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“Yes, you might say that.”
“Can’t you head her off?”
Van didn’t answer.
“Do you have your back to her? Can she see the proof in the neighborhood of your fly that you don’t have your mind on work?”
“I hope not.”
“Quick, get behind your desk.”
“That’s good advice. I’m taking it. Now, excuse me a moment. I need to speak to my assistant. Thanks, Sandy. I’ll look over those papers tonight. Why don’t you call it a day?”
Sandy said good night on her way out and closed the door.
“I think I heard the door shut,” Mary said.
“Yes, she’s gone.”
“Alone at last. So, where were we?”
“Never mind where we were. It’s where we’re going to be that matters. Stay naked if you are. Get naked if you’re not. I’ll be home in five minutes.”
“But it’s a ten-minute drive.”
“I’ll be home in five minutes.”
Mary ran her fingers through her hair. I’ll be home. That’swhathe’dsaid.I’llbehome.Didhereallythink of her quirky little house as home?
Maybenot.Regardlessofwhathe’dsaid,whensex is on a man’s mind, little else can get into his brain.
Maybe little else was getting into her brain too. For a similar reason.
She had to stop thinking this way. She had to stop finding reasons to hope this would last. Neither she nor he could fight fate.
Or could they?
***
Mary curled against Van, feeling warm and sated. When she let her mind get too stuck in the future, making love with Van was the antidote. It reminded her to live in the moment, which was easy when it was a moment like this one, when the best place in the world to be was exactly where she was, with her head tucked into the hollow of his neck, feeling his strong chest rise and fall with his breath, wrapping her arms around as much of him as she could reach, luxuriating as his hand stroked up her back, then down, and then up to start the happy trail all over again.
Suddenly, though, his hand stopped. After a moment, his fingers traced small, nervous circles. No, no. She wanted him as warm and happy and relaxed as she was. As she reached to caress his chest, his throat rumbled against her cheek.
“I’ve been thinking,” he said.
She tensed.
“The van’s here all the time.”
So it was. It made sense. When the dogs were together, they were here, and that’s when the van was needed. The dogs were together a lot. So were Van and Mary. The van was here a lot.
“Is that a problem?”
Heignoredherquestion.“Iworemylastcleanshirt today.”
“Is that a problem?”
At first, he ignored that too. Finally, he said, “I told the dry cleaner to deliver my shirts here when they were done.”
