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“How big would you go?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m still waiting for mine to grow a little more.” They looked perfect to me, but I wanted her to be happy with them.
“I think I’d buy a villa in Tuscany,” I said. “Fix it up. Like that movie.” Lacey looked up from her chest.
“That sounds nice. I’ve never been to Italy.” I could tell she was still thinking about her body.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out and touching her arm. “I think you’re beautiful. Just the way you are. Okay? You don’t need to change anything. But if you want to, need to, that’s okay too. Do what you need to do for you. You deserve it. You deserve everything.” She bit her bottom lip and nodded.
“Thanks. I’m still figuring out what I want. It changes. Anyway, let’s talk about something else.” She went back to asking about what I’d put in my villa.
“Well, I think I’d love to have a huge garden. I mean, I can’t grow a damn thing, but maybe I could hire a gardener or something. I mean, if I had all that money, I don’t see why I couldn’t pay someone to grow stuff. And then I’d put my library with windows overlooking the garden so I could have a window seat to read in.” Of course I’d have a huge library. That was essential.
“And who would live with you in this villa, or would it just be you?” I knew what she was asking.
“I’m not sure. It might be awful lonely to be in a villa by myself. I might want to have a cat, at least. A black one.” She smiled slowly.
“Oh, really?”
“Uh huh.”
Lacey sipped at her drink and thought about that.
“I think Murder would like living in a villa. There’d probably be lots of birds in the garden for him to watch and plenty of places to hide and then jump out and scare us.”
“Us?” I said.
“Yeah, us.” That word was both terrifying and reassuring at the same time. I couldn’t figure out if I liked the sound of it or not. So many conflicting feelings.
“I could put in a photography studio. I think someone could take a lot of wonderful photographs in Italy,” I said. Her smile got wider.
“I think I could.” I changed the subject again, asking about her most-embarrassing moment. I then shared mine, and we went back and forth like that for hours. Well into the night.
“Do you want to just stay here?” she asked. I thought about it. Not a good idea. Too many temptations.
“It’s okay. I don’t live that far.” And I had my car. This was when living in a small town worked out in my favor.
“Okay,” she said, but I could tell she was a little hurt.
“It’s not that I don’t want to. I just . . . I think we should keep things . . .” I couldn’t find the right words.
“Uncomplicated?” she asked and I laughed.
“Yeah. That.” Lacey sighed and nodded.
“Yeah, you’re right. We should keep things as simple as possible. At least for now.” For now.
“Sounds good. So . . . I’ll see you tomorrow?” I hoped I would.
“Yeah. You’ll see me tomorrow. We’ll do some more idling.” I couldn’t resist giving her one last kiss before I left.
“Goodnight, Lacey Cole.”
“Goodnight, Anna Corcoran,” she said.
Seven
The next few days were a blur of work, seeing Lacey, talking with Lacey, laughing with Lacey, and work. I wasn’t getting a whole lot of sleep, but I couldn’t remember being happier. I’d put in for five days off at the library and Violet Hill and I’d somehow gotten them. Mostly based on the fact that I almost never took vacation days and rarely called in sick. It paid to be a good employee apparently. I also got ahead on my design work, so I wouldn’t have to do that either. I was going to have five days of complete idleness with Lacey and I couldn’t wait.
