“Please, are you kidding me? I’m not even convinced yet that you didn’t just order in.”
“Order in from where Fay? This is Ashville. There’s no decent place to order food from, let alone lamb.”
“Okay, two things. First, lamb? Really?”
“Yes,” I said. “Why? Shit, are you a vegetarian now or something?”
“Please,” she laughed, leading me into my own kitchen and sitting down at the massive island where the two of us would eat. “Are you kidding me? Never. Not in a million years. I’m just surprised by how fancy it sounds, that’s all.”
“Jesus, don’t scare me like that. So, what’s the second thing?”
“Nothing, really. Just try and lay off of Ashville a little bit, maybe? I know it isn’t your home anymore, but it’s still mine.”
“Right. You’re right, I’m sorry.”
“I think it might just be best if we tried to leave Ashville out of everything, you know? We never did agree on it, and there’s no reason for us to agree on it now. But we’re having a good time, right?”
“I sure am,” I said.
“Me too. And I want it to stay that way. So I think staying away from the subject of Ashville is probably best. What do you say?”
“I say you have yourself a deal, Fay Turner.”
“Good!” she said, relaxing. “Awesome, I was hoping you would say that. Now, what do you say we drink on it? Open up this bottle of wine and let’s eat. I’m starving, and the food you made really does smell amazing. I can’t lie about that.”
***
After we ate, Fay began gathering up the dishes from the island.
“Come on, Fay, stop it,” I said. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll get it later. Or I can just have dad’s house keeper come by. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Fay answered smartly, the sarcasm in her voice so rich that I could imagine just what her face would look like, despite the fact that she had her back toward me. “I just bet she’s been at home waiting by the phone for you to call her, just hoping she can come and do some more cleaning.”
“Ouch,” I said, grinning. I took a step toward her, wondering how close I could get before she realized I was there. “You’re really taking me down a peg or two, huh?”
“Just telling it like I see it, Neil. Besides, you’re the one who cooked. It only makes sense that I be the one to clean. That’s the way it works. And I’m not afraid of some hard work. I’ve washed plenty of dishes in my life, and I’m sure I’ll wash plenty more. I’m perfectly capable.”
“I don’t have any doubts there, Fay. From where I’m standing, you look more than capable to me.”
I was so close now that I could have easily taken her into my arms, and Lord knew I wanted to. I only held back because before I did anything, I wanted to be sure she wanted it. I wanted to know that she wanted it as badly as I did, and that I wasn’t about to get shot down hard.
She stopped what she was doing, flipped the faucet off, and then stood looking out the window for a minute, not saying a damn thing. I would have given a good deal of money to know what she was thinking in those moments, but I kept my mouth shut. She was going to come to me, or there was going to be nothing at all. I wasn’t going to feel like the asshole in this scenario. No matter how easy a role that was for me to fill. When she finally turned to look at me, I could see her breasts rising and falling quickly, could see how flushed she was. Her body was telling me that she wanted it every bit as badly as I did. Now all I needed was to hear the words.
“You want to kiss me now, don’t you?” she asked.
“Am I that obvious, Fay?”
“You are. That, and it’s what I want. I was sort of hoping you felt the same way.”
“Well then, in the interest of full disclosure—”
“Oh God,” she said with a trembling little laugh, wiping her hands on her shirt and making it start to look almost transparent in the places where it was wet. “You’re such a lawyer.”
“You’re right. I am. Or almost. But in the interest of full disclosure, I’m looking to do a whole lot more than kiss you, Fay. I feel like if I don’t take you to my bed, it’s going to kill me.”
“Then I should probably tell you something, too.”
“Anything, Fay. You can tell me anything you need to say.”