“He ran. Literally. He said his wife would panic if she couldn’t reach him.”
“Oh. So you’re just out walking? How will you know where to go?”
“It’s very flat out here. I’m just walking in a straight line. He’ll call me if he doesn’t see me. No big.” He wiped a hand across his brow. “Now, what’s that thing you’re wearing? What do you have going on beneath your shirt?”
“Just my after-work clothes. You know how I like to be comfortable.” She tilted the camera to zoom in on her lacy bra, tugging at her shirt to give him a better view of her cleavage.
“You look great. I wish I could hop on a plane and see you.”
She was about to tell him to do just that, but she suddenly had a view of the side of his face.
“Hey, man,” he said to someone. His friend, presumably. “Yep. Okay.” He turned back to her. “Sorry. I’ve gotta run. Joel just caught up, and we’re going to dash to the store to pick up some basil for his wife. I’ll call you later.”
“Oh. Okay. Have fun.” She pursed her lips and blew a kiss. “Talk to you later. Love you.”
“Bye.”
She shut off her phone and sank back onto the sofa cushions, her mind whirring. Had he been acting strangely, or was he simply stressed about caring for the baby? She’d seen the stroller. Heard him talking to another person, though she hadn’t seen him. But Hugh wasn’t a devious person. He wasn’t up to anything.
More likely, he was concerned about keeping the baby happy and content. A very good sign, indeed. The time to bring up the subject of babies was rapidly approaching.
She’d been watching for clues and mentally logging them. In fact, when she commented on an article she’d read about the safety of Range Rovers a few weeks ago, he’d said, “Let’s get matching ones. It’ll be you and me and a house with a white picket fence.”
So yes, family was on his mind.
Five hours had passed, and Hugh hadn’t called back. After her glass of rosé, Sylvia had decided a relaxing bath was in order. She needed to chill. It wasn’t odd that he hadn’t called back immediately. He was catching up with an old friend. But a feeling of unrest nagged at her. It was that sense of losing control she’d first experienced on Sunday over the buttermilk biscuits. Her synapses began firing at once. She needed to speak to him tonight if she wanted to solidify their relationship.
“A virtual whirlwind romance,” she had told her friend Belinda at work. They’d been in the office kitchen the morning after her third date with Hugh. It was there, huddled by the watercooler, that Sylvia had filled her in.
Over a candlelit dinner at his apartment, Hugh had looked at her with a moony gaze and said, Dammit, Sylvia. What kind of spell have you put on me? I’m in love with you.
She’d almost laughed. Of course he would fall under her spell. It was inevitable, really. Becoming what someone wanted was simple if you were observant enough. “I love you too. You’re everything I want in a man.”
How easy it had been.
And now, here she was, sitting on the sofa in her scoop-neck T-shirt, alone. No doubt she enjoyed the solo time, but eventually, this would have to change. It wouldn’t be too difficult—a comment here about crowded airports, a word there about scratchy hotel sheets, and voilà—he would come to the conclusion on his own that the traveling was becoming tedious.
She hadn’t wanted to call when he was still with his friend. That would’ve been obnoxious. So she’d waited. Now, with one finger, she clicked his name to make the call.
It went straight to voice mail. Blergh.
She should’ve texted in the first place.
Hey, you. Call me before you go to sleep. xo
It was hard not to stare at the screen, waiting for those three dots to appear. She flipped her phone facedown. A watched pot never boils and all that.
Minutes ticked by. She crossed the small room to the bathroom. If she got busy brushing her teeth, he’d respond. As she took her toothbrush from the medicine cabinet, her phone rang. She smiled at herself in the bathroom mirror. “Wish me luck,” she said with a wink.
She padded back to the sofa and reached for her phone. “Hey, love. I was hoping to hear your voice before I slip into bed.”