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“Not even four glasses.”
“Two is your limit. You’re a lightweight.”
“Yes, but I was having such a good time with the lamb and the fruit and also, you’re looking very sexy.”
Even as I was saying this, I knew the tragic truth. Two glasses of wine and I’m fun Stephanie. More than two and I’m a total snoozer.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Iwoke up in luxury. Ranger’s bed. The room was dark and cool. The linens held the faint scent of Bulgari Green shower gel. There was no Ranger next to me. I found the bedside clock and checked the time. Seven o’clock. Practically the middle of the day for Ranger. I put the bedside light on and looked at myself under the covers. I was wearing my panties and a Rangeman T-shirt. Crap.
I took a shower using Ranger’s shower gel and dried myself off with one of his fluffy towels. When I returned to the bedroom the bed had been made and my clothes were laid out for me. They were clean and folded and Ella had added new lingerie.
I got dressed and went to the kitchen. Breakfast was waiting for me on the small dining table. Fresh fruit, yogurt, Ella’s house-made granola, smoked salmon with capers, a whole wheat bagel, and a carafe of coffee. I knew it was my breakfast andnot Ranger’s because a single luscious chocolate doughnut had been added to the mix. Ella probably had to smuggle it into the building.
I finished eating, hung my messenger bag on my shoulder, and went in search of Ranger. I found him studying a blueprint in his fifth-floor office.
“I’m heading out,” I said. “Thank Ella for a wonderful breakfast.” I looked at the blueprint. “Is this a new account?”
“Yes. An office building going up in Hamilton Township.”
“About last night,” I said. “I’m fuzzy on the details. I woke up in your bed, and I was wearing a Rangeman T-shirt.”
“You had three-plus glasses of wine and crashed.”
“I passed out?”
“No. You kept falling asleep. It seemed like a lot of effort to take you home, so I tucked you in here.”
“That’s sort of embarrassing. How did I get out of my clothes and into the Rangeman T-shirt?”
“It was a joint effort. I would have just rolled you into bed, but you had gravy on your T-shirt.”
I looked down at my T-shirt. No gravy. Ella was a laundry guru.
“Did we… you know?”
“Not even a little. Trust me, you would have remembered. Do you want to ride with my men today? Or do you want to drive yourself?”
“I’ll drive.”
I took the elevator to the garage and gave up a sigh when I looked at the cars in Ranger’s reserved spaces. No Whatever.
I called Ranger. “I’m in the garage, and my car isn’t here.”
“It ruined my color scheme. I replaced it with a Discovery Sport. The key is on the driver’s seat. You had a Superman gift bag in your Whatever car. Raymond put it in the Discovery.”
The Discovery was a great-looking car, and there was no doubt in my mind that it was equipped to report my every move to the control room. It probably had sensors in the steering wheel to take my pulse and alert Ranger if my heart rate went too high.
I drove out of the garage and went to the office. I cruised down the alley, stopped at the yellow bus, and realized the Discovery wasn’t going to fit in the Whatever’s parking space. I drove around the block and parked in front of the demolished office. I took my messenger bag and the Superman gift bag, and I picked my way along the narrow path that had been created to get to the back lot.
Lula and Connie were already in the bus. A new coffee machine and four coffee mugs had been placed on the kitchen counter. The essential box of doughnuts was on the table serving as Connie’s desk. Lula was dressed in sneakers and spandex camo fatigues.
“Sneakers?” I said to Lula.
“I got tired of walking around the block to get here and I’m not ruining my collection of fine footwear by trying to make my way along that half-assed path we got going over what used to be the office.”
“It’s a good look for you,” I said. “And I like your camo-colored hairstyle.”
