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There was a dramatic silence from the other end of the line.
“Your phone isn’t charged?” Vivi repeated. “Hold on. Who is this? And what have you done with my sister?”
“Oh, stop. You’re being ridiculous.”
“Tell us all about it tonight. And I mean every juicy detail. When are you getting back? Let’s hit that great little Indian place down the street from Nell’s and then huddle down all together at her apartment for safety. With a few bottles of wine.”
I hemmed and hawed. “I don’t exactly know when I’ll be coming back. I brought Moxie up here, see, and he’s asked me to stay?—”
“You brought up Moxie? Nell!” Vivi howled “Get this! Nancy’s shacked up!”
“Stop it, Vivi,” I begged. “Don’t jinx this for me.”
“Okay, you big scaredy-cat. But we worry, so call us whenever you get the chance, between sweaty bouts of bed-play. And say hello from the two of us!”
Vivi hung up, and I clutched the receiver with a hand that shook.
Liam’s hand touched my shoulder, making me jump. He took the phone and hung it up. “My sisters say hello,” I offered.
“Great. I say hello right back. Why do you look so worried?”
“Because they’re having this big, happy freak-out about me being up here with you, and it’s making me nervous.”
Liam’s mouth tightened. “Ah.” He was silent for a moment. “So you think that they’ll be crushed when they find out that it’s no big deal.”
My throat started to burn. “I didn’t say that,” I said. “You’re the one who said we were going to hit that wall.”
“So I did,” he said.
I laid my hand upon his chest, feeling the strong, steady throb of his heart. “It’s a very big deal, to me,” I said.
He covered my hand with his own. “Yeah? How big?”
“Huge.”
We came together into a tight embrace, and I pressed my shaking face to his chest. Silently agreeing to let the dangerous moment pass.
An alarming smell a couple minutes later made them look up.
“Oh my God. The pancakes.” Liam lunged for the griddle.
There were plenty of pancakes, so we feasted on pancakes and bacon. I ate twice as much as I usually did, and loved every bite. We cleaned up the kitchen, then looked at each other, embarrassed.
“So, ah, what now?” I asked.
His lips twitched. “You tell me, Nancy.”
The gleam in his eye was hard to resist, but the reality of my work life was breathing down my neck. “I really do need to get some work done,” I told him. “Is there a place I could set up shop where I wouldn’t be in your way?”
“I’ll set up an office for you. I’d give you the spare room, but if you want a phone line, it’ll have to be in the living room. I’ll get the stuff from your car.”
When he’d hauled in and set up all of my office equipment at the desk, he gave me a brief, hard kiss. “I’ll try to stay out of your way,” he said. “The temptation will be strong, though. Don’t be creeped out if I look in on you, just to make sure I’m not daydreaming. That this is actually happening.”
I tried not to smile. “Don’t freak if I turn my smartphone on, okay? I need to check my messages.”
“Be my guest,” he said magnanimously. “It should be close to charged by now. I’ll be in my workshop if you need me.”
My voice mail was loaded with petulant messages from Peter and Enid. Peter was her first call.