13. Phone Issues
“Anne, are you okay? Have you had anything to eat?” Steven asked as he strapped her into the seat on his private plane.
Anne stared at him, his voice barely registering, and nodded her head. He said some more things, his expression urgent, but she couldn’t make sense of his words.
“You haven’t heard anything I’ve said, have you?”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered in a hoarse tone. She tried hard to focus on what he was saying.
“I can’t come with you. Gram called last night and told me she’s been having chest pains. I can’t leave her here alone right now.”
She nodded again. Surely everything would come back to her later.
His hands cupped her face, as he bent to speak closely. “Anne, I need to know you’re hearing me, okay?”
This time she made eye contact with him. “Okay,” she croaked, as his thumb brushed a tear that rolled down her face.
“Repeat this for me. It’s very important for you to remember.”
She blinked hard, trying to concentrate.
“When the plane lands, I will turn my cell phone back on and check my messages. Can you say that?”
“When the plane lands, I will…”
“Turn my phone on.”
“Turn my phone on.”
“And check messages.”
“And check messages.”
“Okay, now listen. I gave the pilot the name and address of the hospital. He’ll get a taxi for you and make sure you get there. Unless one of the girls comes to get you. Emily’s going to call your phone and leave a message as soon as she knows something.”
“Okay. Thank you for—”
“No need for thanks. I want to help.” He straightened up. “Anne, there’s one more thing. Will you let me call Henri and tell him what happened? It’ll be awfully late in Paris by the time you get to Fort Worth.”
“Okay. Thanks.”
“And will you call me when you get to the hospital?”
Tears began to tumble down her cheeks again. She watched as he walked to the back of the plane and returned with a box of tissues. He pulled one out and gently dried her face before handing her the rest of the box. His own shirt had salty tear stains on the chest.
“Are you going to be okay?” He looked as miserable as she felt.
“What if he doesn’t make it?”
“He’ll be okay.”
Even in her distressed state, she knew he was saying what she wanted to hear. When she landed in Texas, her father might already be dead.
Gherring squeezed her hand before departing the plane. As the engines roared, her mind swirled. Her mind was so clogged with terrifying images of her father in a mangled car, that she couldn’t process her earlier scene with Steven Gherring.
He had kissed her? Had that really happened? What did it mean?
I can’t think about it. Not now. Not until I know Dad is going to be okay.
Later, she could deal with other things. Like Steven Gherring and the kiss that should never have happened.
* * *
When the planefinally landed and Anne checked her messages, she heard Emily’s shaky voice. “Mom, come as soon as you can. Charlie’s here. Grandpa’s alive. He’s in critical condition.”
The taxi ride seemed interminable. But she dared not ask the driver to hurry. Every time he changed lanes or used the brake she caught her breath, especially since the roads were wet. She called Emily from the car and both girls were waiting in the lobby for her when she arrived.
“You’re here,” cried Charlie, muffled from their group hug. “Everything’s gonna be okay, now.”
“That’s how I feel too,” said Emily. “Everybody was talking to me like I was a grownup, and I just wanted to cry like a little girl. I’m so glad you’re home.”
Anne wept and hugged her girls and peppered them with kisses. “Take me up there.”
She was shocked to see her dad, bandaged and bruised, with tubes coming out of him and surrounded by flashing electrical gadgets. When Tom and his parents were killed in the car accident fifteen years previously, they’d been pronounced dead at the scene. She hadn’t experienced seeing her loved ones, unrecognizable, in the alien-like hospital environment.
She bent over to place a tender kiss on his head in an unbandaged spot. Arriving to check his vital signs, the nurse informed Anne of his condition.
“We’re keeping him unconscious right now. He came through the surgery pretty well for a sixty-eight-year-old. It’s fortunate he was so healthy—his heart is strong. He has a broken arm, compound fracture. We’ve already set it. He also has some broken ribs and a punctured lung. We have some low-pressure oxygen to help keep the lung inflated while it heals. His spleen was ruptured, but the doctors only had to remove part of it. He lost a lot of blood, and he’s not out of the woods yet. But he has a good chance of surviving.”
She patted Anne on the arm. “You look terrible, dear. It could have been much worse. A number of people died in that accident.”
“There were other people? Do you know what happened?”
“As I understand it, there were at least ten cars involved. It had just started to rain and the bridge immediately iced up. Those cars were going seventy miles an hour when they hit the ice. They never had a chance. Most of the ambulances came here, but I understand some went to other hospitals. So I don’t know exactly how many people were injured.”
“I was so worried about Dad I didn’t even think about other cars being involved.”
“Understandable. But I think you can relax a little. He’s a fighter, and it takes a real fighter to battle back from something like this. It’s already past visiting hours, so I’m afraid you’ll need to come back tomorrow. We have your contact information, right? We’ll take good care of him and call you if there’re any changes. Tomorrow or the next day, he may get to move to a regular room. Then you can stay with him as long as you like.” She smiled as she ushered them out.
Anne breathed a sigh of relief as they walked toward the elevator. But she saw Emily and Charlie exchange a worried look. “What is it? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Mom,” said Charlie, with huge tears falling from her golden eyes. “Gandalf was in the car.”
Emily was drivingto the veterinary office while Anne, in the passenger’s seat, was jumping at every move the car made. It was like reliving a nightmare. She’d refused to drive for a month after the accident that killed Tom.
“Mom, you’ve got to relax a little,” Emily complained. “You’re making me nervous, and I need to concentrate.”
“Sorry, sorry… I’m trying.”
“Some Good Samaritan drove Gandalf over there,” Emily said. “I got a call on my cell because my number was associated with his ID chip.”
“And what did the message say?” asked Anne.
“The message said to call because they had Gandalf. But when I contacted them, the nurse said they were going to do surgery. He’d lost a lot of blood from internal bleeding, but they couldn’t do surgery until they’d gotten my permission.” Her lip quivered. “He may have died because it took so long for me to call them back.”
“Oh honey, no! It was an accident, and you were busy keeping Grandpa alive. It’s not your fault.”
Charlie was crying. “Stop talking about him like he’s already dead. We don’t know for sure.”
“But he’s so old. He wouldn’t be strong enough to recover,” said Emily.
Anne struggled to find a dry spot on her last remaining tissue. “It had to happen sometime. We’ve had him for nine-and-a-half years—that’s pretty good. Most Irish Wolfhounds only live five to ten years.”
On their arrival, the clinic appeared deserted. But there was a single light burning inside. “They said there might be someone here until ten o’clock, and it’s almost ten now. If not, we’ll have to come back tomorrow,” said Emily.
They rang the night bell and waited for several minutes before they heard the sound of movement inside. A light flipped on and the door opened. A small bespectacled man who looked to be at least seventy years old stood in the doorway. “Can I help you?”
“We’re here about Gandalf? The Irish Wolfhound?”
“Oh. The Wolfhound. The car accident. I’m so sorry. Come in.”
He walked ahead of them down a long dim hallway.
“Are you the doctor?” asked Anne.
“Yes, I’m Dr. Williams. This used to be my practice, but I sold it to a great young doctor named Christine Stephenson. I’m just here to check on the surgery patients one last time before bed.”
“And what about Gandalf?” Anne asked, dreading the answer.
He opened a door. “He’s still in here. I thought you’d want to see him.”
Anne’s heart fell as she passed through the doorway with her girls. Gandalf’s limp body lay sprawled across an operating table. Blood was smeared on his fur, although it was obvious someone had tried to clean him up. The IV tube had been disconnected and was hanging loose. Anne looked at his still body and tried to connect this image with the joyfully rambunctious dog Gandalf had been.
Though she meant to be strong for her daughters, a sob escaped. She leaned over his head and kissed him, her tears wetting his fur. Emily was weeping audibly. Charlie threw her arms around him, crying out, “Gandalf!”
Emily rubbed his head and kissed his nose. “He’s still warm. He must’ve just died!”
Anne heard Dr. Williams behind her. “He’s not dead—I thought you knew. He’s just so big I can’t move him by myself. I was trying to figure out what to do when you rang the bell.”
“What? He’s alive?” asked Anne.
The girls began sobbing anew and kissing Gandalf all over.
Anne grabbed Dr. Williams and squeezed him in a bear hug. “Thank you, thank you!”
He blustered a bit and patted her back. “It wasn’t really me. It was Dr. Stephenson that did the surgery. Of course, I taught her everything I know.”
Anne’s phone rang, and she answered quickly, thinking it might be the hospital.
“Hello?”
“Anne?” Steven Gherring’s voice sounded anxious. “You didn’t call. I—I was worried.”
She froze. With the news of the accident, Anne had blocked out all other thoughts. But now, hearing his voice, a flood of memories and images and emotions invaded her head.
She remembered. Everything.
He’d come to her apartment. He’d kissed her. And she’d kissed him back. Like a starving woman.
He must think she’d be willing to sleep with him. Is that what would’ve happened if the phone hadn’t interrupted them? She remembered the deep ache that had threatened to overwhelm her senses. Somehow, she couldn’t control herself around Steven Gherring. How far would she have gone if Charlie hadn’t called? What would she have done if her father hadn’t been in a near-fatal car accident?
“Anne? Are you there?” Steven”s voice was insistent, even frightened.
“I—I—” Suddenly the room narrowed. Anne knew she had to sit down or she would pass out.
“Emily, take this.” She handed the phone off and sat down, dropping her head between her legs. She could only hope Steven didn’t spill the beans about what had happened between them.
She heard muffled voices, and eventually felt a hand on her back. She tentatively lifted her head, glad when the room didn’t spin.
“Mom, are you okay?” Emily asked.
“I think so.”
“It’s probably low blood sugar,” said Charlie, who was still standing with Gandalf.
“Mr. Gherring just wanted to know if Grandpa was okay,” said Emily as she tucked the cell phone back into Anne’s purse. “I told him about Gandalf, too.”
“Good. Good. Did he say anything else?” Did she even want to know?
“I thanked him for flying you here, and he asked you to call him as soon as you can. He said you could call any time, even though it’s late.”
“Guess he turned out to be a whole lot nicer than you first thought,” said Charlie.
“He’s very nice.”
And very enticing.
* * *
“Why haven’tyou called Mr. Gherring?” Emily unfolded her couch into the bed Anne was going to sleep on. Charlie was going to share her sister’s bed. Emily’s place was only twelve minutes from the hospital, so they were all crowding into the small apartment.
“I’ll call him tomorrow.” Anne retrieved her toothbrush from her bathroom bag, hoping they’d let the subject drop.
“Why did you freak out when he called you?” Emily asked.
“I don’t know,” Anne said. “Why did you neglect to tell me you’d been talking to Spencer on the phone?”
“You’ve been talking to Spencer?” cried Charlie. “Sister! You’re keeping secrets from me.”
“Nice try, Mom, but I asked you first,” said Emily.
“We kind of had a scene before Charlie called, because he didn’t want me to go to Paris to see Henri.”
“What kind of scene? Like a yelling scene? Mr. Gherring doesn’t seem like the type of guy who’d yell at a girl,” said Charlie.
“He didn’t yell. He just asked me not to go. And I insisted I was going, because I’d promised Henri. Besides, Henri really needed me. I feel terrible he’s going to be alone, when he thought I was coming. He’s so upset about Anna-Laure.”
Emily crooked her head. “He did you a big favor, flying you here. You owe him a phone call.”
“It’s all kind of awkward. I don’t know what he wants.”
“Maybe he just wants to talk to you, like he said. Did he hurt your feelings or something? He really sounded kind of pitiful to me.” Emily tossed her a pillow.
“You might not even be here yet if it weren’t for Mr. Gherring,” Charlie said. “I think you should call him.”
“I don’t want to feel obligated to him.”
“But he seems so generous,” Emily argued. “I don’t think he expects anything in return.”
You might not say that if you knew the whole story.
“I’ll call him tomorrow,” Anne said. “Now, about those phone calls with Spencer…”
“I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow,” said Emily. “Right after you call Mr. Gherring.”
* * *
Anne’s phonerang as they were driving to the hospital in the morning. She held her breath until she checked the caller ID.
“Hi, Gram.”
“Anne, dear. How is your father? Steven says he’s in ICU.”
“He’s got a broken arm and broken ribs, a punctured lung and he lost part of his spleen. But he’s alive, and we feel blessed.”
“I’m so glad, dear. I know you must’ve been pretty frightened.”
“Yes, I barely remember most of what happened yesterday.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she recalled her encounter with Steven in the apartment. She labored to breathe.
“I thought I’d give you a report on our little project,” said Gram. “My little ploy worked like a charm. Thanks to my ‘chest pains,’ Steven’s been very distracted. And Michelle is supposed to fly out tonight. So I think we’re safe for now.”
“That’s great, Gram.”
At this point, Anne wondered if it might’ve been better if Steven had reunited with Michelle. At least that would’ve removed him as a temptation.
What would she do if he tried to kiss her again?
I’d let him—that’s what I’d do. Because I have the willpower of a sea cucumber.
“So what do you think our next step should be?” asked Gram.
“You should keep him distracted until Monday. I mean, really distracted. You probably shouldn’t even give him enough time to call me. You know, so I won’t remind him of Henri and he won’t call Michelle and beg her to come back.”
“What happens on Monday?”
“That’s when I’m gonna introduce Steven to my friend, Ellen, the actress. Remember?”
“I don’t know this girl. I may not like her.”
“We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get to it. I’ll call you on Monday, okay?”
* * *
Anne hungup the phone with a sigh of relief. Charlie was staring with her mouth wide open. Emily was frowning as she drove.
Charlie started in. “What was that, Mom? You want Gram to keep Mr. Gherring from calling you?”
“Out with it,” said Emily. “We want the truth.”
Her phone began to ring again. Spying Steven”s name on the caller ID, she rejected the call.
“Why didn’t you take the call, Mom?” questioned Charlie.
“It was no one important. I’ll call them back later. We’re almost to the hospital.”
“Mom, we’re on your side, you know. If you can’t talk to us, who can you talk to?” Charlie leaned forward, her face earnest.
“Yeah, Mom. I’ll start, okay? I’ve talked to Spencer on the phone a couple of times and on FaceTime a couple of times.”
Charlie started to squeal, but Emily held up a hand to silence her.
“The jury is still out. I don’t know if I like him or if I even trust him. But I’ll tell you as soon as I decide.” Emily paused, glancing back at her mother. “Now it’s your turn. Why don’t you want to talk to Mr. Gherring?”
Anne contemplated. Charlie was right—if she couldn’t talk to her girls, who could she talk to? No one. She couldn’t tell her girls what had happened. She didn’t even know herself what had happened or what it meant. And she had no one she could talk to.
“Can we just say I’m afraid to talk to him right now and leave it at that?”
“Hmmm,” said Charlie. “I don’t know. Sister, what do you think? Could we leave it at that?”
“No. Probably not. That doesn’t really sound like us.”
“If you’re afraid to talk to him now, and you don’t talk to him during the Thanksgiving holidays, what’s gonna happen when you go back to work on Monday?”
“I’ll act like nothing ever happened and go to work.”
“Which means, of course, something did happen,” smirked Emily. “And what would that something be?”
Her phone rang again. Her heart hammered until she realized Henri was calling. Grateful for the reprieve, she answered quickly.
“Henri… I’m so sorry I couldn’t come. How’s Anna-Laure?”
“She is okay. But I am calling for you. What happened? Gherring told me that there was a car accident. Your father? What happened?”
“He’s alive but in intensive care. And I’m so sorry. The timing was awful, and you wasted all that money on a plane ticket for me.”
“The money is nothing. I am so glad your father is okay. And you? Are you okay? You must have been very afraid. If I were there, I would give you a hug. Like you gave me a hug. You give very good hugs.” She could almost picture his smile over the phone.
“Yes, I was terrified, but I’m okay now. We’re on the way to the hospital, me and the girls. But tell me about Anna-Laure. Has she started chemotherapy?”
“She had a treatment today. She was très courageuse. Brave, she was brave. And it did not make her sick. Tomorrow may be worse.”
“I’m praying for her every day.”
“Me too,” said Charlie.
“And me,” said Emily.
Anne smiled. “Charlie and Emily want you to know they’re praying too.”
“We need all those prayers—every one. When will you go back to New York?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it. But if Dad is doing well, I guess I’ll go back on Sunday night. I really have a lot of work to do, especially with my new job and still having to do the other stuff. And I’ve got to work out the final details for the company Christmas party.”
“I think I will still come to New York. I have a ticket already for that weekend. If I think that Anna-Laure will be okay without me. I would like to see you.”
“That’d be great Henri. I’d love to see you, but I’ll understand if you can’t come because of Anna-Laure.”
“I hope I can come. I need you, mon bel ange.”
* * *
“My gosh, Mom,”said Charlie as they walked into the hospital, “Henri’s voice is so sexy with that French accent. I don’t know how you can resist him.”
“A problem made easier by the fact there’s an ocean between us. But you may be right. Who knows what would’ve happened if I were in Paris right now?”
“You see, I told you we needed to have ‘The Talk.’” Emily waggled her eyebrows.
“Really though, Mom, you’re so strong. You’ve never even dated anyone since Dad died. You must be amazing at resisting temptation.”
“Or maybe she’s terrible at it, and that’s why she never dated.” Both girls chuckled at Emily’s comment. But Anne cringed at how close to the truth Emily had come.
She rushed to change the subject. “I’m so worried about Grandpa—I’ll feel a lot better when he’s awake and we can talk to him.”
* * *
“He’sconscious and he doesn’t like the tube in his nose. I hope you can help him calm down a bit.” The attending nurse frowned in obvious disapproval of his antics.
“Daddy?”
“Annie, baby,” he croaked. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t make it to the airport to get Charlie.”
“I’m here, Grandpa.” Charlie arrived on the other side of the bed.
“And me,” said Emily.
“Do you know what happened, Dad?”
“I remember the car sliding sideways, but nothing after that. What about Gandalf?”
“He’s at the animal hospital. He had surgery too,” said Charlie.
“Dr. Stephenson said it’s a miracle a Wolfhound his age survived the trauma. We’re going to visit him later today,” said Emily.
“I think I really messed up Thanksgiving for everyone. I don’t suppose my car survived?”
“I don’t know, Dad, but it was probably totaled. That was a huge accident. It started to rain, and the bridge iced over. Ten cars or maybe even more were involved. You’re lucky to be alive.”
“Does it hurt much?” asked Emily.
“I feel kind of like I got tossed into a dryer with some rocks and knives.” He chuckled. “Ow! It even hurts to laugh.”
“You had surgery. I bet your stomach is going to hurt for a while,” said Anne.
“Yep. Nurse Brume Hilda over there told me all about what they did to me.”
“Dad, be nice. She’s just trying to do her job and keep you alive. I heard you were fussing about that tube.”
“Oh and she’s a tattletale too.”
Charlie giggled. “Grandpa’s grouchy—he’s back to normal.”
The girls sat in the room with Grandpa and chatted until the nurse came in again. “He needs to rest now. You can come back this afternoon.”
“I don’t feel like resting.” His pouty attitude was heartening.
“You’re not going to give me any more trouble for a while.” She smiled as she injected medicine into his IV tube. Before he could even protest, the medicine began to take effect.
“That does feel better.” He winked at the nurse before he fell asleep.
Anne asked, “Do we know when he’ll get to move to a room? Are we going to talk to a doctor?”
“The surgeon was in earlier to check his stats. He’s in surgery now, but he’ll be back to talk to you this afternoon. I’m guessing your dad will be out of the ICU by Thursday.”
* * *
On the way tosee Gandalf, Anne noticed Steven had called twice while she was in the hospital. She listened to her messages.
“Anne, I hope you’ll call soon. I’m worried about you. I hope your dad is okay and… and I hope you’ll call me.”
Then the second message. “Anne, I guess you can’t talk because you’re in the hospital. Please call me as soon as you can.”
Just as Anne was tucking her phone away, he called again. Her heart started pounding; she turned the ringer off and stashed her phone in her purse.
Charlie raised her eyebrows. “Who was that?”
“I don’t know. Probably a wrong number.”
Emily’s phone began to ring, and she answered it on the hands-free system of her car. “Hello?”
“This is Steven Gherring.” His voice sounded relieved. “Is this Emily?”
Anne waved her hand in a desperate attempt for her daughters not to reveal her presence.
“We’re all in the car,” Emily said. “Mom’s here, too.”
“Anne, I’ve been trying to reach you.” His voice went husky.
“Hang on a minute.” Grinning, Charlie dug her sister’s phone out of her purse and pressed the button to transfer the call from the car speakers to the phone. “Now, you can talk to him.”
Charlie grinned as she handed her mom the phone. Anne gave Charlie the dirtiest look she could muster, while Emily giggled in the driver’s seat. Anne stared at the phone she held in trembling hands. She took a deep quaky breath and held it to her ear.
“Hello?”
“Anne! How are you? I’ve really been worried. You were so shaken up when I put you on the plane. I would’ve gone with you if it weren’t for Gram.”
“She needs you there. You didn’t need to come.”
“Gram keeps telling me to call you. I don’t know why she doesn’t just call you herself.” He paused for a breath. “Are you there?”
“Yes, I’m… I’m here.” She took deep breaths, trying to slow her heart rate. She could do this. Steven wouldn’t bring up the incident over the phone.
“How’s your dad?”
“He’s okay. He was awake today.” She tried to keep her voice light and even. The girls were listening closely. She didn’t want them to hear her nervousness.
“And Gandalf?”
“Alive, as far as we know. We’re going to see him now.”
“And you? How are you?”
“I’m fine.” She thought her voice sounded odd and squeaky.
His pitch dropped. “I mean, how are you, really? After we… I know you’re probably feeling awkward. But Anne, I don’t—”
“Oh, we’re here. I’ve gotta go. Talk to you later. Thanks, Mr. Gherring.”
She handed Emily’s cell phone back without looking up.
“That was certainly interesting,” said Emily. “Wasn’t it, Sis?”
“It certainly was. Very interesting.”
“No time to talk.” Anne hopped out of the car and hurried into the vet clinic.
* * *
The girls were cheeredto find Gandalf awake. His tail gave a weak wag in greeting. Dr. Stephenson’s report was good, and they made plans to visit the following day.
“Where to now?” asked Emily, as they left the animal clinic.
“Lunch first. Then back to the hospital, I guess,” said Anne.
“I don’t think you should be allowed to eat until you explain that little conversation with Mr. Gherring,” said Charlie.
“I said ‘later,’ and this is not later enough. And if I’m not allowed to eat, I don’t think I’ll be paying, either.”
“Fine, you can eat. But my curiosity is killing me,” Charlie complained.
“We don’t really need Mom. I could hear everything Mr. Gherring said. What would you like to know?”
“Emily!” Anne’s voice sounded a warning.
“I couldn’t hear what he said after Mom said she was fine,” said Charlie.
“Charlie, that’s enough—” said Anne.
“He asked her how she was really doing. And then he said, ‘You must feel awkward.’ And then Mom cut him off in mid-sentence,” said Emily.
She squeezed her eyes shut. How was she going to cover her uncomfortable conversation with Steven?
Emily began, “Mom, you can tell us the truth. Are you—”
“No, I’m not sleeping with Mr. Gherring! Why does everyone think that? I wouldn’t do that.”
“What are you talking about? I was going to ask if you were in love with him, not if you were sleeping with him. Who thinks you’ve been sleeping with Mr. Gherring? Is that what this is about?”
Tears welled up in her eyes. How could she possibly have any tears left?
“Mom, please don’t cry,” said Charlie.
“Yes, you know we’ll both cry too,” said Emily. “And I’m driving.”
Anne studied her hands for a moment and then snuffled. “People at the office were saying I slept with him. Sam told me Tuesday. It’s silly I care so much, but I can’t help it. They think that’s why I got the promotion.” She swiped angrily at a tear on her cheek.
“That’s awful.” Charlie sniffed a few times. “Does Mr. Gherring know?”
“Yes, but he wasn’t surprised. I, on the other hand, was totally shocked. How can I be forty-five and still be this na?ve? Of course, that’s what people would think. I just hope…”
“What, Mom?” urged Emily.
“I’m just afraid he… that he gave me the promotion because he wants to sleep with me.” Saying the words out loud was even more devastating than simply thinking about the possibility.
“I mean, why else would he promote me? I’m just a mother from Weatherford, Texas. I don’t know anything about business or investments or mergers or acquisitions. It’s the only reason that makes any sense. Now do you see why I don’t want to talk to him?”
“Mom, I really think you’re selling yourself short here,” said Charlie.
“Yeah, Mom,” said Emily. “And Mr. Gherring too. He doesn’t seem like that type to me. I know what the magazines say about him. But after spending time with him, I don’t believe it.”
“And let’s face it. If Steven Gherring wanted sex, he’d never have to go to this much trouble to get it.”
“I hadn’t thought of it like that.” Of course, her girls weren’t aware of that kiss in the apartment. The one that made her doubt her own self-control. “But for now, can we please change the subject?”
I refuse to think about it until I have to.