Page 32 of V is for Valentine
He grinned. “I must have.”
As they drove by the old high school on the way to Pizza Bob’s, two things jumped out at Danny. First, the lights were on. Second, Felicity’s car was still parked in front—over an hour after she’d said she was going to leave. He let out a breath, hoping that she hadn’t fallen off a ladder or anything as he swung into the parking spot next to the Audi.
“I need to check on something fast. Shouldn’t take me more than a minute or two.”
“I’m good.” Sandra smiled at him. “No need to hurry as long as you leave the engine running and the heat on.”
He took the steps to the front door two at a time, taking care not to slip on the rime that was forming. He couldn’t see Felicity through the windows in the multipaned oak doors, so he pulled out his keys. Before he could unlock the door, Felicity came into view. She crossed the entryway to open the door.
“Did you forget something?” she asked.
“No, but it seems you did.” She gave him a perplexed frown, so he added, “You forgot to go home.”
“I had a few things I wanted to finish. We do have a time crunch here.”
Since she was carrying a loaded joint knife, it appeared that she was doing more than finishing up a few things. She was still hard at it.
“We’ll make it. We’ve gone over the schedule and the timeframe more than once.”
“It’s tight.”
“You’ve been here since five thirty. That makes fourteen hours.”
She gave him an impatient look, but he wasn’t having it.
“You shouldn’t be working alone. It’s not safe.”
“How much trouble can I get into with a trowel and a tray of joint compound?”
He started to answer when she interrupted him. “I appreciate the concern, but I do not need akeeper.” The last word came out as an emphatic growl. She glanced out the window at his car, where Sandra sat reading her phone, the light illuminating her red hair, then brought her attention back to him. “Why don’t you go on your date, or whatever, and leave me in peace?”
He bowed his head and raised his hands in a gesture of defeat. “Sometimes, Felix, you are impossible to deal with.”
“I don’t need ‘dealt with.’ Again, I appreciate the concern, but I’m perfectly happy working at a time when I’m awake, and, if I avoid ladders, there is no way that working alone in this building is a safety concern.”
“Have it your way,” he said grimly. “But if your car is still here after we finish our pizza, I’m coming in.”
She narrowed her eyes at him and made the same face that she’d made every time he’d drawn a line in the sand while they’d been growing up.
“How I choose to spend my time is none of your business. I don’t go putting my nose into your affairs, asking you where you are at all hours.” She shot another look at his car, indicating she thought she knew. “I let you live your life and function without sleep. Allow me the same courtesy.”
Danny rolled his eyes. “It’s a safety matter. Go home, Felicity. Get some sleep.”
The fact that he’d called her Felicity, instead of Felix, was not lost on either of them. She propped a hand on her hip, exhaling loudly.
“Thank you. I will.” Her chin jutted as she added, “When I’m good and ready.”
*
Impossible to dealwith.
Right.
Felicity slapped mud on the wall so hard that it splattered as his taillights disappeared down the street. Not that she was watching his car through the window as he headed off on his date with a woman who looked suspiciously like his business associate. It might not have been her. It had been impossible to tell, but her hair was red.
She smoothed the mud, then stood back to view her progress. She’d promised herself she’d finish this office before going home. Stevie was with their dad watching the game while secretly reading her phone because she wasn’t a big basketball fan, so there was no reason for Felicity to not meet her goal, which was taking longer than anticipated. But she’d get there.
Felicity smoothed a knife-load of compound down the next seam. Setting small attainable goals and achieving them was how she’d worked her way to her current success in life.
