“Why?”

“For when we don’t make it to your bedroom.”

He felt her blushing through the phone.

“Good call.” Her giggle made him smile.

“I need to go. I’ll call before I go to bed.”

“I’d tell you that isn’t necessary, but I’d be depriving myself of your voice. And I’m becoming addicted to it.”

He knew the feeling. “I wonder if there’s a twelve-step program for that?”

“Probably. Have fun schmoozing.”

“Have fun shopping.”

He heard her blow him a kiss through the line.

The problem with furniture shopping on a budget was everything you liked you couldn’t afford and everything you could afford you hated. The salesman at the second store she went to followed her around like a puppy. He had doe eyes that lingered on her butt every time she walked in front of him. Still, he seemed harmless, just enamored. “There is a hotel surplus store a couple miles from here. Gently used furniture from some high-end places.”

Mary thought about the sofa she and Glen had made love on. At the time she didn’t consider how many others might have gotten naked on the furniture. Now she cringed. Bringing that into her home . . . not gonna happen. “I think I’ll pass on that.”

The store she was in was filled with hard, contemporary edges and glass.

After cleaning up glass in her condominium for two weeks, she decided wood would be a better option.

“Any stores close by that have more traditional furniture?”

The butt-watching employee happily told her about several places to shop. He seemed to understand her budget restraints and guided her to those he thought would be best. Then he asked her for her phone number.

“I’m sorry. I have a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend, not husband?” The guy was still smiling.

“More like a fiancé.” She wasn’t sure where that stretch of the truth came from, but after Kent, she didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding.

“Fiancé is not a husband.”

She laughed and his enamored smile gave way to total player status. “You’re persistent. But I’m not interested.”

His eyes did the full body scan. “Can’t blame me for trying.”

“You have a nice day.” She turned to leave.

He called out after her, “It would have been if you’d said yes.” He was still flirting with her.

Mary waved a hand in the air but didn’t turn around as she walked out the door.

The next store leaned toward what she wanted but wasn’t perfect. Unlike the last one, with flirty player guy, this store had very few salespeople on the floor. Every once in a while, Mary felt someone watching and thought for sure a salesman stood in the wings just waiting for her to show interest in something.

By the time lunch rolled around, she stood in the sixth store of the day. Maybe it was the heat that was climbing up into the hundreds or the fact she was hungry . . . or perhaps the sheer desire to get the job done, but the sixth store was the one she found her furniture in.

Full, rounded armrests and sturdy wooden end tables along with great prices. Sold!

It took over an hour to complete the paperwork and schedule a delivery, a delivery that cost twice as much since she lived in Orange County. Still, the furniture price offset the delivery charge.

She ate lunch at one of the many small fast food Mexican restaurants the valley offered. The dollar tacos were always good, but she always felt a little out of place when eating them. As much as Mary attempted to tame her hair, by the middle of the day it took on a life of its own. And when a fair-skinned, blue-eyed blonde walked into an eatery that often only had dark-haired, brown-eyed patrons, she stuck out. Even the menu was only written in Spanish. Good thing she knew her way around the language enough to order food.

She took her steak tacos and chips to a table and checked her e-mail on her phone while eating. Mary ignored the feeling of being watched while she ate.

On her way home she kept an eye on her rearview mirror a little more than normal.

Calling herself stressed, Mary did what she hadn’t done in a while. She detoured toward the beach, which was filled with people beating the heat of the valley. With a floppy hat, a beach chair, a paperback, and a bottle of water, Mary found her Zen. She took a quick picture of her feet facing the waves and sent it off to Glen. She teased him with the message: Hope the rain isn’t too bad.

He sent a text a short time later of a dark sky and rain pouring in front of a streetlight. No such luck.

Mary dipped her toes into the sand and her head into the pages of the book.

She liked her life. Loved having Glen in it. Loved the simple enjoyment of babysitting for her BFF. Loved knowing that someone cared if she was at the beach or at work or home watching TV.

She finished her day grocery shopping and missed a call from Glen while she was in the store.

His message made her smile.

“Sorry I missed you to say good night. I’m exhausted and have to be up early tomorrow. I’ll dream of you.”

If his message wasn’t enough, the flowers on her doorstep when she got home had her smiling all night.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Mary met her Monday with a headache and a scratchy throat.

She was supposed to have breakfast with Dakota and Leo while Walt took the morning to check in with the ER.

“I just don’t want to get the baby sick, and I feel like I’m coming down with something.”