Page 112 of Let It Breathe
“Then that’s a good sign.”
“For them or for me?”
“Both. For you, it means you’ve seen firsthand what makes a relationship work.”
Reese snorted. “I’ll be honest, Wally,” she said. “I couldn’t be more clueless about what it takes to make a relationship work than if I’d been raised by a pack of badgers.”
“I don’t know about that. You seem very loving. I’ve seen you take care of all the animals around here. Especially Leon.”
“Leon’s different. He’s sweet and devoted and uncomplicated and appreciative and doesn’t accidentally sleep with my cousin.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” Reese bit her lip. “Thanks again for taking care of him the other day.”
Silence stretched out between them. Reese wondered if he was working up the courage to kiss her. She tried to decide how she felt about that.
At last, Wally cleared his throat. “How long have you been in love with him?”
She looked up. “Leon?”
He smiled. “You know who I mean.”
“I don’t think?—”
“It’s not about thinking, Reese. Love never is.”
She gritted her teeth.“Why is everyone I know talking like a goddamn Hallmark card lately?”
He touched her knee. “Look, I’d love to have a shot with you, Reese. I think I’ve made that clear. But it’s also clear you’re spoken for. Whether you know it or he knows it, it’s obvious.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “There’s too much baggage there.”
“For you or for him?”
“I don’t know. Both.”
He smiled. “Sometimes, the baggage is the best part.”
He leaned down and gave her a soft, platonic kiss on the cheek. Then he stood up and walked toward the door.
“Goodnight, Reese. Good luck with everything.”
Chapter 16
Reese blinked at the bottle in her hands, certain she was seeing things. It was early in the morning, so fuzzy vision wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.
But one look at the matched expressions of bafflement around her, and Reese knew this wasn’t her imagination.
“The bottle says pork,” she said. “We’re proposing our customers drink pork with their dessert.”
Eric shook his head and snatched the bottle from her hands. He glared at it so viciously, Reese feared he might hurl it through the wall.
Apparently reading his thoughts, Sheila took it from him. “Calm down, Eric. This isn’t the end of the world.”
“Calm down? This port is supposed to ship to the White House tomorrow. It’s being served with cheese that costs more than my car stereo. The goddamn President of the United States is going to be drinking my port, only he’ll take one look at this bottle and wonder why the fuck his culinary team decided to offer him liquefied pig.”
Reese squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to make it all go away.
