Page 18 of A Soldier's Pledge
“You’re welcome. How’d the open house go?”
“We had a lot of traffic, I think Adria might have a sale this week, well except…” her voice trailed off when she remembered the robbery. Had they trashed the house? Was it even sellable at this point? Ethan said they usually didn’t damage anything in the house, but still, it was a crime scene. Would anyone want to buy it now?
“What’s wrong?” Jenny’s face showed concern, but there was something else in her expression too, something Anna couldn’t quite place. Maybe she’d heard the news and was waiting to see if Anna would say anything?
“I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. I think I’m just a little slow today,” Anna said with a laugh.
“Too much weekend. Or maybe I should say, too much Ethan in your weekend?”
“Maybe.” Anna grinned, it wasn’t out of character for her and Jenny to discuss any of this, but after Ethan’s warning, she second guessed everything. “How about you? Did anything come up while I was out?”
“Nope, it was all quiet. I think the weather was just too nice to spend the weekend inside. I hung out with some friends, ate pizza, drank beer, and just chilled. It was good.”
“Sounds like it. Good for you. There’s a lot to be said for relaxing.”
“What kept you at home?” Adria said from the doorway.
“I think that’s my cue, meeting in ten.”
“Thanks.” Was there something off with Jenny today or was it just Anna being “hyper-vigilant” for weirdness? Ethan was going to turn her into a paranoid mess before this was through. “I might have had a house guest,” she said after Jenny closed her office door.
“No way! Ethan stayed over? Hot damn. It’s about time.”
“Actually, he stayed Saturday night too.”
“Holy crap, woman. When you finally give in you really go for it.”
Anna laughed. Yeah, she guessed she did and that part of the weekend was amazing. Then she remembered Ethan and Steele would be trying to get warrants for the phone taps and some of the sunshine of her morning dimmed. “I guess I did or do. Depending on how you look at it,” she said with a forced smile. But Adria was so excited for her Anna didn’t think she noticed. She was going to have to tread carefully today, being extra tired was going to make it more difficult not to slip.
“I want details. I have to live vicariously through you.”
“No, you don’t, you’re just even more stubborn than I am.”
“But Scotty…”
“Don’t use Scotty as an excuse. He’s in junior high now, do you think he wants to have to worry about his mom when he’d rather be hanging with his buds? You’re just scared, and trust me I know all about scared.”
Adria sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Maybe, but…”
“No buts allowed, and I think I found the perfect guy for you.”
“Oh God, no. No blind dates.”
“You’d be missing out if you couldn’t see him. He’s hotter than…”
“Who is?” Ethan said as he opened the door to her office.
“Doesn’t anyone knock anymore? Damn. And none of your business.”
“You must be talking about me then,” he said smugly. Adria laughed.
“I think we need to pick this up later. How about I pick up lunch, and we eat in today?”
Anna glanced at Ethan and saw the slight shake of his head. Damn, he was going to press her to go see the sketch artist. “Umm…”
Ethan cut her off, while she tried to figure out how to respond. “Actually, I called dibs on lunch first thing this morning. But tomorrow she’s all yours.”
“Oh, I see how I rate. Gotcha,” Adria said but couldn’t hold her straight face. “See you at the meeting. Bye, Ethan. Have a nice lunch with my best friend.”
