Page 49 of Forbidden Secrets
He made no move toward the door.“Look, I want to talk with you when you have time.”He glanced toward the hallway.“But not when Addy needs your attention.”
“Okay.I could call you after she’s in bed.”
He shook his head.“How about tomorrow?I’d rather we talk in person.”
“Is this about my, um, project?”she asked, in lieu of a better word.
“Yeah.I’ve done preliminary research on the people listed on the spreadsheet.”
“Okay.Come over whenever.I’m home all day.”She cocked her head.“Another thing.Delaney texted earlier and invited me to the farm on Monday.It’s tentative because her baby has a cold plus she’s teething and everyone is feeling it.You’re invited too, if you still want to come.You don’t have to, you know.But if you do…”
His gaze dark and watchful, he said, “I’ll be there.And Mel?Dinner was good.Real good.Thanks.”
It was there again, the heat of attraction that made the protective barriers she’d built around her heart wobble.
His hand was on the doorknob when he paused.Turning back, he cupped her jaw and kissed her.A swift press of his lips to hers that felt like a promise.
Then, with Pancake trotting at his side, he disappeared into the rainy night, leaving her to wonder how a man she hadn’t known existed only weeks ago could suddenly feel so essential to her world.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Melanie sat on the floor, her phone in her lap and a box from the stack in the corner of the living room open in front of her.Gage had dropped off her car early and said he had meetings most of the morning.They’d agreed he’d come over in the afternoon.
Putting in earbuds, she tapped on the phone number from her favorites list.Esme answered with a cheery tone.“Hey, best friend.You caught me on my break.I’m walking around the block to try to get my steps in.How’s life in the outback?”
“Quite civilized.We even have indoor plumbing.”
“Ha ha.”
“I’m tackling the stack of boxes in my living room so you can tell me about your date while I sort through them.It’s been a while since we talked.”
“Okay, let’s see.We had to postpone the first time because Isla had a fever and the second time because my sitter cancelled, but wefinallywent out Tuesday evening.Oh my gosh, Mel.It was so worth the wait and Andres is so nice.But not too nice, you know what I mean?He’s sincerely interested.He asked how I got into marketing, and he told me about his work as an analyst, and we talked about our girls.The conversation flowed so easily, and we had such a good time.There are definite sparks.”
“Oh, I’m so happy for you.Do you have plans to get together again?”
“We do.Get this, he said he’d call me the next day and that’s exactly what he did.”
“Calling when he says he will cannot be overrated.”
“Tell me about it.The plans are to take the girls to the children’s museum.We’re coming to see you at Halloween so it’ll be after that.”
“That sounds like a fun time.”Isla’s father had been volatile and controlling, and Melanie had been relieved when her friend had finally left him and filed for divorce.It’d been a tough few years for her and Isla.Esme dating a decent guy felt like a win.
Melanie stared at the contents of the box.Dead batteries, charge cables that didn’t fit anything, old keys.She’d been rushed to get out of the apartment and ended up dumping the entire contents of her junk drawer into the box.
“I heard that sigh.Why are you sighing?”
“Because I’m looking at a box and have no idea why I bothered moving it to this house.It’s everything from the kitchen junk drawer and absolutely none of it is worth keeping.Why did I box up expired coupons and dried-out markers?”
“Dump it all in the trash and be done with it.Isla has been talking nonstop about Halloween.Does Addy have a costume?”
Deciding Esme was right, Melanie took the box to the kitchen table, where she pulled out the loose batteries for proper disposal.“Addy wants to be a fairy princess, which is pretty easy since she has enough in her dress-up drawer to outfit an entire kingdom of fairy princesses.I’ll get her some face glitter and we can make a wand.”
“Our girls are like carbon copies because Isla also wants to be a princess, albeit a mermaid princess, which complicates matters a bit.Face glitter is a good idea.”
“Addy’s school has a carnival Saturday afternoon so you and Isla can come with us.”
“The girls will be out of their minds with excitement all day.”
