Joe shot her an irritated look.She held his gaze and raised her eyebrows. “Are you going there?” The bell rang some more.“Can you stop ringing that frigging bell?” Joe snapped.“Are you going to the cabin?” Sarah asked again, the bell still dangling and ringing.His jaw clenched, Joe’s eyes briefl
Joe nodded, sticking with the non-committal smile. “Yes, I’m here for a little while, and Rick said I could come by and have this checked.” He raised his braced hand.“Oh, what did you do?” Mrs. Mayer asked.Joe shrugged. “Got two fingers stuck in a car door…”Like everyone before her, Mrs. Mayer cr
They still had forty minutes left until the Tower closed for the day.After a short discussion they decided to split up, so each of them could spend the remaining time the way she preferred. Ellen and June headed to the special exhibit on Henry VIII, Rachel wanted to see the Crown Jewels again and D
Picking the pen back up, he tried to concentrate on his notes again. He wanted to work on this until he was tired enough to go to bed and straight to sleep. That way he would be able to avoid brooding over things he didn’t want to think about.Unfortunately his mind had already started to drift off,
London, Swan Offices; 8:55 amThey had all met in the small conference room of the new Swan offices this morning to discuss some accounts that had, so far, been handled by Ellen and Rachel, but were going to be taken over by David and his team as of next month.Their first seminar at the conference
Maybe Aunt Tess wants to invite Thomas… Anyway, I’ve got to go. See you Thursday.”Somewhat alarmed by his sister obviously now preferring the extra ticket going to Thomas than to Jack, Joe decided to send a text message:Hey, Jack,have you talked to Sarah lately? Everything okay?Jack’s response c
David laughed as he told this. He shrugged and smiled in Colleen’s direction. “So,” he concluded, “In the end it was me who took the trip… And I’m actually glad that it was me instead of Harry.”Everyone laughed at the way he said it, and Colleen reached out, patted his shoulder and smilingly sighed
Lake cabin; 9:41 pmJoe was sitting cross-legged on the big bed in the cabin loft, a fire burning in the fireplace in the living area below. His computer on his lap, he was scrolling through his program, making small changes here and there.He had found a solution for his earlier problem and was now
“Let’s try,” she whispered and moved her hand down to his stomach.“Okay,” he put his hand back ontop of hers and slid his fingers between hers.It took only minutes until her breathing slowed down and a slight twitching of her hand told him that she was asleep again.Listening to her breathing and
Joe woke up around three, feeling really thirsty.It took him a second to grasp where he was (not in the cabin anymore) and that he was not alone.The realization caused a flash of excitement.D was sleeping far on her side of the bed.He remembered how she had always used to do that. No matter how
He was going for a mind-sweeping kiss here – one that would swipe her mind of any reservations there might still be. Even if, right now, she didn’t seem very reserved anyway. But he’d rather be absolutely sure…His own reservations were all gone by now. And having her so close just confirmed that ke
Three minutes later Joe returned, a chocolate bar in his left hand and a glass of milk in his right.“I see chocolate,” D chirped with a greedy grin. She had sat up and was leaning against the headboard. “Come here…” Like a lazy princess she waved for him to come over.Stopping at his desk, Joe set
“I don’t wanna mess this up…” he said, his gaze on the bedcover beside her head, his hand tracing one of the lines in the pattern.“Didn’t exactly feel like you were in the process of messing things up,” she said softly and reached out to touch his face.“You don’t think so, huh?” He leaned into her
Joe pushed himself away from the windowsill.“Guess I’ve really earned a jerk medal,” he contemplated as he stepped around the bed to her. “I’m sorry I didn’t pick up.”“Mhmm,” D growled, trying hard to unwaveringly hold his gaze as he came closer. “And you’re hopefully also sorry that you didn’t ca
He shrugged and kept glaring out the window. This had become kind of a habit - turning his back on people and staring into space. It was a bad habit he had developed thanks to Liz. It just helped him focus or stay composed, and it made it easier to get through situations he would rather avoid altoge
What she had before her, was part of the job ads from Saturday’s paper. One of the ads had her company’s swan logo on it. It was the ad for one of the jobs in London.Joe had gotten up from the bed again and returned to his desk. He pulled out the chair and sat down on it backwards so he was facing
D was rising from the bed with the intention to follow him. Only that she was momentarily strangely overwhelmed by something. Something indefinable that affected her more deeply than anything had in a long time.When it only got worse once she stepped out on the landing, a moist wave from the bathro