Page 41 of Home Team Advantage
She lifted the soft material to her nose and inhaled deeply. It smelled like him. A hint of clean, dark spice. Cologne? Aftershave? Soap? She didn’t know, but it was really, really nice.
With that thought, she shoved the thing into the washer, along with her Coke-soaked one, added more detergent than necessary, and left them to soak. She had to guard herself against letting things like wearing a man’s hoodie and being affected by his scent. Romantic delusions had no place in her life. There was no happily ever after for her, just a series of chapters until she reached the end, whenever and wherever that might be.
Although, a part of her argued, would it be so horrible if one of those chapters included hot and sweaty no-strings scenes with the sexy neighbor?
It could be, because the same part of her that was imagining him naked also sensed a lurking potential for something more, and that wasn’t possible.
The front door opened, and Faith and Elsa came in. Faith offered a quick hello to Anna, wished Elsa a good evening, and went back to her place, leaving Anna and Elsa alone. It didn’t take long for the interrogation to begin.
“Did you have a good time today?” Mrs. Campbell asked with twinkling eyes.
“Yes, I did,” Anna said and realized it was true. Spending time with Matt had been nice. “What about you?”
“Oh, yes,” Mrs. Campbell replied, but clearly, she wasn’t interested in talking about her day. “What did you do?”
“We drove around for a while, had some lunch,” Anna said, downplaying the afternoon’s activities. “He showed me where he works. Oh, I brought cinnamon rolls home for you.”
Elsa moved over to the box on the counter. “He took you to O’Leary’s?” she asked with raised eyebrows, as if that was a big deal or something.
“Yes.”
“Conlan is an old friend of mine. And I do mean, old.” She chuckled. “Did you meet him?”
“Mr. O’Leary? Yes, he was there.”
“Did he say anything?”
He’d called her a fine lass and said it was lovely to meet her, but Anna didn’t think that was what Elsa was talking about. “Not really. Why?”
“He fancies himself something of a matchmaker. Hasn’t been wrong yet, as far as I know.”
“Sorry to disappoint.” No way was Anna telling her that she’d found Mr. O’Leary and Matt engaged in conversation when she returned from the ladies’ room.
“Yes, well, these things take time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, you know.”
Anna decided not to pursue that cryptic remark. “How about you? What did you do today?”
“Oh, we had a wonderful time. They had a craft show at the farmers market today. I’m absolutely amazed by how talented some people are. Oh, that reminds me. I got you something, dear.”
“You did?” Anna asked in surprise. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Mrs. Campbell made a pshht noise and reached into her bag. She extracted a small velvet pouch and held it out. Anna opened the bag and pulled out a bracelet of polished green beads.
“Oh, Mrs. Campbell, this is lovely. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome, my dear. One of the gentlemen at the show runs a rock shop. He travels all over the world for various rough stones and gems, then brings them home and sells them. Some he makes into jewelry, like that piece there.”
Anna looked at the green stones with the hypnotic swirls. “What kind of stone is this, do you know?”
“He told me, but I don’t remember. I believe there’s a card in the bag that says what it is.”
Anna reached into the bag and extracted the card.
Malachite. Australia. Believed to protect the wearer from danger, particularly physical harm and negative energies.
Anna was incredibly touched as she slipped the bracelet on her wrist. “I love it. Thank you.”
“You are very welcome. Now, I think I need one of those cinnamon rolls. We can have tea, and you can tell me more about what you and Matthew did today.”
