“Clock out. You can work at home on some of it.” She shifted the weight of the box. The damn thing was heavy. “Let’s go.”
21
Against the snapping cold, Eve carried the first box into the house. She had a Summerset snark set and felt annoyance when she found the foyer empty, and her snark at the ready.
Still, without him there, she didn’t feel honor bound to cart the damn box up the stairs, and walked back to the elevator, used the box to hold the door open until she went back for the second.
Then, shoving them both in, stepped in and ordered her office. She decided Summerset would likely be dealing with packing. He’d need at least a dozen black suits, right? He probably sat on the beach wearing one, with a carefully knotted tie.
At least, she didn’t want to imagine him wearing anything else. Or less.
The idea made her shudder.
When the elevator opened, she shoved the boxes out. She bent to lift one, heard Roarke’s voice from his adjoining office.
Leaving the boxes where they were, she crossed over.
“I’m looking at it now, yes,” he said into the ’link as he studied some sort of schematic on screen. “Hold a moment.” He put the ’link on pause. “You’re earlier than I expected.”
“You, too.”
“I only got here shortly ago.”
Long enough, she thought, to have taken off his jacket and tie, rolled up his sleeves, and tied back his hair.
The cat stretched across his command center, yawned.
“Just a bit of work I wanted to handle in the quiet.”
“Same here.”
“I should be wrapped up with this in about twenty minutes.”
“Okay.” She started to step back. “Summerset packing?”
“Unpacking by now, I’d hope. We have weather coming in late tonight into the morning. I nudged him along.”
She stopped stepping back. “‘Along’ as in out? Out of the house?”
“I didn’t like the idea of him flying out in bad weather, so persuaded him to leave today.”
Eve held up a hand like a stop sign. “You’re saying—let’s be absolutely clear—this house is Summerset-free?”
“I expect he and Ivanna are enjoying blue skies and balmy breezes, so yes.”
“Okay. Okay,” she repeated. “Don’t let me interrupt.”
She moved just out of his eyeline, heard him go back to the ‘link. And boogied her way back to the elevator with the cat trotting behind her. She started to pick up a box, straightened again.
And decided to go with impulse.
Roarke finished the meeting. It ran a bit longer than he’d estimated, but the small changes he and the engineer made would, he was sure, be worth the time and trouble.
Plus, though he had a few things that could keep him busy, this cleared his slate enough he could see what his wife was up to.
He walked in, glanced at her board, noted some updates, then looked toward her command center.
She sat, in nothing but