Falling Awake

me. As I was saying, it’s clear that I deliberately manipulated all of my relationships, including ours, in such a way that there was no hope of long-term success.”
    Ian’s gaze was flickering wildly back and forth between the half-eaten pickle and the region behind her chair.
    “I don’t really see the point,” he said.

    “The point is that I was the one who made sure that things stayed in the safe zone. I was never in any real danger of falling in love. And deep down that’s just the way I wanted it.”
    “That’s very interesting,” Ian said weakly. “But—”
    “I know what you’re about to say.” She held the pickle straight up to stop him. “You’re going to ask me why I wanted to play it safe. What motivated me to go out of my way to see to it that every relationship I ever had fizzled before it could grow into something deeper and more intimate.”
    “Uh—”
    “The answer is obvious to me now, thanks to you.”
    “Well, hey, that’s great.” Ian shoved himself to his feet again. “Glad I could help. But I really did not come here to talk about your problems with relationships.”
    “Don’t you want to hear why I’ve had those problems?”
    “Not really.” He was trying very hard not to look at either the pickle or the space behind her chair. “I’ve got to be on my way. Long drive back to the center.”
    “Don’t rush off on account of me,” Ellis said to Ian.
    “Ellis.” Isabel turned in her chair. She smiled up at him. “I didn’t know you were here. Meet Ian Jarrow. He and I were colleagues at the center. Ian, this is Ellis Cutler. He’s my new client.”
    There was no need to add the fact that Ellis was also her new lover. She could see from Ian’s nervous expression that he had already figured that out for himself.
    “Jarrow.” Light flashed ominously on the lenses of Ellis’s dark glasses when he nodded at Ian.

    “Cutler.” Ian stepped back as if he were afraid Ellis might bite. “Nice to meet you,” he said woodenly. “Izzy, I’ll call you.”
    “Bye, Ian. Sorry for the wasted trip.” She ate another bite of pickle. Juice squirted. “Tell everyone back at the center that I said hello.”
    “Sure.” Ian turned and hurried away.
    Isabel looked at Ellis. “What are you doing here?”
    Ellis watched her finish the pickle. “I thought I’d take a break from going through those files and have lunch with you. But it looks like you’ve already eaten.”
    She examined the empty plate and the remains of the pickle. “No problem, I’m still hungry.”
    “I like a woman with a healthy appetite.” He watched Ian vanish through the lobby doors. “Did Randolph Belvedere send him here to try to talk you into returning to the center?”
    “Uh-huh.” She licked pickle juice off her fingers. “I declined and then I started to tell him why all of my previous relationships, including the one I had with him, failed so miserably.”
    “Sounds like a real compelling topic of conversation.”
    “Apparently Ian didn’t think so.” She frowned at the lobby doors. There was no sign of Ian. “I think you scared him off, Ellis.”
    “Don’t blame his speedy departure on me.” Ellis lowered himself into the chair that Ian had just vacated. He pushed the plate of uneaten food aside and smiled at her. “It was your fault.”
    “Because I tried to talk to him about my failed relationships?”
    “Doubt it. I think it had something to do with the way you ate that pickle.”

    They both looked at the plump, wet, round-headed pickle sitting on Ian’s plate.
    Isabel felt herself turn very pink. She cleared her throat.
    “It does sort of resemble a—” She broke off.
    Ellis nodded somberly. “Yes, it does, doesn’t it? And you ate every bite. A sight like that could make some guys nervous.”
    “But not you,” she said, oddly satisfied by that knowledge.

25
    i sabel’s phone rang shortly after five o’clock that afternoon. She had just gotten out of her last class and her thoughts were on dinner. Food seemed to be playing a major role in her day, she reflected.
    She took the call as she walked across the parking lot to her car.
    “Hello?”
    “Ms. Wright? This is Tom out at Roxanna Beach Self Storage.”
    Alarmed, she held the phone to her ear with one hand and fumbled for her keys with the other. “Is there a problem? I paid for the first two months’ rent in cash, just as the manager insisted.”
    There was a slight pause on the other end of