“Yeah,” she said, fumbling for her house key as he leaned comfortably on the clapboards beside the door. “He didn’t likethat I’m changing my day off to Tuesdays. But fuck him. He’s not my boss, and he has no say over what I do.”
“Your real bosses don’t mind?” Vince responded, waiting as she fitted her key in the lock before they walked in.
“They didn’t even blink,” she told him, hanging her wet coat on the peg just inside the door. “They’re just happy I’m still working.”
“That’s good,” he responded with a nod, placing the bag at his feet to match her movements; shedding his jacket to suspend it next to hers.
As he picked the brown sack back up and they walked toward the kitchen, Lace caught a sniff of the food he was carrying.
“Damn. That smells good. What is it?”
It wasn’t shaped like pizza, it was too big for subs, and it didn’t have that distinctive Chinese aroma she would have expected.
“Well, I figured since it was such a crappy day, homemade chicken soup and fresh sourdough bread would be just the thing.”
And where…?
It only took a second for Lace to catch on.
“Don’t tell me,” she laughed. “You stopped by Bobbie’s catering shop and begged the food from her.”
“Got me,” Vincent replied, totally unrepentant as he unloaded two large cartons of soup, and a loaf of bread that Lace could easily devour all on her own. She was a real carb-a-holic, and today her appetite was spot on.
“Bobbie has a standing gig on Saturdays with a local assisted living facility,” he continued. “She makes comfort food for their early supper, and as soon as I got your text, I asked if she could fix us up with a little of what she was serving today. She was not only helpful, she was thrilled.”
Of course she was. Bobbie had been trying to fix Lace up with anything on two legs since they’d met, and she could just picture Bobbie’s squeal when Vince had called and told her of his plans.
Right.Now, between Bobbie and Ellen, they probably had a weddingfeast already planned.
“We’ll have to thank her,” Lace said, instead of going down any rabbit-holes in her head that mapped out a future between her and Vince. “Do something nice in return. But in the meantime, this will really hit the spot.”
She quickly got out bowls and spoons, and they set up at the small table that stood in front of two large windows overlooking the soggy back yard.
It didn’t take long for both of them to dig in, making appreciative noises as they mowed their way through the food.
“Damn, Bobbie is good,” Lace said, finishing and sitting back with her stomach comfortably full. This was a damned-sight better than being on theWater Wrestler, eating protein bars and receiving evil looks from old Captain Malevolent with every bite.
Vince sat back too, after polishing off everything that was left.
“So,” he focused all his attention on Lace. “I guess it’s time to get down to business. Do you have your roommate-rules-list ready?” he asked.
Wow.He’d wasted no time.
Lace tapped her temple. “It’s all up here.”
“Not me,” he said, withdrawing a piece of paper from his pocket and snapping it open in front of him. It looked like it was written on from top to bottom, with scribbles even jammed into the margins.
Lace’s eyes went wide. “You’ve thought of that much stuff?” she asked incredulously.
Vince laughed. “Nope. I’m only teasing.” He poked the paper back into his pocket. “That’s the list of things I need to do to satisfy DHHS. But I got you, didn’t I?” he smirked.
Lace playfully slapped at his hand. “Yes. You did. And don’t expect that to go unanswered.”
Oh, yeah. She could dream up a few things that would keep Vincent off kilter in the future.
Not the couch. Not the couch. Not the couch.
“Why don’t you go first,” Vincent said, yanking her out of the mental quagmire that was about to suck her in.