Page 148 of The Moment You Know

She made a sad face and placed a hand over her heart. “My second favorite character was Hopper.”

“Was? Oh. You think he’s dead.”

“He is dead.”

“No, he’s not.”

“Um, he got vaporized. Or did you miss that part of the episode?”

“No, I saw it,” he said. “But he’s not dead. He’ll be back.”

He motioned for her to follow him down the short hallway, which she did, and within seconds they were in the kitchen that looked nothing like she remembered. It had obviously undergone some major upgrades since she and David lived in it prior to buying their house, and Paige looked around, impressed.

While somewhat small, the space was utilized well, with shaker-style cherry cabinets, stainless appliances, and beautiful, cream granite countertops with veins of gray and black running through it. The new island was long and narrow, with three industrial bar stools on one side for seating and wrought-iron pendant lights hanging over it, providing task lighting.

David stepped around to the other side of the island, where the makings for sandwiches were spread out. “I was just about to eat a late lunch. Why don’t you join me?”

Thinking he was asking out of obligation, because he had good manners, Paige shook her head. “No, thanks. I just came by to give you this,” she said, cringing at her awkward and abrupt delivery as she set the package on the counter.

He didn’t even look at it as he started making what looked like two sandwiches. “I’ll open it after we eat.”

“No. I really should go.”

“Have you eaten lunch?”

“No, but it’s okay.”

He ignored that and continued making the sandwiches. “Jesus, I forgot how stubborn you could be.”

“What?”

“You heard me.” David gave her a stern look and pointed the knife at her. “Stubborn. It’s just a sandwich, so accept my gracious invitation, already. Okay?”

“Well, when you put it that way, I accept your ‘gracious invitation’,” she told him with exaggerated sweetness, adding, “I like extra mayo.”

“I know.”

For some reason that made her smile and she started to walk around the open area of the loft. “Everything looks really great.”

“Thanks.”

The floors, though still the original wide-plank pine boards, had been refinished and could have passed for brand new. The exterior walls, always one of her favorite features of the loft, were still a beautiful, unpainted brick, and contrasted nicely with the finished interior walls, which had been painted an inviting, soft gray.

When Paige saw the furniture he’d gotten from the storage unit arranged around the room, she experienced what David must have felt at her place—a brief moment of disorientation at seeing their furniture somewhere other than in their house. And while she was glad to see it here, it was still odd seeing it.

On the wall leading down the hall to the bedrooms and bathrooms, a dozen black and white pictures in black frames hung in a straight line, and she wandered over to look more closely. One of them was a baby picture of Jacob sleeping naked on his stomach with his face turned toward the camera, obviously having been taken by David in his studio. Paige looked at it longer than she should have before finally tearing herself away.

Surprisingly, there was the picture of David and Spook shortly after his adoption from the shelter. David was sitting on the couch, reading, while Spook was lying on the back of the couch, looking over David’s shoulder and making it appear as though they were both reading the book. Knowing a perfect moment when she saw one, Paige had quickly snapped the picture.

David saw her looking at it. “One of the best pictures of all time,” he said as he grabbed two plates from a cupboard and arranged their sandwiches on them.

“Thank you. I picked up a few tricks of the trade being married to a photographer,” she replied teasingly, without thinking, only to freeze as she realized how inappropriate joking about their marriage probably was.

“I was actually referring to the subjects in the picture and not the, uh, skill involved in taking it,” he countered, apparently not at all offended by her joke. “Remind me again, what version of the iPhone you took it on?”

“Oh, shut-up.”

He picked up the plates and carried them to the table at the far end of the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?”

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