“Can you take that much time off?”
“Depends on how this new project is working out.”
“What new project?”
“It’s a surprise. I’ll tell you when I know more.” He glanced up, then down at the phone again. “Carlos is here; I better go. I love you.”
She blew him a kiss, and he hung up. Aurora shook her head. He had photos of the two of them on his desk, as if she was his wife. Her heart was overflowing.
Friday was girls’ night at Aurora’s again. This time the menu was Aurora’s legendary lasagna, at Katie’s request. The dinner discussion revolved around Katie’s unbelievable scholarship. After dinner, Katie went upstairs to leave the adults to their boring discussion.
“How’s Duncan?” Lizzie asked.
“He’s good. Says he’s working on a new project that he can’t tell me about.”
“Where’s the school in relation to where he lives?” Adele asked. “It would be good for Katie to have an adult out there in case of an emergency.”
“It’s about an hour away. He suggested we stay a few days, make a vacation out of it. He invited us to stay with him; we won’t need a hotel or a rental car.”
“You should. You haven’t had one in ages,” Stacey said.
“I talked to my director, and she approved the time off. Mostly because it’s for Katie’s education. We’re going to squeeze a lot into this trip. I want her to be sure this is what she wants.”
“When are you going?”
“In two weeks. We’ll be back two days before school starts.” Aurora’s face rumpled with emotion. “My baby is a senior!”
Her girls expressed their condolences and patted her shoulders.
“Anything else you want to tell us about him?” Carrie waggled her eyebrows.
“We called him Monday so Katie could tell him the news. And he showed us he has two of the photos she took of us at the gala on his desk.”
The girls cooed.
“He is clearly smitten with you,” Adele said.
“Yeah …”
“Have you been able to say ‘it’ back yet?” Carrie asked.
“I’m not sure yet, but my therapist helped a ton. Duncan has been patient. He hasn’t pressed me since that one time I told you about.”
“What about moving?” Lizzie crossed her arms. “It’s clear he’s not a one-night stand. I think he wants something more than that.”
“I know, but I just can’t imagine living anywhere else. He said something about California wooing me, but I’ll see when I get there.”
“California is beautiful. The sunsets are stunning.” Adele started clearing plates. “You have to see them.”
“Now, come on, guys, I can do dishes.”
“Nope!” Lizzie was helping too.
“Does he have a house?” Carrie was refilling wine glasses.
“He mentioned a condo once. Apparently, it’s two bedrooms.”
Her friend nodded. “Nice.”
