Startled, she sat back and reread the last phrase.
“I can’t believe I wrote that,” she said aloud.
“Meow?”
Silk, who’d been prowling nervously around the kitchen all morning, seemed glad of a little conversation, and Bridey, full of fidgety tension, was glad of a chance to lighten up a little.
“None of your business, Miss Has To Know It All. Can’t a girl keep any secrets around here?” Bridey glared at Silk. “Just because you’ve been as jumpy as a cat lately doesn’t mean everyone else has to be in a state. I’ve got worries of my own, and you don’t see me carrying on, do you? Honestly, if anyone should be prying, it should be me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how loopy you’ve been acting. So what’s up with you these days? And why aren’t you taking your snooze, like Satin over there?”
In his dreams, Satin heard his name mentioned. He twitched one ear, half-opened his eyes and then slipped back into heroic visions featuring himself on the trail of a ferocious mouse. It’s a dirty job , his dream self explained to his dream audience, but someone has to do it!
“Meooww?” Silk was not to be put off. She pawed Bridey’s bare toes insistently.
“Oh, go take a catnap!” Bridey said. “And leave me alone. Sure, Mack Brewster has good legs and a sexy smile, but he’s no hero. He’s got me really worried, and I really have to get this work done as fast as I can, before it all gets taken away from me. So just go away and leave me alone!”
She looked back at the screen, hit the delete button and took out the last words.
And then typed them in again. She couldn’t help it. They seemed to fit.
“. . . the cute guy next door . . .”
She had to admit it—she couldn’t get him out of her head, and it wasn’t only because of his warning of trouble in her paradise. Or because of the strange magnetic field, or whatever it was, that she’d felt when his leg touched hers. There was something more about him, something deep in his eyes, something . . . something about the tone in his voice, a kind of strength that reached out to her, as though he had taken her hand; it stayed with her still.
Do I like this guy?
She sat back in her chair abruptly, as though her spine had collapsed.
The thought appalled her.
Still, there was something . . .
That’s all I need. A major distraction, just when I need to be totally devoted to work! No. I’m not about to give it all away. I’m not going to let myself get derailed. Don’t think about him, Bridey. Don’t.
But it was like telling herself not to think about elephants. She stared at her computer screen, but she couldn’t get past “. . . the cute guy next door . . .”
And just then, as though her thoughts had summoned him, the doorbell rang and, when she answered it, there he was.
He was now in crisp chinos and a neatly pressed denim shirt. His handsome face was freshly shaved, his shower-damp hair was neatly combed and he was wearing a serious, best-behavior expression.
“I was just wondering,” he said. “Could it possibly be cook’s night out?”
He’d caught her completely off guard and she was speechless. She was embarrassingly aware of her super-casual attire, the huge T-shirt and only panties beneath, just this side of decency. With one bare foot she tried to restrain Silk, who was determined to escape through the open door.
Before she could say anything, he added, “I mean, is it safe to ask a professional chef out to dinner?”
His eyes were wandering over her barely clad figure and, realizing her discomfort and recognizing its cause, he was kind enough to focus on a spot in the middle of her forehead. He kept his smile to himself.
Bridey bent to scoop Silk up into her arms, using her as a protective cover across her chest.
“Uh, I’m not sure,” she stammered. “I mean—that is—I guess so. Uh, what did you have in mind?”
His eyes drifted down to meet hers, but he managed not to say what was really
“I can’t believe I wrote that,” she said aloud.
“Meow?”
Silk, who’d been prowling nervously around the kitchen all morning, seemed glad of a little conversation, and Bridey, full of fidgety tension, was glad of a chance to lighten up a little.
“None of your business, Miss Has To Know It All. Can’t a girl keep any secrets around here?” Bridey glared at Silk. “Just because you’ve been as jumpy as a cat lately doesn’t mean everyone else has to be in a state. I’ve got worries of my own, and you don’t see me carrying on, do you? Honestly, if anyone should be prying, it should be me. Don’t think I haven’t noticed how loopy you’ve been acting. So what’s up with you these days? And why aren’t you taking your snooze, like Satin over there?”
In his dreams, Satin heard his name mentioned. He twitched one ear, half-opened his eyes and then slipped back into heroic visions featuring himself on the trail of a ferocious mouse. It’s a dirty job , his dream self explained to his dream audience, but someone has to do it!
“Meooww?” Silk was not to be put off. She pawed Bridey’s bare toes insistently.
“Oh, go take a catnap!” Bridey said. “And leave me alone. Sure, Mack Brewster has good legs and a sexy smile, but he’s no hero. He’s got me really worried, and I really have to get this work done as fast as I can, before it all gets taken away from me. So just go away and leave me alone!”
She looked back at the screen, hit the delete button and took out the last words.
And then typed them in again. She couldn’t help it. They seemed to fit.
“. . . the cute guy next door . . .”
She had to admit it—she couldn’t get him out of her head, and it wasn’t only because of his warning of trouble in her paradise. Or because of the strange magnetic field, or whatever it was, that she’d felt when his leg touched hers. There was something more about him, something deep in his eyes, something . . . something about the tone in his voice, a kind of strength that reached out to her, as though he had taken her hand; it stayed with her still.
Do I like this guy?
She sat back in her chair abruptly, as though her spine had collapsed.
The thought appalled her.
Still, there was something . . .
That’s all I need. A major distraction, just when I need to be totally devoted to work! No. I’m not about to give it all away. I’m not going to let myself get derailed. Don’t think about him, Bridey. Don’t.
But it was like telling herself not to think about elephants. She stared at her computer screen, but she couldn’t get past “. . . the cute guy next door . . .”
And just then, as though her thoughts had summoned him, the doorbell rang and, when she answered it, there he was.
He was now in crisp chinos and a neatly pressed denim shirt. His handsome face was freshly shaved, his shower-damp hair was neatly combed and he was wearing a serious, best-behavior expression.
“I was just wondering,” he said. “Could it possibly be cook’s night out?”
He’d caught her completely off guard and she was speechless. She was embarrassingly aware of her super-casual attire, the huge T-shirt and only panties beneath, just this side of decency. With one bare foot she tried to restrain Silk, who was determined to escape through the open door.
Before she could say anything, he added, “I mean, is it safe to ask a professional chef out to dinner?”
His eyes were wandering over her barely clad figure and, realizing her discomfort and recognizing its cause, he was kind enough to focus on a spot in the middle of her forehead. He kept his smile to himself.
Bridey bent to scoop Silk up into her arms, using her as a protective cover across her chest.
“Uh, I’m not sure,” she stammered. “I mean—that is—I guess so. Uh, what did you have in mind?”
His eyes drifted down to meet hers, but he managed not to say what was really
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