Page 53 of Capture My Heart

“Amy, this is Megan. Bob’s wife.”

“Hi, what can I do for you?” Amy rubbed her temple as she dug in her bag for an aspirin.

“I’m calling to invite you and Trey to dinner on Saturday.”

The bottle slipped from her fingers and hit the floor. “You mean next week?”

“No, tomorrow. I had Bob check your schedule before I called. Trey told Bob at the party it was open, but I know how guys don’t always think to check with their other half.” A chuckle bounced around the car.

Amy reached on the floor and found the medicine, wrenched the cap open and threw two pills in her mouth. She wished for something liquid to wash them down, but at this point, the tick behind her temple had turned into a full-on pounding.

“That sounds good.” She pasted a fake smile on her face, hoping it would sound like she was happy about it. Nothing like working ten hours, then dinner with a coworker and her fake date.

“Wonderful. I’ll see you at 6pm.” Amy’s eye twitched at the authentic joy in Megan’s voice.

“Can I bring anything?”

“No, just yourself and that handsome man of yours. Bye.” She actually giggled and ended the call.

Amy slumped in her chair and rolled her head. Megan was a lovely woman but spending her one Saturday night off a month with Bob Peterson wasn’t on the top ten of her fun-weekend-activities list. Add her fake boyfriend and it became a working date.

She tossed her aspirin bottle back in her bag, got out, and slammed her door.

This was a day from hell that kept getting worse. Amy climbed the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her and she did a mental cheer when she made it to the top without tumbling to her demise. Not that the idea didn’t have merit. Not the death part but a broken leg would have at least gotten her out of the dinners.

The shine of the new lock on her door gave her pause. Key in hand, she snorted. What are the odds it will work? With the day she was having—a three-legged horse had better odds at the track.

She slipped it in the lock and turned—the door slid open.

Shock knocked her back a step. It was about time something went right today.

Inside, she dropped her bag and saw the note on the counter.

Trey. Neatly handwritten. She smiled as she started to read. It was short and to the point.

I fixed your door and replaced the lock, also had it re-keyed the same which you probably figured out by now. Your new mattress showed up early. It’s in the bedroom. I promise I didn’t peek in your underwear drawer… Okay, I did look, but that’s only because I was picking up the mess. Tommy was here and supervised the whole time. He even helped.

Great, just what she needed, her neighbor and her little brother going through her undies. She thought of the ones Candi gave her as a joke last year. Heat flooded her face. She ran to the bedroom and pulled open the drawer. Nice neat rows of bras and undies.

Fuck. She dropped on the bed. No way Tommy did that. This kind of precision cries ex-military.

She rolled to hide her face in the comforter, then rolled back. She sat up and bounced a few times. Not bad. Trey had done well picking out a mattress.

Exhaling, she went back to the letter.

The mattress is new. It’s my gift. If you want to fight me on it, we can meet in the boxing ring.

Like she stood a chance in the ring with him. Hand-to-hand, maybe. She could fight dirty, but not with gloves and rules.

One more bounce. It was a great bed. She grabbed a new fluffy pillow and punched it. Yup, good quality. She sighed. Maybe she could have him add the bill to her rent? She could pay him back over the next year.

There’s a case of beer in the fridge and some candy bars in the cupboard. Thank Tommy for those. I’ll be home tonight if you need anything. Trey.

Amy wiped her nose on her sleeve. Why did he have to be so nice?

And Tommy. “How did I get so lucky?”

She dropped the letter on her dresser and went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Sure enough, there sat her favorite beer. She snagged two bottles, pocketed her keys, and slipped out the door.