“No kidding?”

“Uh-huh, so if you do a good job maybe I’ll let you take me shopping after we wrap it up.”

“That could be fun,” I said.

There was a period of silence following my comment and soon there was a palpable sense of seriousness creeping into the void between us. Our momentary lightheartedness disappeared in the wake of the recent verbal distraction.

“You’re certain you don’t want me to come home, then?” Felicity finally asked, the concern edging her voice once again.

“Positive sweetheart,” I told her. “We’ll talk when you get home.”

“Okay. If you’re sure,” she said.

“Go make some sexy pictures of carburetors,” I told her. “Gear heads need pinups too.”

I heard her laugh at the other end of the line, once again breaking through the mantle of seriousness that originally cloaked her.

“And, honey?” I added.

“Yes?”

“Thanks.”

“For what? Inviting you to a lingerie shoot?”

“No,” I returned. “For everything else.”

I could almost feel her smiling when I hung up the phone.

*****

I absently took a sip from the coffee mug and screwed up my face in disgust. Willow bark tea was not the most pleasant drink one could ingest to begin with and being an hour cold didn’t help it at all. I suppose that would teach me to look first and then drink. I glared at the cup as if it were at fault, then set it aside and hooked my finger into the handle of the cup I’d been reaching for to begin with- the fresh cup of coffee I had just put on the corner of my desk a few minutes ago.

I took a sip from the new mug and found it to be only slightly less cold. I cocked an eyebrow and shot a glance at the clock in the corner of my computer screen. 10:47 A.M. was staring back at me. The few minutes had somehow expanded into forty-five. I guess I had been a little more preoccupied with my work than I’d originally thought.