“Ah, I like that too,” hesaid.
“You do?” Her eyes wentwide.
Anthony grinned, a small laugh creeping up his throat. “It’s thebest.”
“Well, then, today’s your lucky day. Is your freezerclean?”
“What?”
“Your freezer,” Kira said, coming to a stand. “Is itclean?”
Anthony stood as well and joined her as she walked toward his industrial-style freezer/fridge. “As someone who owns a food establishment, the answer to that is always yes. Force ofhabit.”
“Perfect.” She hunched down and pulled it open. “Wow. Itisclean. Spotless.” She spun in place. “Go get yourpillow.”
He chuckled under his breath. “It’s going in the freezer,huh?”
Kira lifted her brows andgrinned.
“All right, then.” Anthony tipped his head, motioning that she should come with him. “Thisway.”
Kira looped an arm through his as they strode down the hallway. “This house is bigger than it looks from the outside. It’s reallynice.”
“Thanks.” He flicked on the light as they stepped into his rather plain bedroom. Anthony’s version of making the bed was more of a yank-the-top-blanket-over-the-pillows deal. Luckily he’d just done laundry; there’d be no stray tee shirt or sports shorts toppling off the corner hamper and onto the floor. He snatched the pillow and handed it over. “Here yougo.”
Kira brought it against her chest, hugging it as they strode back into the kitchen. “Smells like you. Do you have parchmentpaper?”
“Of course.” He retrieved it for her, then watched as she placed a large sheet under the pillow and slid it onto a spaciousrack.
“Best. Sleep. Ever,” shepromised.
He nodded, quietly entertained by it all. But the truth was, he wasn’t ready for sleep just yet. He hoped she wasn’t either. “Want to see how the Redrocks are playing?” he asked, glancing at the mountedTV.
One corner of her lipquirked.
Anthony cleared his throat. “Or we could watch a chick flick. I have enough channels in this place; I’m sure you could have yourpick.”
“No,” Kira said. “I like baseball.” She strode past him and into the front room, where the big screen hung. “The chick flick can wait for nexttime.”
Next time.Anthony repeated those wonderful words in his head as he joined her on the couch. Hopefully they’d have a whole lot of next times to look forwardto.
