Выбрать главу

At the table, Rose was going through her own mental turmoil. She hugged the purring feline and blinked back emotions flowing too close to the surface.She watched as Ronnie reached into the cupboard for the plates.Rose wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or disappointed. Her heart insisted on the latter.

Ronnie put the two plates on the table. “You need anything more to drink before I sit down?”

“No, this is fine, thank you.” The young woman never looked up from her plate, yet she knew those stunning blue eyes were staring at her. “It smells wonderful.” She picked up her knife and fork and went through the motions of cutting up her meat. Ronnie headed for the opposite side of the small round table, then stopped herself and sat down next to Rose.

“There’s more vegetables if you want them.”

“No, this is good.” The young woman continued to push her meat around her plate.

Ronnie could only sit by helplessly and watch as Rose withdrew into herself. She hated the tension hanging in the air but was not quite certain what to do or say to break it. “Um, if you have any questions about trucks, uh, maybe I can answer them for you.”she chastised herself. “I mean…” she stopped for a second when the blonde head lifted to meet her gaze. “I mean…I hate this awkwardness.” They shared a small smile before Rose lowered her head again.

“I’m not especially thrilled with it myself.”

“So talk.”

“I don’t know what to say,” the young woman said in a quiet voice. Ronnie’s heart ached for the pain she heard there. Without a thought she reached over and laid her hand on top of Rose’s. The gently returned squeeze let her know the touch was welcome.

“Just say what’s on your mind.”

Several bites of steak disappeared before Rose spoke. “Have you had a lot of trucks?”

“Um…” It was not the question Ronnie was expecting. “No, Christine was the only one.”

“Oh.” Rose withdrew her hand and began to cut up more meat.

“You can’t look at me and talk about this, can you?”

“No.” A slow blush crept up her neck. “I never was any good talking about that kind of stuff.”

“More into action than words, eh?” Ronnie’s joke did exactly what she hoped it would. Rose smiled at her and gave a playful swat.

“Actually, when it comes to that, I’m not really very good in either category.” She relaxed slightly, maintaining the eye contact for several seconds before looking down again. “I haven’t had the experience.”

“You mean….”“B-but when you got caught in the driveway?” She watched the cute blush return to Rose’s face.

“We weren’t doing ‘that’. We were working our way up to it when we got caught.” She pushed her plate away, giving up the pretense of eating. Ronnie did the same. “After that, well…it just never happened.”

Ronnie fought to keep the smirk off her face. “So you’ve um…never…” The smirk refused to be hidden and she had to look away. “…um, been taken for a test drive?”

“Stop laughing.” Rose feigned anger but the sparkle in her eyes gave her away. “No. No one’s taken me for a test drive.” She shot a devilish look at the dark-haired woman. “That’s not to say that no one’s looked under the hood.”

“We can’t start this again.” Ronnie drained her mug and stood up. “Since dinner obviously is over, let’s go into the living room and relax on the couch.”

“I’ll bring the eclairs.”

“Don’t bother for me.” Rose watched her friend reach into the refrigerator and remove a beer.

“Can I have one of those?”

Ronnie looked at her quizzically. “What about your Percocet? I thought you weren’t supposed to drink with that.”

“I haven’t had any today and I won’t take any tonight.” Rose was by no means a drinker but at that moment her mouth was so dry she was certain she could drain a six pack with no problem.

“All right,” the older woman replied hesitantly.She plucked two glasses from the rack and followed her friend into the living room.

She set the beers and glasses on the coffee table just as Rose was getting ready to transfer herself from the wheelchair to the couch. “Here, let me help.”

“I can do it.”

“It’s easier if I help.” She stepped forward and lowered her head. It had been too long since Rose let her help and she missed the feeling of holding the young woman in her arms. One arm slipped behind the back and she felt smaller arms wrapping around her neck.As she put her other arm under Rose’s legs and lifted she nudged the wheelchair out of the way with her knee. Instead of putting her precious bundle down right away, Ronnie held Rose safely in her arms and gazed down at the face she loved.she thought as her eyes fell upon the soft pink lips so close to her own. In the back of her mind she knew that a kiss would not be protested. As fate sometimes found the need to be cruel, Rose had to shift, causing the hard plaster of her cast to rub against Ronnie’s forearm. It was an instant reminder to the executive of all the reasons not to act on her feelings. She set her friend down quickly but gently, turning away before she changed her mind. She walked around to the other side of the couch and sat sideways on the far cushion. A quick twist of her wrist and the beer was open. Ronnie didn’t bother with the glass, taking several deep swallows straight from the bottle. “Do you want some background music?”

“Sure.” To Rose, anything was better than the deafening silence. Ronnie fiddled with the different remotes until she found the right one. She adjusted the volume to a point where they could barely hear it, then set the remote on the table. She opened the other beer and poured it into a glass without comment, then passed it to Rose. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” Ronnie settled back against the arm of the couch and took another tug on her beer. They looked at each other, silently hoping the other would begin. A song started and ended without a sound from either woman. “Well, this is productive,” the executive finally said.