Page 239 of Mangled Memory
“Candyman or Luke Bryan reference?”
“Either.Both.You ready?”
“As soon as I get my leftovers.”
“Come on, Ayla.” He stands from the chair and extends a hand to me. “I’ll make sure you have what you need by the time you wake up.”
“Potatoes, remember?”
His hand drops dangerously close to my ass as we head toward the front door. “I’ll remember.” The humor in his voice is unmistakable.
By the time we get home, the heavy meal and the wine have lulled me into a lazy haze. “I’m going to get out of this and climb into bed with my iPad. That okay?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” He grabs my wrist as I pass him and spins me into his body. His mouth descends and takes mine in a deep, tantalizing kiss. “I’ll meet you in bed, Princess.”
And maybe he does. But I’m fast asleep by the time he arrives, and his side of the bed is cold when I wake.
In fact, I’m left on my own for breakfast since he’s nowhere to be seen. Leftover potatoes for the win. But tackling Georgio so I can have a decent cup of java? While the espresso was bitter and I couldn’t do enough to fix it, the machine also didn’t revolt, so I’ll call it a draw.
Who am I kidding? It’s a loss and will require intervention. I throw on clothes that make me look one step up from a schlemiel and search for my keys. A coffee run is in order.
My keys aren’t in my purse, and I don’t remember the last time I drove. I look on the hook by the door only to find nothing.
I wander down the hall toward Christian’s office, finding it open. The keys to my Audi are on his desk. I grab them and turn away, heading for the garage.
My phone rings as I leave the driveway, but not through Bluetooth.
“Hello. Wait. Hang on.” It’s a run-on sentence as I navigate the car with one hand and the buttons on the dash with the other. “I’m coming,” I yell into the car until I hear the beeps and the voice come through. A laughing voice.
“What? It’s not funny.”
“Sure it is.” Christian’s voice is warm and oozes humor.
“Glad you can get a laugh.”
“Where are you headed?”
“I’m out hunting for coffee and need technology to work while my brain isn’t.”
“You looked frantic when you left the house.”
“The coffee part, remember. Georgio wasn’t cooperative this morning.”
“Sorry I left you hanging. We’ll do another tutorial later to see what his problem is.”
“His problem is user error. It’s me, so another tutorial would be good. Sad that it takes that much for coffee, but worth it.”
“We’ll get it straight, Princess. What do you have on tap for today?”
“Coffee. Then conquer the world, I guess. Maybe I’ll cook.”
The sputtering noise from the other end of the speakers reverberates through the car. “Cook?”
“Sure. I have ideas with the veggies from last night. Maybe the scallops too.”
“Oh. Kay.” It comes out so slowly it’s definitely two words when he says it. “Well, keep me posted if I need to send Corinne in or if I need to get groceries delivered for you. Work is… work. So I’ll be gone most of the day.”
“Are you local? Or did you hop a private plane to Montana this morning without me knowing?”
