After another long pause, she gave him the highlights of her confrontation with Eubie Kane that afternoon at Bullseye. She ended by saying, “I can’t afford another scandal. Not after last year. My career would be buried forever. It makes me wonder if I should have stayed in Seattle after all.” She was sure she had tears in her eyes and not from the heat of the oven. “Is threatening me like that against some law or another?”
“First of all, don’t let this asshole send you running back to Seattle. Second, Kane’s talking about a civil suit. That’s not against the law. Unfortunately. Talk to an attorney. He — she — can help you. Do you know a good corporate-type attorney?”
“I guess I could call the man who helped me set up my business.”
“Do it. First thing Monday.” He handed her a glass of wine. “And don’t let Kane spoil your homecoming.”
“It’s hard not to.”
“Maybe I can help you out.” He cocked his head and raised one eyebrow.
“What did you have in mind?” The frown lines between her eyes disappeared as she waited for him to say what she was sure he’d suggest.
Taking her into his arms he said, “How about I spend the night? I’m not scheduled for work tomorrow. We could sleep in. Or something.”
“Hmm. Sleeping in. That sounds like fun.”
“Maybe something more interesting might occur to us. Something even more fun than sleeping.” He kissed her but before the kiss got too involved, he pulled away and stared at something over her shoulder. “But if you don’t get those chicken breasts out of the oven, we’re gonna have the fire department join us in our evening.”
When she disentangled herself from his embrace she saw the smoke pouring out of the oven. “Oh, crap. Maybe we’ll have to get take-out after all.”
• • •
When he woke the next morning, Sam was alone in bed. Chihuly was curled up asleep on the rug next to Amanda’s side, and he could hear the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. Unsure of what it meant that she had disappeared so quickly after waking, he debated whether to dress and go downstairs to start coffee or join her in the shower. The thought of her body wet from the shower, her beautiful breasts with those dusky pink nipples waiting to turn hard and pebbly from his mouth, made up his mind for him and brought him out of bed with an erection hard enough to split a brick.
He knocked on the door to the bathroom but she didn’t answer. He could hear her but wasn’t sure if she was singing or talking or what. It sure as hell didn’t seem like the sounds of a happy woman after a night of hot lovemaking.
Taking a chance, he opened the door. He could feel the cool draft follow him in and knew she would feel it over the top of the shower enclosure, too. “You want some company?” he asked as he knocked on the enclosure door.
“Sure,” she replied. “Come on in. Like they say, the water’s fine.”
He opened the door and stepped in as she turned her back to the shower spray to make room for him. He reached behind her, traded what he had in his hand for what was on the soap dish. When he pulled back he said, as lightly as he could, “You sound awfully sad — or serious — this morning.”
She touched his face lightly. “I was just thinking how special you are, how lucky I am. But how sad it is that all I seem to do is ask you to solve my problems.”