A Place to Rest My Heart by Galen Rose Page B

dragging.
    Finally, I had a Sunday to myself. Tommy and Molly were off to Mass and to see some friends for the day, so after I managed to get myself out of bed and showered, I wandered over to their house and into their oh-so-well-stocked kitchen. I knew Molly would have left something yummy for me. She still felt sorry for me, having basically no cooking skills whatsoever. I did figure though that it was just a matter of time before she chained me to the counter and made me learn basic cooking 101.
    I was just sitting down to a plate of my favorite — blueberry pancakes — when Mr. Arrogant himself walked in. Molly had mentioned that Sean was only temporarily living there while his apartment was being fumigated. I had hoped to avoid him altogether. He grunted at me and headed to the coffee pot. I decided the best way to deal with him was to eat and get out of the kitchen as soon as possible. But instead of leaving the kitchen as he usually did when I was in it, he sat down. Great; and I was so looking forward to a quiet breakfast. Well I might as well try and be friendly. “Good morning.”
    “It’s noon,” he said pouring cream into his cup.
    I took a deep breath. “Good afternoon, then.” I even managed a smile.
    “Why are you so damn happy this morning?” He grumbled and took a drink of coffee.
    Another deep breath. I reminded myself that I was going to try and be nice and I was eating as fast as I could so I could get out of there. But my ambition was slowly drifting away and the pancakes were now starting to taste like cement. I sighed.
    “Look, Slick. I came here to eat my breakfast and to enjoy my first day off in four weeks.”
    “Oh, waaa, first day off? So you don’t count your extra-long lunch with Mike the other day as a day off?”
    I had to think for a moment; extra-long lunch? Lately my lunches with Mike had been working lunches on the run if we even had time to eat at all.
    “My extra long lunch? I … ” Sean didn’t even give me time to finish what I was going to say.
    “Sure. I guess you being Chase’s new darling that no one notices when you go off fooling around on company time.”
    A lovely shade of red mist filled my head and I counted to ten. Then I counted to ten again. Nope it didn’t work. I took the remainder of my breakfast over to the garbage can and threw it in. I counted to ten again. Nope. Still not working. I cleaned up my plate and counted again. No, not yet. Sean stood up. Maybe he sensed I was near complete and total annihilation. Maybe he wanted more of a fighting chance if I decided to deck him again. But I could tell he knew he had pushed too far. I’d like to think Chase would have been proud of the way I held my rising temper in check. I counted to ten again and quickly thought of my choices. Upending the bottle of syrup on his head or walking out. My hands itched to pick up the bottle and pour, but somehow I saw my way clear to actually smile at him.
    “I hope you have yourself a real nice day, Sean. I truly do. Now if you’ll excuse me I have a date.” I didn’t really have one, but I’d like to think that maybe — just maybe — that last little dig did some damage.
    Monday arrived with rain and my mood mirrored it. I had spent the prior day being thoroughly and totally pissed off at Sean. So much so, that I must have walked ten miles of the city before I managed to regain some sense of calm. Chase, being the calm and astute man he is, must have sensed I was in a pisser of a mood because as soon as I sat down at my desk he announced that I was going to be tested.
    “Tested? You didn’t say anything about a test.”
    “No I didn’t. Go get your sweats on. This one is physical.”
    Great. I’d had my brain tested all last week so why not test the body too? I headed to the locker room and found Mason already there, changing out of a gorgeous, dark blue skirt and jacket. Her silk shirt looked like fresh cream. Now, far be it from me to notice clothes or