The Marriage List by Jean Joachim Page B

place for a night," he said, closing the
screen on her fireplace and standing up.
    The fire he laid jumped to life as flames
shot up and the small logs began to catch. He watched it and
grinned in satisfaction as he sat down on the sofa. Carrie put down
her glass of cabernet sauvignon and settled her right foot in his
lap. Grey took another sip, returned the glass to the coffee table
and began to massage Carrie's foot. She closed her eyes and sank
down into the sofa resting her head on a red print pillow leaning
against the arm.
    "Tough day?"
    "Hmm," she said with a nod, "but we always
talk about me. How about your day?"
    "A drag. I spend the whole day going over
figures for a new company, a solar farm. It was boring as
hell."
    "Are you going to invest in the farm?" She
asked, a small sigh of pleasure slipping out of her mouth as he
kneaded under the ball of her foot.
    "I don't know yet. Farms are risky but if
this one could exist only on solar power, it might work."
    Carrie picked up her right foot and moved her
left foot into his lap.
    "Do you have plans for Thanksgiving?" He
tried to keep his voice nonchalant.
    "Thanksgiving?" she asked her tone weary.
    "You know, the holiday that comes every
year…the third Thursday in November?" He teased.
    She shot him a dirty look.
    "I'm not brain-dead…not yet, anyway. I
usually spend it with my aunt Delia and whatever boyfriend is the
flavor of the month," she said.
    "Do you think she'd mind if you spent it with
me and my family?" He kept his tone even, but his pulse was racing,
listening for her response.
    Carrie sat up and raised an eyebrow.
    "Didn't Jenna say something about
Thanksgiving being a special holiday at your house?"
    "All holidays are special with my family…" he
began.
    "No, no, I specifically remember her saying
Thanksgiving."
    "Well…sort of, maybe. Might be. But it's just
the family."
    "This year you want it to be just the family
and me?"
    "I'd like that." His hand stopped rubbing and
closed around her small foot.
    "Delia's not the overly sentimental type…I
doubt she'd miss me that much and she definitely likes you…hmm,"
Carrie stroked a pretend beard on her chin.
    "So that means you'll come," he asked,
eyebrows raised.
    "If you want me to, sure," Carrie said,
grinning at him.
    "Great! You're coming!" Grey dropped her foot
to the side and pushed up off the sofa, rushing eagerly to the
balcony to make a call.
    He kept his voice low as he spoke to his
mother and watched Carrie sink into the sofa and close her
eyes.
    "So we're finally going to meet this mystery
woman of yours, eh?" His mother remarked.
    "Looks that way. She's coming for
Thanksgiving…"
    "Thanksgiving!"
    "Yes."
    "John! John! Grey's bringing his girl out for
Thanksgiving!" Grey heard his mother speaking to his father on the
side.
    "Gotta go, Mom."
    "Wonderful, dear. We're so happy she's coming
then."
    "Nothing out of the ordinary, okay?" he asked
with a tinge of worry in his voice.
    "I don't know what you're talking about."
    Grey laughed. "All right. I'll be ready for
anything." He said, running his hand through his hair.
    He heard his mother chuckle before she hung
up the phone and for a second he wondered if this was the right
move. Hell, what did he know about the right move? He'd never
gotten this close to a woman before and the confident businessman
realized he was navigating uncharted waters…completely out of his
element.
    By the time he got back to the sofa, Carrie
was fast asleep. He picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
Undressing her was a treat for him though it didn't appear he'd get
to do much more than enjoy looking at her. She tossed and stretched
but didn't seem to come fully awake. He took off his clothes, too,
and joined her in the bed.
    He switched off the light and turned on his
side, slipping his arm over Carrie's naked body and pulling her in
close to him. She sighed and placed her hand over his. He buried
his face in her neck breathing in the faint scent of her