“Diana is going on a picnic with me on Sunday afternoon, so she won’t be able to make it this week, Grace.”
Diana looked indignant. She cocked one eyebrow at Grace as she drawled, “That is the first I’ve heard of it!” Grace started to laugh.
Alex grinned. “Don’t you remember promising me a few weeks ago that when all the Philadelphia mess was cleared away, we would go on a picnic?” he asked, a deceptively innocent look in his eyes. She distrusted that look immediately.
“We never set a date and you know it!” she retorted, putting one hand on her hip as she shook her head.
Grace put in: “Next Sunday afternoon would be just fine with me, Diana. It doesn’t have to be this week.”
“There,” he said, looking smug. “See, now you have no choice in the matter.”
They said goodnight to the Bradshaws and Alex walked her to her car. She looked at him after unlocking her car door and there was an obstinate line to her jaw that he had never seen before.
She said softly, “We’ll see if I have a choice or not about that picnic.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, good!” he exclaimed. “I just love a fight!” She opened her mouth to argue that she had not been fighting and he held up a hand. “Not now, you’ll spoil what’s been a good evening. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to talk about it tomorrow!” she protested. “And I don’t want to go on the picnic either, so we might as well just drop the whole—”
She couldn’t talk any more, for he had clapped his hand over her mouth and was bundling her into her car swiftly. “Tomorrow,” he promised in her ear before slamming the door on her ejaculations.
“I was not fighting!” she muttered just after the door slammed. She saw rather than heard Alex begin to laugh, and turned her head away. Now she really was determined not to go with him on that picnic!
Chapter Five
Friday morning dawned with a cheerful glow and Diana, feeling very refreshed after an extra hour of sleep, met it with a smile. It was a wonderful lack of tension that made her feel so exuberant, forcing her to acknowledge with a rueful twist of the mouth how much Alex’s absence and the consequent load of responsibility had affected her. Those weeks had been a veritable juggling act for both Diana and Alex. She juggled contracts and prospective buyers, and he had to deal with his workers, the repairs done at the Philadelphia foundry, the insurance companies, and the extra contract load that Diana threw at him as soon as she had the terms negotiated. Looking back, she wondered at the terrific strain that both she and Alex had worked under.
She had been so exhausted that she barely took the trouble to eat an evening meal before falling into bed. She wondered if he had felt the same way. He had apparently thrived on the extra work load. How had he felt in the evenings? Had he been too tired to want to eat, or had he taken the time to go out, and if he did go out, with whom did he go…? She shied away from that thought like a cat jumping from hot bricks. She pretended with a fine show of disdain that she didn’t want to know.
She dressed simply for the day, wearing a thin summer dress with tiny red and blue stripes running vertically on the white material. It was sleeveless and had a thin belt as its only accessory. Diana loved its comfortable fit. She checked the time quickly and hurried out of the apartment.
At the office, she spent a moment talking with Carrie before she went into the other room. She told Carrie about how enjoyable the evening had been with the Bradshaws and how much she had liked Grace. Then, bringing the discussion to a quick end, she hurried on into the inner room.
Alex was seated behind his desk when she entered and only briefly looked up. Handing her a pile of papers, he merely said, “These came in this morning, see what you can do with them.” Diana took them silently and sat down to work.
They spent the whole
Diana looked indignant. She cocked one eyebrow at Grace as she drawled, “That is the first I’ve heard of it!” Grace started to laugh.
Alex grinned. “Don’t you remember promising me a few weeks ago that when all the Philadelphia mess was cleared away, we would go on a picnic?” he asked, a deceptively innocent look in his eyes. She distrusted that look immediately.
“We never set a date and you know it!” she retorted, putting one hand on her hip as she shook her head.
Grace put in: “Next Sunday afternoon would be just fine with me, Diana. It doesn’t have to be this week.”
“There,” he said, looking smug. “See, now you have no choice in the matter.”
They said goodnight to the Bradshaws and Alex walked her to her car. She looked at him after unlocking her car door and there was an obstinate line to her jaw that he had never seen before.
She said softly, “We’ll see if I have a choice or not about that picnic.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Oh, good!” he exclaimed. “I just love a fight!” She opened her mouth to argue that she had not been fighting and he held up a hand. “Not now, you’ll spoil what’s been a good evening. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
“I don’t want to talk about it tomorrow!” she protested. “And I don’t want to go on the picnic either, so we might as well just drop the whole—”
She couldn’t talk any more, for he had clapped his hand over her mouth and was bundling her into her car swiftly. “Tomorrow,” he promised in her ear before slamming the door on her ejaculations.
“I was not fighting!” she muttered just after the door slammed. She saw rather than heard Alex begin to laugh, and turned her head away. Now she really was determined not to go with him on that picnic!
Chapter Five
Friday morning dawned with a cheerful glow and Diana, feeling very refreshed after an extra hour of sleep, met it with a smile. It was a wonderful lack of tension that made her feel so exuberant, forcing her to acknowledge with a rueful twist of the mouth how much Alex’s absence and the consequent load of responsibility had affected her. Those weeks had been a veritable juggling act for both Diana and Alex. She juggled contracts and prospective buyers, and he had to deal with his workers, the repairs done at the Philadelphia foundry, the insurance companies, and the extra contract load that Diana threw at him as soon as she had the terms negotiated. Looking back, she wondered at the terrific strain that both she and Alex had worked under.
She had been so exhausted that she barely took the trouble to eat an evening meal before falling into bed. She wondered if he had felt the same way. He had apparently thrived on the extra work load. How had he felt in the evenings? Had he been too tired to want to eat, or had he taken the time to go out, and if he did go out, with whom did he go…? She shied away from that thought like a cat jumping from hot bricks. She pretended with a fine show of disdain that she didn’t want to know.
She dressed simply for the day, wearing a thin summer dress with tiny red and blue stripes running vertically on the white material. It was sleeveless and had a thin belt as its only accessory. Diana loved its comfortable fit. She checked the time quickly and hurried out of the apartment.
At the office, she spent a moment talking with Carrie before she went into the other room. She told Carrie about how enjoyable the evening had been with the Bradshaws and how much she had liked Grace. Then, bringing the discussion to a quick end, she hurried on into the inner room.
Alex was seated behind his desk when she entered and only briefly looked up. Handing her a pile of papers, he merely said, “These came in this morning, see what you can do with them.” Diana took them silently and sat down to work.
They spent the whole
Similar Books
