Page 48 of The Wish List
And I rather liked it.
* * *
Six o’clock appeared in the blink of an eye. I had been busy all day, yet Rosie invaded my thoughts often. I wondered how her day was going. If AJ had enjoyed being back at day care. If she had eaten lunch. I knew she had a new boss starting today, and I hoped the transition had gone well.
Selfishly, I hoped she’d had time to ask her neighbor if she would watch over AJ one night so I could take her out.
I picked up my phone, dialing her, suddenly wanting to hear her voice.
She answered, her tone cautious. “Hello.”
“Hey, sweetheart. How was your day?”
“Asher?” she questioned.
I laughed, even as a ripple of possessiveness ran through my chest. “Do you have a lot of men calling you up and addressing you as sweetheart?”
She hummed in amusement. “I didn’t recognize your number.”
“Oh. I called you from my other cell phone. I only use it for business, and I was on it most of the day,” I explained. “I picked it up out of habit.”
“I’m in your business contacts?”
“You’re in both business and personal. Now you have this number, and you can reach me anytime. But use the personal one first. I always answer that, no matter what.”
“More than business?”
“Yes,” I replied firmly. “Family first.”
“Ah.”
“How was your day?”
“Chaotic.” There was a noise behind her. “Still is. AJ is starving.”
I felt a flash of disappointment I tamped down. She had priorities that were far more important than chatting with me.
“Go feed him, and call me when you can.”
“How was your day?” she asked.
“I missed you.”
There was a beat of silence. “Oh.”
“You were on my mind a lot, Rosie.”
“I asked Mrs. Watson if she could look after AJ one night. She said Wednesday worked for her. She has bingo tomorrow.”
“Wednesday seems so far away.”
She laughed. “The way my week is shaping up, it’ll be here fast.”
There was a note to her voice. Was it tension? Worry? I couldn’t tell. She sounded tired, but it was the first day back from the holidays, so no doubt it would take her a bit to settle back into her routine. One that I hoped included me now.
“I will look forward to it. What time can I pick you up?”
“I can be ready for six thirty.”
