Page 77 of Then Came You

Gillian asked Kristina questions about herself after that, learning about her job at a local insurance company, where she lived (in a nearby condo), and what she liked to do in her spare time besides read. The conversation flowed easily, and she almost forgot that Kristina had intruded on their “morning after” breakfast until Sam interrupted them.

“Well, thanks for dropping by, Krissy. Gillian and I have a lot to do today, so we should get started.”

“You do?”

“We do?”

Gillian and Kristina had both spoken at once, and they looked at each other and started laughing.

He narrowed his eyes first at his sister and then a little less so at Gillian. “Yes. Since it’s nice out, I want to take her out on the boat.”

Gillian had forgotten about her promise to go fishing with him. She wondered if he really meant to take her fishing or if he were just trying to get rid of his sister.

“Do you fish?” Kristina asked.

“Um…no, but Sam wants to teach me.”

“Well, good luck with that.”

“Krissy,” he warned.

“His version of teaching someone how to fish is barking orders and then taking over. But anyway, you two have fun!” Then Kristina stood up, gathered their empty plates, and set them in the sink.

Sam and Gillian accompanied her to the door.

“It was really nice meeting you, Gillian. I’ll stop by the bookstore soon.” Then she turned to Sam. “And if you call me back next time, I won’t interrupt your…breakfast.”

She flounced out the door without waiting for his response, and he closed it firmly behind her.

“That was fun,” Gillian said.

“Yeah, fun.” He rolled his eyes, but he was smiling.

“Are we really going fishing today?”

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, they heard a rumble of thunder. “Doesn’t sound like it,” he said drily.

“I wonder what we’ll do, then?” She wiggled her eyebrows and took a step toward him.

“Hmm. I guess we’ll have to come up with some indoor activities instead. I haven’t given you the house tour yet.”

“How about if we start with your bedroom?”

“Excellent idea.” He closed the distance between them, scooped her into his arms, and started to carry her down the hallway.

“Wait!”

“What’s wrong?”

“We should probably let the dogs in first.”

“Oh. Right.” Instead of setting her down, he carried her into the kitchen and opened the sliding glass door. Cocoa and Rocky bounded inside and immediately went to the water bowls Sam had set out for them earlier.

“There. We shouldn’t have any more interruptions. It’ll just be you and me for the rest of the day.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Chapter 24