Page 40 of Love On and Off Set

“You know, we should probably exchange phone numbers.”

He cocked his eyebrow.

“Well, you know, in case anything comes up.”

“Mr. O’Malley has both my phone number and my boss’s. I’m certain I’ll get the message.”

“But, like, things might change. And I’d hate for you to waste your—”

He sighed. “I’ll give you my phone number. Then you can text me and I’ll have yours.”

I’d barely pulled out my phone before he rattled off a number. He ended with, “You should use a passcode instead of facial recognition. All the police have to do is hold your phone up and they’ll have access.”

I rolled my eyes. “I suspect I’d just give them the passcode. There’s nothing on my phone that’s incriminating. Truly, Hallsy, I’m a very boring person.”

“Harrumph.” Then, “I truly doubt that.”

Before I could respond, he was halfway across the parking lot. Unnecessarily, I watched as he placed the box on the hood, opened his back door, gently laid the box in, and then closed that door.

He gazed up to see me, his black hair taking on a shiny quality in the bright afternoon sunlight. Finally, he pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his coat pocket. He put them on and then got into his SUV.

Still, I remained rooted to the spot. I couldn’t reconcile everything that had happened in the past few hours.

And I obsessed about it the rest of my day, during my ride down the hill on the bus, and through to my arrival at my condo. The building was one of the oldest around, but I liked the seventies vibe. It also felt very sturdy.

As I waited for the elevator, my neighbor Dani joined me. “How’s it going?”

She sighed. “Mortimer’s grumpy.”

I laughed. Her rescue cat was always grumpy. “Well, mine…” I glanced around to see if anyone else was within hearing.

We were alone.

“My four are always in a bad mood. They don’t really like each other.”

The elevator arrived, and we stepped in. She chose the top floor while I selected five. I couldn’t afford anything higher. Really, I shouldn’t have been able to afford this one, but a distant aunt left me enough for a down payment. I was grateful every day. Vaguely guilty I hadn’t known her, and therefore couldn’t have been nicer to her…but still appreciative. My way to pay it forward was with cat rescues. “Fluffy’s in a mood. Eight…so what can I do? Jodhpur and Claud are both young and way too energetic. Luigi—”

“You have a fourth?” She might’ve hissed that.

We arrived at my floor.

“Do you want to come in?”

She held the door. “Luigi…?”

“Eight months old from an abusive household. Really skittish.”

“Then I’ll pass on coming in. Another time?”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” I loved Dani with her infectious smile and wicked sense of humor. I was so glad she and Liv were no longer together.

Impulsively, I leaned and pecked her cheek.

She giggled as she released the door.

By the time it closed, I was at my condo door. I unlocked and entered.

Three cats greeted me, each demanding attention.