"That would be cool. But I'm also happy for you to do whatever it is you have to for the hours you have to get in."
"No worries. I mapped out our flight plan earlier. We're good."
He banked to the left and she soon recognized some of the larger homes in the neighborhood before they reached their street. Everything appeared so organized and smaller down there. Unbelievable how much chaos was going on inside the house.
"It looks so peaceful," she said.
"That's one of the reasons I chose to live in the neighborhood. It was quiet. And I noticed when I stopped by for my interview that one of the neighbors was hot."
She turned to look at him. "What?"
He grinned, but kept his eyes straight ahead. "You were wearing a dark blue dress with cream-colored heels. I was sitting in the living room of the rental talking to the owner when I spotted you. I thought, dang, there is a woman."
He'd noticed her even then? "You're making that up."
"It was a Tuesday afternoon. You had your laptop bag, and that green tote thing you carry everywhere. You got out of the car, glanced at your phone and then you threw it across the yard. You had your eyes closed and your mouth went into a tight little line like it does when you're mad. You took off your shoes, traipsed across the yard to pick up your phone. Right then and there I wanted to know exactly what you were thinking. You seemed so prim and proper and I was curious about what made you angry."
He had seen her. She remembered that day and shook her head. "The ex texted and informed me he needed to pick up a few things from the house. He asked me to be gone during a certain time and I just lost it."
"Please tell me you didn't make it convenient for him."
She grinned. Now he would know she was crazy. "Well, I texted him back and told him he could basically forget it. That I'd gotten rid of his things the night he left me. I was lying through my teeth. The next weekend his things ended up at Goodwill. He had some pretty expensive suits in the pile and all these ties that he was so fussy about. Oh, and his stupid socks. He wore socks to bed because he didn't like touching feet. That should have been another big clue. That was when I found his other phone. And why did he need two? I'll tell you why, because he was a cheating jerk. Then I called his mom and told her what he did. Honestly, that's probably the most horrible thing I've ever done. It ruined her image of her perfect son. Later, he tried to tell her I was lying, but she knew. He'd brought whatever that woman's name is over for dinner. You met his mom, she's a lot smarter than he gives her credit for."
"I kind of love that you have a mean streak in you. Do you still have feelings for him?"
Wow. That had come out of the blue.
Brody still had a smile on his face, but it was strained. "Fact is, it's only been a few months."
"True. Let me think. Gosh..." She tapped her finger on her chin for a second. "Um, nope. I meant what I said the other night. If it wasn't for him breaking up with me, I would have never known what I was missing. You've taught me so much about everything. I feel freer. When I was with that jerk, I was always a disappointment. I could never do anything right. I don't know why I put up with him. I guess I'm always a little too worried about what people think of me."
"Well, you're intelligent and sexy and..."
She sighed happily. "I feel the same way about you. I so want to strip you naked."
He laughed. "You can't say stuff like that while I'm flying. I have to concentrate."
He glanced over and she winked at him.
"Anything else you want to see from up here?"
"Oh, well, maybe where I have my office. I love that neighborhood, too. That's where I would have bought if my ex hadn't talked me into the fixer-upper that I knew I didn't have time for."
"Can you give me an idea of what part of town that is?"
That's right, they were in a helicopter. A giant one. She gave him a couple of landmarks to go by and a few minutes later they were hanging over the quaint little street that housed her office. She was proud of the place. It was a tiny craftsman that she and Abbott had overhauled. And it was paid for. It was one of the only reasons she hadn't gone under financially when she was stuck with the Victorian. They didn't have much overhead other than the utilities.
"I haven't been by there. That's really cute," he said.
"Thanks, Abbott and I are pretty proud of it."
"Time to head back to base. I have another surprise for you tonight."
"This has already been more than anyone could have wished for," she said. "Thank you again."
"Oh, we aren't done yet."
* * *
AN HOUR LATER Brody drove her to his favorite restaurant. The place was called Hildie's and it served German food. He'd reserved his favorite private table in the back, and they shared platters of perogies, spaetzle and schnitzel.
Her phone rang for the fifth time that night, but as usual she clicked it off.
"I don't mean to be nosy, but can I ask who's calling this late on a Sunday night?" From the wariness in his eyes, he was thinking it was a guy.
She didn't want to admit it, but she also didn't want him to think the worst. "My parents. It's the landline at their house. I love them, but they're a little overprotective sometimes. I keep texting them that I'm fine. Better than fine, actually, but they call anyway. They are not big on boundaries. I needed a little space after everything with Gary, but they don't seem to understand. And they're always coming at me with advice. If I tell them what's going on with the house, they'll want to step in and help."
"Would that be such a bad thing? You had it pretty rough there for a bit."
"Yeah, but it was my mess and I wanted to get myself out of it. Although, you did help me. But it was my idea to ask you for it. I still can't believe I did that."
"Honestly, it turned out pretty well for both of us."
Oh yeah, it did. When he smiled at her like he was right now, it did wonderful things to her body. And that was only his smile.
Since he seemed to be in the mood to talk, she thought he'd be willing to answer a few questions. She wanted to find out more about him. "I know your relationship with your dad is strained, but do you remember your mom?"
He nodded. "She smelled like roses, and she played games with me all the time. Every night after homework was done, we'd do hide-and-go-seek or a board game. My dad was different then. Like your parents, they were really happy together. When she died, I was just eleven and Dad and I were both lost. She'd been the biggest part of our lives. It was awful. It happened so fast. She found out she had a brain tumor and two weeks later she was dead."
"That's so sad. As much as my parents pester me, I can't imagine not having them in my life. And I have to admit, I haven't been the best of daughters lately. But they were kind of all up in my business about Gary, and then when he left I could feel their ‘I told you so.' And there I've gone and made your sweet story about me again. Sorry."
"It's okay. I like hearing about your family. Are you and your sister close?"
"I thought we were. She's just as busy with work as I am. Always about to walk into a meeting. Maybe that's my karma. You know, I want to throw this big Valentine's Day party to sort of celebrate finishing the house. How would you feel if I invited your family and mine to the event? That way I can talk to them all at once, and show them how well I'm doing. I mean, I understand if you don't want to. Is that kind of strange, asking if you want to meet my parents?"
Why couldn't she just shut up?
"Nope, I'm already looking forward to it. I'm really curious about the people who raised you."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you're a sweetheart. They have to be good people."
That made her feel guilty. "They are."
Brody stared at his plate. The silence was broken when he told her, "We can invite my dad, but I can't promise he'll show up. I'd rather wait to introduce you to the stepsiblings. They can be a bit much, especially when they're all together at family gatherings."
"How do you feel about asking your boss?"
"We can do whatever you want. He asked about your house the other day, so that might be a good idea. He knows a lot of people in town, he could maybe get you some clients."