“Amelia.”

   She snapped her attention to Tony, one of the cooks. “Sorry. Yes?”

   “We’re all cleared out here. Is there anything else you need us to do?”

   She looked around, doing a mental check off. “No. It looks great. Thanks for another good night, everyone.”

   She really had to get her head back in the game and off of Flynn. This job was her priority, and he was way too distracting.

   She drove home and immediately kicked off her shoes once inside the front door. She changed into yoga pants and a long-sleeved Henley, headed right into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of pinot grigio and poured herself a full glass.

   She dug her phone out of her purse and checked her messages. There was one from Laura asking her to call. It was after eleven, so she decided to wait until tomorrow. Maybe they could have lunch since Amelia had the day off tomorrow.

   The next message was from Flynn.

   Text me when you get home.

   She arched a brow. That was rather commanding of him, wasn’t it? Not a request or a “Hey, if you’re not busy, could you text me?” kind of thing.

   Whatever.

   She decided to ignore him, instead grabbing her e-reader and wineglass. She settled in to read a book from one of her favorite authors, letting the tension of the day melt away.

   She was four chapters in when her phone rang. She picked it up.

   Flynn.

   With a sigh, she pushed the button.

   “Hi, Flynn.”

   “Did you get my text message earlier?”

   She decided not to blast him. At least not right away. “I did.”

   “You’re home, right?”

   “I am.”

   “What are you doing?”

   “Reading a book and having a glass of wine.”

   “Okay. So you decided not to answer my text message?”

   She took in a deep breath before answering. “Yes, that’s exactly what I decided.”

   He waited a few seconds before he responded. “You’re still mad at me.”

   “I wasn’t, but I didn’t appreciate the commanding tone of your message.”

   “The . . . Huh?”

   Was it just her, or was he that obtuse? “You said for me to text you, as if I was at your beck and call.”

   “So you are still mad at me. I said I was sorry about firing Jeff. I meant it.”

   She set her glass of wine on the side table and rubbed her temple where a headache was forming. “I know you did. I think I need to just go to bed. It’s been a day.”

   “I’m sorry if you had a bad day. I probably didn’t help that.”

   “It’s not all on you. I didn’t get in the mussels I ordered so I had to do a quick substitution on the menu, and the fried eggplant didn’t turn out like I wanted it to. It was just one of those days.”

   “The bluefin tuna was excellent.”

   “You had that?”

   “I did. I’m really glad you added it to the menu. It was spectacular. Mia loved it as well, though she had the crab ravioli and raved about it.”

   That, at least, made her smile. “I’m so glad to hear that.”

   “She wants to see you. Which was why I wanted to talk to you. I know tomorrow is your day off and you have a million things you probably need to do, but if you aren’t too busy would you have some time to spend with us?”

   “I was going to have lunch with my friend Laura.”

   “I have practice tomorrow anyway until about four, and Mia has meetings. How about dinner? I’ll cook, or we can go out to eat.”

   She owed him that for being such a bitch about the text message. She might be tired, but Flynn didn’t deserve to be the recipient of her mood. “Either sounds good.”

   “Great. I’ll text you and I promise it’ll be loaded with all kinds of Would you like tos and question marks. No commands of any kind.”

   She laughed. “Okay, Flynn. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

   “Get some rest, Amelia. Good night.”

   “Good night.”

   She put her phone down and found herself staring at it for a few seconds, then shook it off.

   She hadn’t intended to have anything to do with Flynn after the night they spent together, firm in her resolve to keep their relationship strictly professional. But since his sister had requested they spend time together, it would be rude of her to say no.

   So this was a special occasion. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

   After that, though, no personal time for the two of them. And she’d make that very clear to Flynn when she saw him tomorrow.

 

 

TWELVE

 

   It was an event when Amelia and Laura had a day off at the same time. They were set to meet at noon at Laura’s place. Laura had texted her that the door was unlocked and she was running late, so Amelia let herself in.

   “I’m here,” Amelia hollered as she closed the door.

   “I’m upstairs getting dressed. I’ll be down in a sec.”

   Laura’s house was a train wreck and she made no excuses about it. She often picked up double shifts at the hospital, and her husband, Jon, wasn’t any better at housekeeping than Laura. Shaking her head and smiling, Amelia shifted the pile of books on the sofa along with the blanket and cleared out a space to sit down.

   She checked her e-mail while she waited.

   “Sorry,” Laura said about ten minutes later as she dashed down the stairs, her shoes dangling from one hand. “I’m so sorry. I overslept.”

   “As often as you work, honey, sleeping is a good thing.”

   Laura picked up a laptop that was on a chair and set it on top of a pile of papers on the table next to the chair, then sat to slide on her shoes. “Well, I sure as hell don’t get enough of it, so thanks for being so understanding. Sorry the place is such a wreck. De-cluttering is on my to-do list for later this afternoon.”

   “Unless we decide to go shopping.”

   Laura cocked her head to the side. “Do not tempt me with shopping. I’m on a strict no-shopping budget until next month. Or possibly the month after that. Jon told me if he spies another pair of new shoes in our closet he’s filing divorce papers.”

   Amelia grinned. “Right. Like he’d ever do that. The man adores you.”

   “’Tis true. But I did agree not to buy any more shoes until after the first of the year.”