“He’s been picking you up for the last two weeks. It’s a sort of coupling type of thing, right?”
Rebecca looked up at Jessica with a frown and shook her head. “Absolutely not.”
“Um-hmm. So, I am curious. What kind of house guest is he?”
“A very quiet one.” Rebecca chuckled. “Sometimes, I forget he’s even there.”
“I doubt that,” Jessica scoffed. “That man is temptation for every sin ever invented, tucked into a pair of jeans. Hell, evenmybad girl parts clench every time he’s in the room.”
Jessica pushed her knees together and dropped her head. Thick red hair fell into her pretty face. Rebecca laughed at her animated display and slid the brush into its allotted slot in a canvas holder. After rolling the canvas and tucking it into a cabinet, she turned to her friend and placed a hand on her hip.
“Are you done?”
“A few more moments alone in my head with your cop and I will be,” she teased.
Rebecca grabbed her purse from a smaller drafting table and pulled her phone from the charger. It was 6:45 and Nick would be pulling up any minute. She stuffed her phone in her purse and grabbed her backpack from a chair.
“What are your plans for the weekend?” Jessica asked.
“I have none. Tonight, I’m cooking dinner for my friend, Paula, and the rest of the weekend will be spent in a hot bath and a bottomless wineglass.”
Jessica stood and ran her fingers through her thick locks. She finally appeared to get the hint that it was time to go.
“By the way, why are you still here? No big plans for you?”
“Nah, I’m babysitting my nieces for the weekend. We got a whole pamper party planned.”
The smile on Jessica’s face was proof that she loved every minute she spent with her sister’s children.
“And… I’m still here because we have acquired one of Leonardo DaVinci’s self-depictions,” she proudly announced.
And she had every reason to be proud. Not many people would have the chance to enjoy the creativity and innovation of the likes of Leonardo DaVinci, but Jessica was about to become intimate with the genius.
“Wow! I’d love to see that. Where did it come from?”
“I’m not sure. I haven’t even been told which self-portrait it is.”
Rebecca walked to her office door and held it open for Jessica. “Doesn’t really matter, does it? It’sDaVinci.”
“Exactly,” Jessica agreed as she walked out. “Have a good weekend. Stay safe.”
“Wait,” Rebecca called out, seizing her arm.
Something she had never seen from Jessica flickered in her mossy glaze. It was fear. She could swear she saw fear. Maybe she was still traumatized by the attack. Had Boogie’s friend hurt her more than she’d let on?
Rebecca frowned, studying her longer than she’d intended. Apparently, it was long enough to make her friend feel uncomfortable.
“What?” she flustered.
Rebecca turned her around so they were eye to eye. “I know you said you were okay after… well, I just—”
Jessica’s vulnerability disappeared with a blink. “OMG, Becky! I told you, I’m fine. You just worry about that muscular chunk of man meat who’s living under your roof.”
The fact that Jessica was addressing her with a title she’d forbidden when they first met let her know it was a defense mechanism. It was her way of avoiding all discussion about the trauma she’d suffered at the hands of her enemies.
“Jess…” Her friend’s name came out in a whisper.
Jessica grabbed her upper arms and smiled. “What happened was terrifying, but you got the worst of it. And now, it’s over. Honestly, I’m fine. I worry aboutyou.”
