Page 22 of Wind Called

Had he been worried that she would expect him to drop her off at the house and call it a day?

“That sounds good,” he said, and again, she thought he sounded just a little too casual.

So, like her, he’d been hoping this drive back to Sedona wouldn’t be the end of their day together. Once more, that familiar warmth filled her, but she told herself she needed to stay casual.

“There’s a Thai place,” she told him. “Or we can get pizza from either Pisa Lisa or Moondog.”

“‘Moondog’?” he repeated with a lift of his eyebrows.

“It’s really good,” she told him. “And a little less fancy than Pisa Lisa.”

“I’m good with not fancy,” he replied, and now a smile played around his lips. “As long as it’s okay with you.”

“After all this running around, I’m just fine with not fancy,” she said, grinning in return. “What’s your favorite kind of pizza?”

Now he looked almost shame-faced. “You’re going to laugh.”

“I won’t,” she promised. “Well, as long as it’s not anchovies, because yuck.”

Marc chuckled. “No anchovies. I really like Canadian bacon and pineapple, even though my parents have told me on more than one occasion that liking Hawaiian pizza is a crime against the pizza gods.”

How in the world had this guy turned out to be absolutely perfect in every possible way?

“Well, if it’s a crime, then I’m a criminal, too,” she said with a grin. “Because that also happens to be my favorite. So let’s head over to Moondog and order the biggest Hawaiian pizza they have.”

“Do they have cheesy bread?”

Boy, did they. And while Bellamy never ordered it unless she was sharing, she knew she’d have Marc there to do some of the heavy lifting and make sure it didn’t go to waste.

“Yes,” she said cheerfully. “And I’ve got a bottle of chianti at the house, so I think we’re good to go.”

“Sounds like a plan. Just tell me how to get to Moondog.”

“I can do that.”

She settled against the back of her seat, doing her best not to grin like an idiot. Sure, someone had tried to steal the amulet, but they hadn’t succeeded, and Angela and Connor would be in Jerome to keep an eye on things from here on out.

Better yet, Marc hadn’t uttered a peep about heading back to Tucson now that the problem had been handled, which meant it sure sounded as if he planned to hang around for a while longer.

Now she’d just have to figure out the best way to make sure his time here in the Verde Valley lasted for as long as possible.

8

Since the courtyardwas in shadow when they got to the house, pizza and cheesy bread in hand, Marc and Bellamy decided to eat outside. Whoever had designed the outdoor living spaces, they’d done a very good job, since everything was laid out with an eye for an understated, natural beauty, whether that was the grouping of sandstone boulders and wind sculptures off to one side, or the fountain — an unusual feature made of sheets of sandstone and brass that had been treated to show interesting shades of deep umber and metallic green, the sort of thing Marc would like to offer his clients in Tucson — that dominated the center of the courtyard.

Its splashing added some soft background noise as they sat down at the table under the overhang. Now that the sun wasn’t beating down on them — although it still had probably an hour before it would completely disappear behind Mingus Mountain, some twenty miles to the west — the air felt friendly and warm rather than oppressively hot.

Bellamy had scooped up a bottle of chianti from the wine fridge in the kitchen along with a pair of glasses, so now all they needed to do was sit there and eat the wonderfully cheesy bread and pizza and wash it down with wine. Despite everything that had happened today, Marc could feel himself relaxing with every passing moment, as if all the worry and speculation had taken place in an utterly different world, one that seemed to have very little connection to the friendly, warm space where they now sat.

“This is some good pizza,” he said as he lowered his half-eaten slice to his plate.

“Told you,” Bellamy replied with a smile. “I mean, Pisa Lisa is really good, too, but I wanted something homier tonight.”

Especially since he wasn’t sure whether a higher-end pizza place would have even deigned to make them a Hawaiian pizza. No judgment at Moondog’s as Marc had handed over a couple of twenties to the guy behind the counter. Bellamy had made a few noises about paying, but he’d pointed out that she was already providing the wine and the venue, so it was only fair that he should cover the food.

“It’s nice that you can be in a place that feels so far away from everything but is still close enough to town that your takeout isn’t cold by the time you get it home,” he commented.

She nodded, but because she’d just taken a bite of cheesy bread, she had to wait until she was done chewing before she could respond.

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