Читать книгу With This Ring - Lee McKenzie, Lee Mckenzie - Страница 7

Leslie set out two plates, the take-out boxes and the chopsticks. She was putting away the groceries when Brent came into the kitchen. He set the bucket and tools on the porch and closed the French doors. When he turned around and looked at her, the kitchen suddenly felt as small as the bathroom.

“Um, I guess we’re ready to eat,” she said.

“Would you like a glass of wine with dinner?” he asked. “I bought white. I hope that’s okay.”

“Thanks. I’d love some. Do you mind if I use your phone to check my messages?”

“You can use the phone anytime you like.” He opened and closed one drawer, then another, and finally produced a corkscrew. “I knew I had one of these somewhere. You expecting an important call?”

“Not really. I just wondered if people are still looking for me.”

“I think it’s safe to say they are. Do you plan to return the calls?”

She shook her head.

“Then why don’t you leave the messages till you’re ready to deal with them?”

Good question. “In case you’re wondering, I’m not checking to see if Gerald called.”

“You think he would?” Brent uncorked the bottle and took a wineglass out of a cupboard.

She shrugged. “Someone called earlier, twice, and hung up.”

He glanced up at her.

“I checked my messages while you were out. I’m sure it wasn’t him, though.”

“Right.” He gestured toward the phone. “Be my guest.”

“Thanks.” But as soon as she heard the eight new messages and deleted them, she wished she hadn’t checked. For one thing, she knew Brent could probably hear them, too. Four were from Allison, who said she’d sent her husband to Leslie’s place three times to see if she was there. She might never go home if it meant having to deal with people calling incessantly and showing up at her door.

As she deleted the last message, she watched Brent pour wine into the glass. After she hung up, he handed it to her.

“Aren’t you having any?” she asked.

“Not a big fan.” He grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge, twisted off the cap and touched the rim to her wineglass. He opened a drawer and took out a fork and then, almost as an afterthought, grabbed a beer glass from the same cupboard the wineglass had been in.