So Much Trouble When She Walked In by Judy Angelo

that head of yours?”  When she just shook
her head, looking crestfallen but saying nothing, he reached over and grasped
her hand.  Something was definitely wrong but she wasn’t talking…and he needed
to find out.
    “I…it’s
nothing.”  She shook her head then she bit her lip.
    Now
he was beginning to get really concerned…and angry.  If something was wrong,
why the hell was she acting like a clam?  “Don’t give me that ‘it’s nothing’
crap.  Tell me what’s wrong or else I’ll talk to Suave,” he fixed his narrowed
gaze on her, “and I don’t know if you want that.”
    She
frowned and tried to pull her hand away but he refused to let her go.  She
wasn’t going to get off that easily, not without him finding out what was
wrong.  She pulled again and when she saw that he had no intention of releasing
her she gave a defeated sigh.
    “Are
you going to talk?” he asked.
    She
shook her head.  “Not here, not now.”  She looked around the yard, her gaze
bleak, and she was like a little girl lost.
    “We’ll
talk tonight then.  I can come to see you.”
    She
shook her hear again.  “No, not at my place.  I don’t want…Suave to know how
upset I am.  Somewhere else.”
    “Do
you want to come over to my house?”  He asked the question but he really didn’t
want to go there, not after what had happened last time. 
    She
shrugged.  “I guess so.”  Then she looked up at him.  “Is Reed still there?”
    “No,
he’s been back  in London two weeks now.”  Would that make a difference to her?
 They’d be all alone at the house.  His eyes roamed her face but there was no
change there.
    “Okay,
I’ll come over.  Seven o’clock.  I’ll talk to you then.”
    Before
he could say another word she got up and this time when she pulled her hand he
let it slide from his grasp.  Then he watched as she walked slowly back to the
office.
    That
evening Max prepared a light dinner for two, grilled salmon with wild rice and
asparagus.  He had no idea how long Silken planned to stay or even if she would
accept his offer of dinner.  He would just have to be prepared for anything.
    A
couple of minutes before the seven o’clock hour his doorbell rang and he went
to get it.  Silken was there, standing at the entrance like last time, but this
time she was alone.  And this time she looked quiet and subdued and vulnerable.
    He
gave her a smile.  “Come on in,” he said and opened the door wider so she could
step past him.
    He
took her coat then led her down the hallway to the den, the same place where they’d
so recently had their tiff.  He hated his living room – too huge, formal and
cold.  He almost smiled to himself, wondering if for her the den brought back
memories.  It certainly did for him.
    She
chose to sit in the single-seater La-Z-Boy.
    He
remained standing by the door.  “Would you like us to talk now?” he asked, “or
would you like to share dinner with me?  I did a little cooking this evening,
if you don’t mind trying it out.”
    That
made her smile.  “You?  Cook?  You actually know how to turn on the stove?”
    “Hey,
are you challenging me?” he growled, giving her a hearty glare.  “We can do a
cook-off anytime, anywhere.  Just say when.”
    “All
right, all right, no need to get competitive.”  She put up her hands as if in
self-defense but she was laughing.  It was good to see a real smile back on her
face.  “You can cook, I believe it.”  She slid out of the chair and onto her
feet.  “And I’d love to share your dinner.”  Then she gave him a wry smile. 
“To tell the truth, I didn’t feel much like eating today but now I’m starving.”
    The
twinkle was back in her eyes and it made Max wonder if she’d gotten over her
trouble of that morning.  But he wouldn’t ask.  They’d get to that soon enough.
    But
dinner with Silken was an unusually quiet affair.  After taking her first bite
and praising him for his culinary skills