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“Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” I said, seeing it was after eleven o’clock. “I have to get home to let workmen into the cottage. I didn’t mean to stay so long.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “I really enjoyed this.”
I helped him clean up the coffee mess and reached for my purse.
“Can I take you to dinner tonight?” he asked. “I’ll fill you in on what I know about the baby bones between courses.”
The thrill it gave me to be asked out by this interesting guy transcended anything else. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
“What’s your address?”
I gave him the cottage number, and he studied it, then looked up at me.
“You aren’t moving out?”
“No. I love the old place. As soon as you want, I’ll take you on a tour. It’s still a mess, but I have big plans for it.”
“Okay, I would love that. The before and after. I’ll pick you up at six, if that’s not too early.”
“Six is wonderful,” I said, walking toward the door.
He took my hand again. “Thank you for the most interesting meeting I’ve had in about five years.”
“I’m sure you must be exaggerating.”
“I swear, I’m not. I could sit here all day and talk to you.”
“Me too, Dr. Peterson. Thank you. I feel refreshed and invigorated,” I said, happy again.
“Call me Will. No one has ever said they felt refreshed in this smelly office.”
“I didn’t even notice a smell.” I looked around at the clearly scientific space, with its mandatory skeleton and jars of body parts floating in formaldehyde. “I love it in here.”
Will’s jaw hanging open didn’t faze me. I was beyond worrying about being too forward.
“No one has ever said that to me. Never. In, let’s see, almost twenty-five years of doing this.” He grimaced. “I’m probably too old for you. Nice try, Peterson.” He laughed at himself, clearly embarrassed.
“No, you’re not! You’re the perfect age for me.” My blood pressure elevated. I was being a bit of a flirt. “I’d better run.”
“I’ll go down with you.”
Walking to the elevator next to Will, I felt like a high school girl being courted by the football team quarterback. I longed to take his hand. The prospect of dinner with Will Peterson set me ablaze. It scared me because I had never felt this way about a man so fast. Usually, it was just the opposite.
The entire visit had taken me pleasantly by surprise, and it wouldn’t be until I was in my car, looking out the window at him smiling at me, that I realized my entire body was shaking. I was smitten.
The workmen arrived on time, and all I had to do was stay out of the way while they worked, taping up plastic sheeting over the openings to the kitchen so the dust they raised when they gutted the room didn’t go all over the place.
My phone beeped, and it was Ryan, the last person I wanted to talk to. But he might have news for me on the whereabouts of Yasmine, since Eimy hadn’t bothered to send updates.
“I’m only answering out of curiosity,” I said, bypassing hello.
“I’m glad you did. How are you, Laura? Believe it or not, I’ve been concerned about you.”
“And why is that?”
“Well, because of Randy, of course. Pam told me you had a major change of lifestyle.”
“Not really, Ryan. I moved to the beach and quit my job. Nothing else has changed.”
