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“It’s eight-thirty. I just got home.”
“Shit.” She placed her hand on her forehead. “I don’t remember closing my eyes.”
“You’ve been awfully tired the last week,” I said. “You say you feel okay, but I don’t think you do. Maybe you should go see a doctor.”
“I’m fine, Miles. These two new classes are kicking my ass. That’s all.”
“Did you eat dinner?” I asked.
“Not really.”
“How about I order us a pizza?”
“Okay. That sounds good.” A small smile framed her lips.
I went to my room, called the pizza place, and changed into a pair of dark gray sweatpants and a T-shirt. When the pizza arrived, I set the box down on the island along with the bag of breadsticks and an antipasto salad.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said, pouring a glass of bourbon.
“And what do you have to tell me, Mr. Bradshaw?” Stella asked with a smirk as she took down two plates from the cabinet.
“First, can I pour you a glass of wine?” I grabbed the bottle.
“Uh, no. I don’t like to drink wine with pizza.”
“Okay. What do you want then?”
“Just a bottle of water is fine.” She smiled. “So, spit it out. What do you have to tell me?” She sat at the table.
“I don’t like surprises. I never have.” I handed her the bottle of water and took my seat across from her.
“Okay?” Her brows furrowed. “Care to elaborate?”
“You showing up at my office unannounced was a surprise. You should have called me first.”
She bit into her pizza as she stared at me from across the table.
“So I surprised you at the office, and you didn’t like it?”
“Yes.”
“My intention wasn’t to surprise you. I just wanted to see where you worked.”
“You didn’t call. You didn’t text. You just showed up unannounced and caught me off guard. Next time, if you feel the need to come to the office, let me know before you just show up.”
Her eyes steadily narrowed. “Okay then. No more surprises. But let me ask you this. What is your problem with surprises?”
* * *
Stella
I already knew what his problem was, but I wanted to hear him say it.
“I just don’t like them,” he said, plating his salad.
“It’s because you fear losing control, right?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Stella.”
