“She cooked me supper. It was amazing.”
“She cooked for you?”
“She sure did, boss. I felt like a man coming home from work to his good woman.” I hear him chuckle.
“That’s not funny, dude. Did you get the door installed or what?” I ask testily.
“Yep. And it was a perfect fit. Which surprised me. For such an old place, it was surprisingly solid.”
“How long were you there?”
“A couple hours. We had dinner right in the middle. Got to know her a little better.”
I groan. “She really did cook for you? I thought you were bullshitting me.”
“No bullshit. Nothing fancy but it hit the spot.”
“What’d she talk about?”
“Her grandfather, mostly. How he built all the cool stuff in her place, how creative he was, stuff like that.”
He knows more about her than I do, and she’s supposed to bemywoman.
“He encouraged her to go into art. That’s something. Most parents try to talk their kidsoutof art school. Right?”
“Uh-huh. What else did she say?” I can’t stop myself from asking.
“Well, boss,” he says tersely. “Here’s the thing—she kept asking me strange questions.”
“Oh, yeah. Like what?” I hope she wasn’t trying to get with him. That’d be ahell, no.
“She wanted to know if we’ve been busy this week, or if you traveled a lot for work, shit like that. I told her no, that we weren’t very busy this week. I told her that you hated to fly.”
Ah, hell. “That’s my fault.”
“I’m sure it is,” he mumbles. “Oh, before I forget, her phone is totally outdated, an iPhone 4. I couldn’t download the smart lock app. Her laptop is a joke too. She’ll just have to use the key. She wanted to know the cost of the door.”
“Why’d she want to know the cost of the door?”
“Beats me. She didn’t say. Maybe she was just making conversation. I am a great conversationalist.”
I scoff at that. The guy is a player, just like I am. Was. Just like I was.
“I asked her about her lovely friend, Lauren. It’s too bad she’s married. I could settle down with someone like her.”
“I’ll bet.” It’s my turn to respond with sarcasm.
“Here’s the kicker, though, Sam.”
“Yeah?”
“Sheaskedmeto thankyoufor the door and locks. Now, why would she do that? You’re dating her. Why doesn’t she tell you herself? While I’m thinking about it, why didn’t you do that install yourself?”
“I had plans.”
“Plans? You mean like lying around your place watching the game?”
“Yeah. And I’m taking a break.”
