where you were. Were you okay with that?”
“Yes, that was fine. He listened to my tale of woe and came up with this idea—meet his friend who used to be married and wants to be married again. Maybe we’ll hit it off. We all had lunch together today and Mark asked me to dinner tonight.”
