“Why would I be jealous?”
“I don’t know. Why would you be jealous?”
“I think you’re misreading the situation.”
“Mmm-hmmm.”
Merrick rolled his eyes. But he was also no longer white-knuckling the steering wheel.
“How’s Kitty?” I asked.
“The nurse told me that right before she went under the anesthesia, she asked the doctor if he could fix her up to belike a fifteen-year-old virgin again.”
I covered my mouth and laughed. “She’s such a trip.”
“I think it’s probably funnier when she isn’t your grandmother.”
“I’m sure. But she sounded great when I spoke to her. Although she’s definitely very anxious to come home.”
He nodded. “I wish they would keep her longer. She’ll probably be released tomorrow morning.”
It was after midnight when we got back to Kitty’s house. The house was dark except for the light streaming from the hallway, but it was enough to illuminate the living room.
Merrick tossed the keys in the bowl on the table by the door and put his hands on his hips. “You gonna turn in? I’m going to have a glass of wine first, if you want to join me.”
I set down my purse. “I’d love that.”
Neither of us turned on any more lights, so when we sat together on the little couch in the dim room with our wine, it felt intimate. I traced my finger around the top of my glass, thinking how long it had been since I’d enjoyed this feeling.
“Thanks again for picking me up,” I said.
Merrick smiled. “My pleasure.”
I tilted my head. “We’ve come a long way from our first meeting, if you’re saying it’s a pleasure to be in my company.”
He smiled again. “I guess we have.”
I sipped my wine and stared into the glass. “Want to know a secret?”
“Do I have to share one too?”
I laughed. “No.”
“Then sure.”
“You used to make me nervous.” I shrugged. “Not just during my interview when I wasn’t sure if you recognized me or not. But even after that.”
“How come?”
“I guess because I wanted to prove you wrong—that I wasn’t incompetent. And part of me wasn’t sure I could.”
“You’re good at your job. You’ve already given me things I can do to improve the work environment, and everyone seems to love you.”
“Thank you. I feel like I’m good at my job again. I don’t think I realized how much the events of the last six months had shaken my confidence. It’s logical that finding out your fiancé is cheating would make you doubt relationships and the opposite sex, but it did so much more than that. It made me doubt things I’d been so certain of—like my professional abilities and my ability to make simple decisions. I think I felt like, if I had been so sure of my relationship that I was going to marry someone, what else could I be wrong about? Does that make sense?”
“It does.” Merrick was quiet for a minute. “So I don’t make you nervous anymore?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”