Fools Rush in(47)

“Joe Carpenter is your boyfriend?” she asked, ignoring everything else I’d said.

“Sort of,” I muttered, gathering our cups up and putting them in the sink.

“Well. That’s…that’s great,” she said. “And you do look much better.” She offered me a little smile, and I felt my anger drain away, well-trained little sister that I was.

“Thanks,” I said.

“Just about, what, ten pounds to go?”

I walked over to the bedroom door and released the hound. In a blur of black and white, paws scrabbling, he went straight for Trish’s crotch.

Good dog.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

ON WEDNESDAY AT 5:37 P.M., after a day spent counting the agonizingly slow passage of minutes, I called Joe. I knew that he usually got home around 4:30 or 5:00 and then, if he were going out, would usually leave around 7:00 or 7:30, depending on where he was going to eat—the Barnacle, the Crow’s Nest or the Humpback. Perhaps, I thought as his phone rang, he was just now changing into clean clothes after a shower, tugging on some faded jeans. Perhaps he was carelessly running his hands through his water-darkened golden hair, idly reminding himself to get it cut one of these days. Perhaps his long eyelashes were spiked from the water, his T-shirt clinging to his still damp…

“Hello?”

I jumped. “Joe! Hi. How are you?”

“I’m good. How are you?” he answered pleasantly.

“Great. Been busy?” I asked.

“Oh, sure.” I heard a familiar sound as he spoke, the sound of dry dog food clattering into a pan.

“How’s Tripod?” I smiled, picturing Joe’s cute, three-legged friend hopping eagerly around the kitchen as his master got dinner ready.

“He’s great,” Joe answered. I heard him set the pan down, heard the jingling of dog tags as Tripod dug in. “Can I ask you something?” Joe said.

“Sure, anything,” I answered warmly.

“Who is this?”

Shit! Had I forgotten to say? “Oh, sorry. It’s Millie.” My cheeks burned. He didn’t know who I was, even though we had just spoken yesterday! Well, it was still early in the relationship, right?

“Millie! I thought you were blowing me off. You got off the phone pretty quick yesterday.” He sounded like he was smiling. He was probably teasing.

“You were wrong, young man,” I said. “I told you I would call you today, and here I am.”

“Uh-huh. So what’s up?” he asked.

I looked around my tidy kitchen, hoping for inspiration and finding none. “Oh, not too much. What are you doing?”

“Not much, either. You wanna see me again?” He was teasing, I could definitely tell that now.

“Well, I guess I do. Sure. What did you have in mind?” Nicely done, Millie. Ball back in his court.

“What did you have in mind?” He chuckled, low and sexy, and lust tightened my loins. I clutched the phone in my suddenly sweaty hand. Play it cool, Millie, I advised myself.

“Hmm. Well, how about if you come over for dinner?”

“Tonight?”

“No!” God, no! I was not the type of person to whip up a dinner to impress. “Sorry, I have, um, some plans tonight. How about Friday?” That should give me enough time.

“Friday? Sure.” Oh, Joe. So amiable and sweet. Such a good kisser.

“Maybe around 7:00?” I asked.

“That would be great,” he answered.

“Good,” I said. We were quiet for a minute.

“Millie?”

“Yes?”

“I can’t wait.”

My chest ached with joy. “You’re sweet, Joe,” I answered softly.

“You’re the sweet one,” he replied, uh, sweetly.

“Well. Have a good night,” I said.

“See you Friday.” He hung up the phone.

Very gently, I replaced my phone back on its charger and stared at it. Digger came over and wagged happily at me. From the kitchen, I could smell his defecation, the only real note about my surreal evening.

Sweet. Joe Carpenter thought I was sweet and couldn’t wait to be with me on Friday. “I knew it would work, Digger,” I said to my dog. “I knew he’d fall for me, I knew it, I knew it, I knew it.” Joe Carpenter was coming here, to my clean, adorable, cozy house to eat a fabulous meal with attractive, sweet me, to meet my wonderful doggy, to…maybe…was it too early to…? For fifteen happy, dazed minutes, I sighed and cooed before snapping myself out of my lustful fog. I had work to do.

In order to get through medical school, you had to be pretty organized (anal retentive is another term). You have to love lists. And I did.

Wednesday p.m. (that was tonight)

1. Clean fridge. Throw out yeast.

2. Clean oven.

3. Wash bathroom with bleach so smell dissipates by Friday.

4. Dust.

5. Make shopping list for dinner.

Thursday

1. Buy groceries, beer, wine.

2. Wash floors on Thursday p.m., Friday noon if raining.

3. Clean sheets just in case.

4. Rent movie in case #3 doesn’t happen.

5. Call Curtis/Mitch for wardrobe suggestions.

Friday

1. Wash Digger and make sure he doesn’t roll in dead things afterward.