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This time the rustling was accompanied by a light gasp. His gaze sharpened, as he turned to the source of the noise, hischild. “Is someone else in the house?”
Her heart made up for the momentary stumble by slamming into her chest wall. No way would he believe that was the bogeyman. “Of course not. Well, maybe there is. Yes, of course. It’s the… um… the cat.”
Aidan stared. “The what?”
“The cat. That’s what the noise must have been.” She leaned against the arm of the sofa, jumped up when something yellow and gooey smeared the underside of her legs. “She’s always scurrying around.”
“Is she also responsible for the kitchen?" Aidan squinted at the counter. “Wait a moment. Is that batter spilled in the shape of a heart?”
“She’s a very creative cat.” She closed her eyes, opened them to stark incredulity and blatant suspicion. At least the cat was better a better excuse than an unlikely tale that involved the bogeyman’s time at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. Of course, she could say it was Jeanie, however the less they spoke of their daughter, the better. Thankfully, he extrapolated a plausible, if unlikely, culprit.
“I see.” Aidan stepped forward, his shoes booming on the tile floor, as he perused the smorgasbord of scattered food. He placed his hand on an open cookbook lying on the counter. “No wonder your cat made such a mess.” He smiled. “She tried to make pancakes.”
Perhaps now would be a good time to attempt the bogeyman story. Laura forced her lips into a smile. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She not-so-discreetly wiped the counter with a napkin, mostly managed to spread the goo instead. “This might seem a little strange, but there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
“I’m sure there is.” He folded his arms across his chest.Perfect.Apparently, he was under the impression she had that perfectly reasonable explanation.
"Which is…" What could she say? “It was… it was me!”
Aidan halted. Just stood perfectly still. She may have broken him. “Excuse me?”
It was time for Nancy to arrive like her knight in shining jeans. She stammered on, “I mean it was me who was cooking. That’s it. I was going to make pancakes. Had all the ingredients out, and Jeanie came and got it everywhere. That’s what happened.”
Laura froze. Had she just mentioned her daughter's name? The daughter that was supposedly out?
Yep.
“I thought Jeanie was at tee-ball, and the cat did this.” Aidan was now viewing her as if she were the bogeyman. "You seem to be having trouble keepingyourstory straight."
Clearly, he knew she was lying. Might as well dig herself in a little deeper. "I meant Jeanie the cat."
He rubbed his jaw. "Did you just say Jeanie the cat?"
Yup. It seemed so.
His lips twitched. "Let me get this straight. Both your daughter and your cat are named Jeanie."
She tried to chuckle, sounded like she was choking on eggshell-filled cake batter instead. "I really like the name."
He peered at her like she’d grown a few extra heads, one of them a cat. Time to steer the conversation to more neutral matters. “So now that that's settled, Mr. Ban – Aidan – why don’t I ask you some questions about Bancroft Enterprises?”
“I don’t think so.”
She swallowed. Perhaps she hadn’t gotten away with anything.
“I never discuss business on an empty stomach. First we eat, then we talk.”
She exhaled relief. Of course, he wouldn’t forget about the disastrous conversation, but at least she’d earned a temporary reprieve. She took a step towards the door, but halted. What was she thinking? They couldn’t leave until Nancy arrived. Now how was she going to explain that? “I’m not really hungry.”
He shrugged. “All right. Let's go for a walk first.”
Time for equally-unlikely-to-work plan B. “Why don’t we just talk here?” she suggested.
He glanced at the egg-covered sofa and floured chairs. The buttery table and sugar-splattered floor. He must think she was as nuts as the almonds pooled in the toaster. Should she offer him the seat with egg yolk or ask if he preferred the egg whites for a lower-cholesterol option?
"Laura?" His soft voice did nothing to hide the power underneath. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to keep me here?”
She laughed. “Don’t be silly. Why would I want to do that?” In an instant, she catalogued and discarded a dozen hopeless excuses, then a dozen more. She froze, as movement caught the corner of her eye. The door to her daughter’s bedroom, closed a second ago, now stood wide open. And tiptoeing out, right in back of Aidan, was the daughter he didn’t know existed.
