“Loves who?” Shock jumped into his eyes. “Loves him? Jordan? She loves him? Shit. Shit! Why do you tell me these things?”
“Because thats what people in love do, Flynn.” She got three woven place mats from a drawer he wasnt sure hed known was there and set them neatly on the table. “They tell each other things. And I dont expect you to go running to Jordan with this information.”
“Man.” Pacing now, he shoved a hand through his hair. “See, if you didnt tell me, I wouldnt have to think about not saying anything to him, or not saying anything to her. I would just exist in a nice bubble of ignorance.”
“And I thinkZoes interested—extremely reluctantly— in Brad.”
“Stop it. Stop this flood of information right now.”
“Youre a newspaperman.” Enjoying herself, she pulled out the salad shed put together and began to dress it. “Youre supposed to thrive on in
formation.”
Hed never seen the salad bowl before, or the wooden things she was using to toss the greens. “Im going to get a headache.”
“No, youre not. You want your friends to be happy, dont you?”
“Sure.”
“Were happy, arent we?”
Cautious now, he replied, “Yes.”
“Were happy, and were in love. Ergo, you want your friends happy and in love, too. Right?”
“This is a trick question. So rather than answer it, Im going to distract you.”
“Im not making love with you while dinners cooking and Jordans upstairs.”
“That wasnt my idea, but I really like it. Im going to distract you by telling you that the kitchen guys are coming on Monday to start the remodel.”
“Really?” As hed planned, every other thought spilled out of her mind. “Really?” she repeated and leaped at him. “Oh, this is great! This is wonderful!”
“I thought that would do it. So, are you going to move in with me?”
She touched her lips to his. “Ask me again when the kitchens done.”
“Youre a tough one, Malory.”
* * *
AFTER a day of manual labor, Dana longed for a soak in a hot tub before she dived into her new resource books. But she lacked the courage to do it.
Since that realization was too mortifying to dwell on, she fantasized about the house shed buy one day. The big, secluded house. With a library the size of a barn.
And a Jacuzzi, she added as she pressed on the ache at the small of her back.
But until that happy day, she would settle for her apartment. Eventually, for all the rooms in her apartment, which included the one with the tub in it.
She could join a gym, she thought as she settled down to her books for an evening of research.
She hated gyms. They were full of people. Sweaty people. Naked people who would insist on sharing her Jacuzzi time.
It just wasnt worth the aggravation. Better to wait until she could afford her own place. Of course, when she could afford her own place—with Jacuzzi—it was unlikely that shed be spending eight hours scraping and painting until her back ached.
Ordering herself to settle down, she started on Othello . She had her own copy, of course. She had a copy of everything Shakespeare had written, but she wanted a different volume. A kind of fresh look, she thought.
It was jealousy and ambition that had drivenIago , she mused. He had planted “the greeneydmonster which doth mock the meat it feeds on” in Othello, then had watched it devour him.