Page 51 of Maid For Each Other
She texted:Of course not—it’s your house
I was still surprised she’d been so nice about my having to stay here with her.
I texted:IT’S YOURS UNTIL THE END OF THE WEEK, MARIANO
She replied:Okay, then, I will allow your presence in my glorious kitchen.
Was it weird that the sarcasm I’dhatedwhen I met her was starting to appeal to me?
Yes. Yes, it was.
I’m gonna need that Scotch STAT.
I sent:OH, THANK YOU, YOUR GRACE.
Abi:I’m in love with that. Please refer to me as such for the remainder of our time, thank you.
Such a little shit.
I texted:I WON’T BE DOING THAT, AND YOU’VE ONLY GOT A FEW MORE HOURS BEFORE YOU’RE FREE OF ME.
My flight was to leave after the brunch tomorrow, and I was headed back to New York.
She texted:You won’t be here tomorrow night?
Disappointed?For some asinine reason, I wanted her to be disappointed.
Probably because I wanted to know that kiss had messed with her, too. That would somehow make me feel better about the way my brain wouldn’t let it go.
I sent:I FLY OUT AFTER BRUNCH AT THE HANGAR. YOU’RE ALMOST HOME FREE.
She replied:It’s really gone by fast.
Yes, it definitely had.
I went into the kitchen and straight for the refrigerator. Drinking always made me hungry, though it’d been a while since I’d had a buzz like this, and I might as well have a fucking picnic because I knew I wasn’t sleeping.
So I made a massive sandwich, flipped on the TV, and started watching an episode ofPsychwhile I wolfed down way too much food. I sat like that through an episode and a half before my phone rang.
Of course it was Roman.
“What’s up?” I said as I answered it on speaker with the volume way down, keeping my voice low as well, because it was after 1 a.m. and I didn’t want to wake Abi.
“What’sup?” he said, sounding irritated. “You still haven’t responded to my email.”
“Shit,” I said, shocked I’d forgotten. “Sorry, I got distracted.”
“You?” he said, sounding more shocked than I was. “Yougot distracted. That is definitely a new one.”
“Cut me some slack,” I said. “It’s been a busy couple days.”
“Was it all the kissing?” he said, sounding not exactly irritated, but not pleased, either. “Is that what made the most un-distractible person I’ve ever met distracted?”
“No,” I said. “It was the annual shareholder meeting, so spare me the melodrama.”
“Dex.” Roman sighed and I knew he was dragging his hands through his hair. He was the most laid-back guy I’d ever met,exceptwhen it came to our work. “This is in real time, remember?”
“I know,” I said, opening the email. “YouknowI know. Just give me a minute to peruse and I’ll be caught up.”
