Was she?That surprised him. “You were?”
“Yes. Instead of this job being project based, I suggest you put me on retainer for a few months. That way, I can handle any inquiries.”
He was okay with that arrangement. “Sounds good to me. I will have Luna contact you to work out the details.”
“Luna?”
“Yes, my administrative assistant.”
“That would be great. And why were you calling me? How can I help you?”
If only she knew. “I just wanted to thank you for handling this.”
“That’s why you hired me. I hope you have a nice day.”
He wasn’t ready for the call to end. “Have you talked to Pam and Dillon lately?” he asked quickly before she could hang up.
“Yes, I spoke with Pam earlier this week. All is quiet in Westmoreland Country.”
“I bet it is,” was his response.
“I meant to ask you how the poker game went and who won.”
He smiled, remembering. “The game was eventful and enlightening. Zane won.”
“Did you enjoy yourself?”
He wanted to tell her he’d been tempted to cut out to find her, but knowing she had an early flight and needed to pack had kept him from doing so. “Yes, I did. There’s never a dull moment around those Westmorelands. Did you know some of them even made bets as to the outcome of the gender reveal?”
She chuckled, and the sound stirred something inside of him. “I’d heard that. Not surprising though. Some of those Westmorelands will bet on anything.”
Now he was the one who chuckled. “I can believe it. Already, they were taking bets as to whether Aidan’s twin sons are identical. Sixty percent of those participating think the twins will be, and forty percent think they won’t.”
“Which way did you bet?” she asked.
“I didn’t. There were a few of us who just looked on and found the entire thing amusing.”
“Hmm…had you betted, which way would you have gone?”
Matt thought that was easy enough to answer. “I would have gone with identical twins.”
“I would have, too,” she replied.
Matt leaned back in his chair. What he should be doing was reviewing the file on his new case, but he wasn’t in the mood right now. He much preferred talking to her. “Why?” he asked, curious to hear her reason.
“Because the odds of such a thing happening are low. Like one in two hundred and fifty. What was even lower were the odds that Bane and Crystal would have a second set of triplets. Those odds are about one in eight thousand. But they have five sons and a daughter to prove there are times when you can beat the odds.”
He smiled. “You’ve done your research, I see. I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing.”
“Hmm, I think there’s quite a lot you don’t know about me, Mr. Caulder. And on that note, I’ll let you go. Enjoy your weekend.”
“And I hope you enjoy yours, too, Iris.”
When he disconnected the call, he thought she was right. There was a lot about her he didn’t know. But she was wrong about letting him go. He might fade into the background for a minute to give her space, but he honestly wasn’t going anywhere.
* * *
Iris leaned back in her chair and tapped her mouth a few times, knowing one day it would get her in trouble. Why was it that every single time she talked to Matt, she managed to say something that could be taken as flirtatious? That comment about him not knowing a lot about her sounded like a challenge for him to learn more. That wasn’t what she wanted, nor had it been what she’d meant to insinuate.