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.Jill laughed.It was more from relief than humor.Adam laughed along with her.When the laughter died, their eyes met and held.“I’m really glad you’re home, Jill,” he said, reaching across the table for her hand.“So am I.” Jill squeezed his hand.“Adam, you never did explain what you meant when you said you were ready to take your life in a different direction.You said we’d talk about it when I got home.I’m home now, sweetheart.”Adam’s face became shuttered.“I know—I spoke prematurely, honey.I…I may be changing jobs but it’s not something that’s set in stone.”“But—”“Please, Jill.Just be patient.I can’t talk about it just now.Okay?”Jill sighed.Would he ever fully open up to her?God, I’m still walking the edge at work and nothing is settled with SB&T.Adam gently kissed Jill’s forehead.“It’s nothing to worry your pretty head about, sweetheart.Just don’t mention this to anyone.As soon as I’ve thought this all out, I’ll let you know.”And Jill had to be content with that.Chapter TwentyJill could see that Adam was making an effort to come home at a more reasonable hour.If he was going to be late, he’d call and let her know.The declaration would come with a sincere apology.She was thankful for one thing.At least, he wasn’t flying off to Atlanta or wherever.This meant a great deal to her.Still, she couldn’t shake the ominous feeling that all this could change in a blink of an eye.It was as if she were waiting for the other shoe to drop.She finally got the chance to wear her new lingerie.It did knock his socks off—as well as the rest of what he was wearing.The sex that followed was hot.It also reinforced what she was learning: spicing up one’s sex life with visual stimulation worked.Perhaps a skin flick would help, too.While Jill was often thinking about sex, which was undeniably an unintended consequence of her romance writing, she was toying with the idea of having a baby.This thought was growing stronger with each passing day.She was merely waiting for the right moment to discuss it with Adam.It would be an undeniable declaration of their love that would cement their relationship and make the house truly a home.Even though Jill was well into the fifth chapter of her new book, she’d been putting off sending Robin Wyckoff a synopsis.After receiving an email stipulating that whatever she sent would not be engraved in stone, Jill finally put together a working synopsis and sent it expecting an email back in return with Robin’s comments.Instead Jill got a phone call.“Hey there! How's my favorite author?” Robin said with her usual enthusiasm.“Watch it! We don't want to hurt your other authors’ feelings.”“They’re in awe of you, girl.Trust me.”“Is this a good call or a bad call about my plot line?”Robin laughed.“Around here, we don't use bad and your name in the same sentence.”“I'll bet.So, what's the verdict?”Jill had been pacing as she spoke to Robin and stopped to hear the answer of this question.In fact, she held her breath.“I like it, but…”“But you got a zillion suggestions, right?”“Yeah, but not a zillion, babe.”“Well, I guess that's a relief,” Jill replied.“I can deal with a half-million.”“Hey, cool it.I’m the funny girl remember?”“Sorry to step on your toes,” Jill replied with laughter bubbling inside her.“And don't you forget it,” Robin said and they both laughed.When the laughter died down, Robin grew a tad more serious.“Listen, instead of doing this via email, why don't you meet me for lunch in Manhattan tomorrow and we can discuss things face-to-face.Emails aren’t immediate and are often misinterpreted.Besides, I miss you and could use a decent lunch.”Jill rolled her eyes at Robin’s mention of food.“Tomorrow's good.Where and when?”“I know just the place.It's been open forever and has a great business menu.It's called The Palm and it's on 2nd Avenue.Google it and you'll see what I mean.Will you be coming in by train?”“Yeah.It's the easiest.I don't have to worry about parking.Hold on a sec while I get the train schedule.”Jill retrieved the train schedule to Manhattan from Locust Valley and brought it back to the phone.“The best time for me would be if I left at 10:39.That would put me in Penn Station at 11:48.The next train is much later and you'd probably starve waiting for me.So figure around noon.Is that good for you?”“That's perfect.See you then.”While Jill was printing out a hard copy of her synopsis, she took Robin's advice and Googled “The Palm.” It seemed to be a colorful place with quite a history.It was opened in 1926 by Pio Bozzi and John Ganzi and was still run today by members of the original families.The restaurant became known for its steak, even though steak hadn’t been on the original menu.It became a staple because of demand.Whenever a patron asked for a steak, somebody had to run to a butcher to purchase one.Eventually, they got tired from running back and forth, she thought.The restaurant’s walls were covered with portraits.Artists would often pay for their meals by painting portraits or caricatures of notable patrons on the wall.Jill also checked out the business lunch menu.Robin was right.It did look good and she was looking forward to having lunch at The Palm [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]