Page 54 of The Fix Up

“What?”

“The passion you were talking about making sure I infuse into my presentation. I nailed it.”

She grinned and moved the phone to her other ear, turning the flower arrangement from one side to the other to see which way looked best. “I’m so happy for you.”

“You should have seen me in there. I really took charge, really controlled the room and let my excitement take over.”

“I wish I could have been there.”

“Me, too. And I wish I could see you now.”

Holly bit her lip, wishing she could invite him over. Would it be the worst thing? Maybe they could just?—

“No.” She startled herself by speaking aloud, but now that she’d said it, she knew it was the right thing. “I wish we could get together, Ben, but we both know how that would end up.”

“I know. I’m on board with that. Totally in agreement with not seeing each other. That’s why we’re going to have a movie night together.”

Holly clutched the phone tighter. “Did you miss the part where I said it would be a bad idea if we got together?”

“Nope, I heard you loud and clear. And I agree.”

“You do?”

“Yep. Open the card attached to the flowers.”

She hadn’t noticed the card before, but now that she saw it, she realized it was a lot bulkier than a normal envelope. It was square and thick and looked like it held more than a card. “What’s in there?”

“Open it.”

She plucked the envelope out of the sea of daisies and sunflowers, tearing into it with embarrassing enthusiasm. She stared at the packaging for a moment, then laughed. “You bought me aStar WarsDVD?”

“It’s the same one I have. The collectors’ edition. So I figure if we both put it in at the same time?—”

“We’d avoid the temptation to put something else in.”

Ben laughed. “Pretty much. Are you game?”

“Definitely.”

“Good. Go grab a snack and put your jammies on.”

“Done and done.”

“Yeah? What’s your snack?”

“A strawberries and cream float. I just invented it.”

“Sounds delicious. Okay, so I’ll meet you in bed in thirty seconds.”

Holly felt a jolt of excitement at his words and wondered what it would be like to have him mean it for real. Instead, she scooped up her dessert and the DVD and trudged toward the back of the house. “How’d you know I have a TV in my bedroom?”

“Lucky guess. If we’re going to pretend-snuggle, it’s better to do it in a bed than on the couch.”

She laughed and set the froth-filled glass on her nightstand. “You want the right side or the left?”

“Right.”

“Good. The left side is mine. Hang on a sec, let me put it in?—”

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