Wilma is settled and I’m next door, so you know the drill.
That was the text I received from Frank around one o’clock.
Suzie had somehow arranged to rent the house next door to me for the weekend, and that was where Frank was going to be conveniently located. At least we were on friendly texting terms.
If I didn’t know better, he was nesting over this baby, and I couldn’t blame him. I texted back and put my phone away:Will do.
With only a few items to finish up, I was ready to see Billy. I’d arranged for a private dinner for this evening, and tomorrow we planned to do brunch at her family’s golf club after playing nine holes. Billy had limited range in her swing, but she didn’t mind riding along in the cart and spending time together.
“Better than sitting by the pool, like a whale,” she’d added.
She was far from a whale, but in her line of business five pounds seemed to equal fifty, or so she said.
Tapping on the computer, finishing a few charts, I checked on a mom and her baby boy I’d delivered at two o’clock in the morning, and said goodbye to the hospital for a few days.
As soon as I was home, I parked my car in the garage and sped into the house.
“Hey,” Billy said to me, smiling, sitting at my breakfast buffet as I made my way around the corner.
“Hey, you.” I approached, pulling her into my arms, kissing her lips softly.
“You look cute.”
She eyed me in my scrubs and I winked. “I didn’t even waste time showering.”
“Good. I couldn’t wait to see you.”
“Find everything you need? Have a snack?”
“Glory has called me twice. Everyone needs to stop checking up on me. I had the juice and a ginger tea on the plane. Had some chicken and brown rice here. Thank you for getting that. Now, tell me what’s next?”
I cocked my thumb toward the stairs. “I’m going to shower and change, and then I’m all yours. They’re going to bring dinner at seven. I assume we need to summon Frank for that?”
“You know the instructions by now. He’ll meet them outside and bring the food in, and then leave us.” Billy raised an eyebrow while talking, and I knew better than to think she was flirting. She needed me to play nice in the sandbox.
“Good, I got food for Frank too.” Figured it was better to play the good guy, and I was right—the payoff was a broad smile from Billy. “So, a movie? Game of Scrabble? I could beat you in Clue? We could sit out on the back patio. It’s pretty well hidden from the neighbors.”
I was awarded for this suggestion with a hug and kiss on the cheek. “Perfect. A little slice of normalcy,” Billy breathed on a sigh of relief.
My woman liked to feel like she was an everyday person every now and again. It was actually slightly funny, but I didn’t tell her that. I humored her every need and desire, which was how we ended up playing Scrabble on my back deck, the trees concealing us from the world. Billy sipped on mint tea, and I nursed a scotch.
“I won! Boom! There you have it. Zenith for the finish…” Billy shimmied her shoulders and celebrated in her seat, pointing out zenith touching the H in hot.
“I’m a math and science guy, what do you want from me?”
“Yeah, yeah…” She tsked while saying it, and I couldn’t avoid the laughter rumbling out of me.
Moving on, I ignored Billy’s taunting, strode over to where she was sitting and scooped her up and onto my lap, taking over her seat.
“Hey, this could be dangerous.” She pretended to teeter in my lap.
“You’re safe with me.” My arms slid down her bare arms before folding around her, both palms grazing over her small baby bump. “How isitdoing?”
“It!”She laughed, and I could feel the way her body shook, rippling through to my body. I loved how it felt holding her close, her vibrations running through me.
“You’re the one who doesn’t want to know, so we are having anit.”
“I want a surprise. I never get to have one. In my life, it’s always Frank ruining this or that with details, or Suzie barging in with flashing news. This is my moment to have a little fun.”
