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I flipped the deadbolt open. “It’s my housemate, Yolanda.”
She rushed in as soon as I opened the door to give me a hug. “Didn’t take my keys. I missed you.” She gasped and released me. “Oh. I didn’t know we had company.”
Adam extended his hand. “Adam Carter.”
She took it. “Yolanda Hamilton.”
“Adam and I know each other from school,” I explained. “We didn’t realize until yesterday that we’re both in DC.”
Adam kissed my cheek as he passed by. “And I’m so glad you called, Sugarbear.”
I blushed at the affectionate nickname. “I thought you weren’t back for a while,” I said to Yolanda.
Adam continued outside and picked up the two suitcases she’d brought with her.
She checked Adam out briefly before turning back to me with a smirk. “Me too, but my boss called me back, so here I am.”
Adam hefted the suitcases inside and his arm came around me, pulling me tightly to him and nuzzling my ear.
“I would have called earlier, if I’d known,” Yolanda said.
Adam planted a noisy kiss on my ear before letting me go.
Yolanda lifted an eyebrow.
He picked up the suitcases again. “Where to?”
“Upstairs, first door on the left,” Yolanda told him. She leaned close when we heard Adam open her door upstairs. “He’s cute.”
I followed her into the kitchen and recited my rehearsed lines. “We went out for a while in California, but haven’t seen each other for years—till yesterday, that is.”
“Went out, like…?” She raised an eyebrow.
I nodded. “Until—well, anyway, the geography didn’t work.” Being too specific could trip me up if I wasn’t careful. “But maybe now it’s not an issue.”
“I could see that.” She opened the fridge. “I hate long flights. A glass of wine, and I’m off to bed.”
Adam appeared at the doorway. “Kells was just offering me a scotch. Want to join us?”
I’d accumulated a second nickname in as many minutes.
She closed the fridge. “Sure, but not for long. I’ve been up since three this morning.”
I pulled the bottle of Macallan 18 from the back of the cabinet, along with three tumblers. “Why’d your boss pull you back early?”
“Another stupid traveling exhibit coming to town—Hollywood movie shit, if you believe that. Susie was supposed to handle it, but she went out on maternity early, so here I am.”
I poured Yolanda’s glass first and handed it to her. Adam’s was next.
He accepted it. “Kells tells me you also work at the museum.”
“Curator in Natural History. About as unglamorous as it gets.”
I poured my glass and lifted it for a toast. “Welcome back.”
We clinked all the way around, and I took a sip. I welcomed the soothing warmth in my belly that would soon lead to relaxation.
“So you get to play with T-Rex heads and stuff?” Adam asked.
