Page 24 of It's Not PMS, It's You
Dee: 7:30 if you have croissants. Otherwise, expect me between 8 and 8:30.
Ruth: No problem. See you at 7:30. Plan on spending the entire day at my house. Love you.
Dee: Love you, too.
I tucked my phone back in my purse and smiled. “Okay, I’m heading home. I’m going to open up a bottle of wine and take care of a few business things, since I won’t be working tomorrow.”
My dad arched an eyebrow. “You’re really taking the day off tomorrow?”
I nodded. “I sure am. Who knows? I might even introduce you to the new man in my life.”
“You met someone?”
“No. Not yet, but I’m going to make it a priority. And I also want to make a habit of seeing you more. In fact, let’s get together soon and I’ll make some pancakes, like I used to.”
“Deal,” my dad said. “I must say, I like the new you already.”
“Thankyou. Having a brush with death can change your perspective on a lot of things.”
I hugged and kissed them both and caught an Uber back to my place.
After entering my house, I closed the door behind me, then turned around and screamed, dropping my bag on the tile floor.
A man stood there with a screwdriver in his hand.
It was the man from the gym.
The man I thought I’d never see again.
I dropped my purse and put up my fists. “You have five seconds to explain why you’re in my house or you will feel my wrath.”
I had taken countless self-defense classes and was trained for this exact scenario.
This guy was going down.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He threw his arms up over his head like I was the police. “Sorry to scare you. You must be Ruth. I’m Nick Morris. You know, your landscape designer? Glad we finally get to meet in person.”
I dropped my fists back down to my sides.
Another man approached and stopped next to Nick, smiling.
“And this is my partner, Brandon. We were working late to finish the doors today since Dee told us you were out of town. I assumed you weren’t coming back until tomorrow.” He studied me for a moment and then saw the brace on my wrist. “Wait a minute. You’re the woman from the gym this morning.”
“No way.” Brandon pointed at me with his index finger. “You’re wedgie girl?”
I wasn’t ready to die on that plane, but now I was all for it.
Chapter Six
NICK
I elbowed Brandon on the side of his arm and cleared my throat. “Why don’t you go put this in my truck and wait there for me. I’ll just be a minute.” I handed the screwdriver to Brandon, his eyebrows squishing together, not understanding that I was trying to get rid of him.
Run, you fool! There’s a chance you are going to be killed! Never call a woman wedgie girl!
On second thought, maybe I should have been the one hightailing it out of there since Ruth was smart enough to know that he had found out from me about her wedgie in the gym.
Brandon finally caught on, his eyes opening wider, his head nodding up and down like he was listening to his favorite song on the radio. “Right, right, right! I wouldloveto put the screwdriver in your truck! I was hoping you would ask!”
