“Sorry, Dana. Sorry about everything.” Keeping her voice low, Annie scanned the books, stacked them.
“Dont worry about it.” After jamming her card back in her purse, Dana scooped up her armload of books. She sent Sandi a wide, wide smile and walked out.
* * *
ONE of the perks of having a mature adult relationship with a woman, to Flynns mind, was coming home from work and finding her.
The smell of her, the look of her, the simple presence of her, made everything just a little clearer.
And when that woman, that pretty, sexy, fascinating woman, was cooking, it added just one more delight to the day.
He didnt know what she had going on the stove, and he didnt care. It was more than enough to see her, stirring something in a pot while Moe sprawled under the table, snoring like a freight train.
His life, Flynn thought, had found its true rhythm when Malory Price had walked into it.
He stepped up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and pressed his lips to the side of her neck. “Youre the best thing that ever happened to me.”
“I certainly am.” She turned her head so she could meet his lips with hers. “How are things?”
“Things are good.” He nudged her around for a longer, more satisfying kiss. “And better now. You didnt have to cook, Mal. I know you were working all day.”
“I just punched up some jarred spaghetti sauce.”
“Still, you dont.” He took her hands, then frowned as he turned them over. “Whats this?”
“Just some blisters. Im telling myself theyre good for me. Shows Im pulling my weight.”
He kissed them. “You know, if youd wait for the weekend, I could give you a hand with the place.”
“We really want to do it ourselves, at least start on it ourselves. Ive got a few blisters and pretty much ruined a pair of jeans, but we have the most beautifully painted porch in the Valley. I wouldnt complain if you poured me a glass of wine, though.”
He got out a bottle and two of the wineglasses shed bought. It seemed to him there were more glasses in the cabinet than there had been the last time hed looked.
She was always slipping things in.
Glasses, fluffy towels, fancy soaps that he hesitated to actually use. It was one of the oddities and interests of having a woman around the house.
“Jordan told me what happened with Dana.”
“I thought he would.” Though it wasnt quite dark, she lit the long oval candle shed picked up for the table. “We both know how horrible it must have been for her. I know how much you love her, Flynn. I love her too. But we cant shield her from this as much as we can just be there for her.”
“Maybe not, but Jordan had an idea that might do a little of both.”
He poured the wine, told her about using Moe.
“Its brilliant,” Malory decided, then laughed down at the still snoring Moe. “Shell certainly agree to it, and if nothing else, she wont feel so alone at night.” After a sip of wine, she moved to the sink to fill a pot with water for the pasta. “I suppose Jordan told you theyre going out Saturday night?”
Hed been staring at the candle, thinking how odd it was to see it flickering away on the ancient picnic table he used in the kitchen. “Whos going out?” As it hit him, Flynn swallowed wine in one hard gulp. “Jordan and Dana? Going… out?”
“So he didnt tell you.”
“No, it didnt come up.”
“And,” she concluded as she set the pot on the stove, “youre not too keen on the idea.”
“I dont know. I dont want to get into it. Damn it, I dont want them messing each other up again.” Knowing that Jordan was working upstairs, Flynn glanced at the ceiling. “Its the person who ends up in the middle, and that would be me, who gets his ass kicked from both sides.”
“She still loves him.”