Page 57 of Her Loving Hero

“Not officially, not yet. But I was hoping that Dad might be already talking about it there at the Embassy.”

“What are you two talking about?” Kristi demanded. “Is it something I’m not supposed to know about? Because if it is, that’s fine. All I care about is hitting the malls in California. When can we leave? Do we get to stay with you Em? What’s your apartment like? Can I see a hair stylist? Maybe in Beverly Hills?”

“Are you kidding me?” Carly burst out. “Do you know how expensive a beauty salon in Beverly Hills would be?”

“Em-i-leee” Kristi whined. “Pleeease?” Emily laughed. Really laughed. It was like she’d melted back in time. She and her sisters were playing like they always had, with Kristi wanting the world.

“I can’t get ahold of Mom or Dad. I really need to hear back from Dad. I think in the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours that you’re going to be told to leave. Please keep me in the loop, okay?”

“What’s your apartment like?” Kristi asked.

“Sure, I’ll make sure you’re informed,” Carly said.

* * *

Wyatt lethimself into his townhome and the unmistakable smell of lasagna hit his nostrils. Awesome, Emily had gone and picked up frozen lasagna. Maybe she’d bought a fresh loaf of French bread so they could have garlic bread. He followed his nose into the kitchen and stopped short. Looking at the amount of dishes that were piled in the sink, it was a good bet that the lasagna was home made.

Even better.

“Darn it, I wanted to have the dishes done before you got home,” Emily said from the hallway.

“You cook, I wash. Them’s the rules.” Wyatt said as he peeked in the oven and saw the bubbling cheese. He also saw the loaf of French bread and the stick of softened butter.

Just better, and better, and better.

“How’s Ben? How’s Gray? How are you?”

“Good. Good. Great.” He ambled over to the fridge and pulled out a Gatorade and grabbed the lemonade and topped off her glass.

“And you?”

“First piece of good news is that figured out when to submit my applications for California Universities.”

“And the second?” he asked as he took a sip of Gatorade.

“I called Oman like you suggested.” She got the serrated knife to cut the bread. She looked kind of agitated, so he took it from her.

“Tell you what, since it sounds like you need to vent, how I about I work with the sharp objects?”

She untied the towel from around her waist and sat down at the counter and took a sip of her drink. “Have at it. I like watching you be all domesticated anyway.”

“So, tell me why you’re frustrated.”

“Remember me telling you about Rhoades?” Emily asked.

“Your dad’s Chief of Staff?”

“Yeah. Mom and Dad avoided my phone calls, and he gave me the run around. I had to bully him into getting Kristi and Carly on the phone.”

Wyatt looked over his shoulder and gave a slow grin. “Did I hear you say you bullied a career diplomat?”

He watched as she blushed. “More intimidation through lies.” She explained what she did, and Wyatt’s heart warmed.

“If I wasn’t buttering bread, I’d have to kiss you.” His tone was low.

“So, stop buttering,” she suggested.

Wyatt smiled.