Page 333 of A Matter of Time

“Thanks a lot.”

She shrugged.

I called a Thai place I had been wanting to try and quickly found out they delivered, which worked out great since Sam’s mandate that I go nowhere without him was in full effect. I ordered, with Aja adding things because she was hungry.

At the door, once I opened it, Sam yelled, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

“Just downstairs to wait for the food,” I told him. “I won’t leave the lobby.”

“Have the driver drop the food by the door and don’t go out until he leaves.”

“But what if something’s wrong?” Aja asked him.

“Then you’re screwed because neither one of you is allowed to open the door to do anything but grab the bag.”

“That seems reasonable,” Dane chimed in.

“Neither one of us?” Aja asked Sam, arms crossed, daring him to continue.

“Yeah.” He scowled at her. “You’re not allowed to get hurt on my watch either.”

“Oh,” she said, deflating. “It’s nice of you to worry.”

“Why wouldn’t I worry? You’re Jory’s family just as much as Dane is.”

Tentative smile from her before we left the apartment to get on the elevator. Inside, she turned to me.

“What?”

“Why don’t I mind him telling me what to do?”

“Because under the bluster, you know he’s doing it because he cares.”

She nodded. “I think that’s it.”

We waited in the vestibule, standing opposite one another, her on the side with the mailboxes, me with the umbrellas for tenant use, the outgoing mail bin, and a trash can. We both smiled at people who came in and went out. They probably thought we were weird.

“Oh,” she said suddenly, “I’ve got something to tell you.”

“What?”

“I saw Clarissa Connelly on the plane to New York.”

“Really?” I smiled wide, remembering the woman who had been fluttering around Dane the night he met Aja. Clarissa had invited him to the benefit, but they hadn’t been on a date. Regardless, she’d told everyone that she would be the one to get him to the altar.

“And?”

“I made sure she saw the ring.”

“Evil.” I snickered. “You’re just wicked mean.”

“What? I can’t help it if she wanted what she couldn’t have.”

“True,” I agreed, watching a guy come toward the outer security door, then stop, change direction, and walk away.

“Crap. Did you see if that guy had our food?”

“I didn’t,” Aja replied. “Let’s just peek outside and see if he’s there.”