Fed up

parents, who convinced him that I hadn’t stolen a beat-up van that no one would even dream of stealing. Giving up on Leo for the day, I left to exchange the supposedly stolen van for my Saturn. On the way, I called my mother and fed her an improbable tale about scouting out neighborhoods where people might be interested in rain barrels.
    “You’re not even working this week, Chloe,” my mother said with exasperation. “You have the week off to help with the wedding. And the next time you take one of our vans, you’d better let us know!”
    “Promise.” I said. And meant it! I wanted never again to face the kind of public humiliation I’d just experienced.
    “While I have you on the phone, I had a call from Robin. She thinks she left her cell phone at our house.”
    “She did. I have it.”
    “Chloe! Why haven’t you let her know? She is a producer for a television station, and I’m sure she needs it back. What is going on with you?”
    “Nothing. I’ll call her as soon as I get home.”
    I hung up feeling grumpy and frustrated. While learning nothing about Leo, I’d pissed off my mother. When I reached my condo, I dug up Robin’s home number and left her an apologetic message saying that I had her cell phone and would be happy to return it anytime. Then I cleaned the apartment and spiffed myself up for Josh’s arrival. The first half of the day had stunk, but maybe the evening with my boyfriend would compensate.
     

 
    WHEN Josh arrived, I threw my arms around him and kissed him deeply. When we finally came up for air, he said, “Well, it’s nice to see you, too.”
    I ran my hands through his hair and looked into his blue eyes. “I was beginning to forget what you looked like. You’re very cute, you know that?” He did look cute. Cute and tired.
    Josh pulled me with him as he collapsed on the couch. “You’re not so bad yourself.” He snuggled me into his body and shut his eyes.
    I sighed inwardly. Maybe if I let him take a nap, he’d perk up.
    Josh’s phone rang. He growled and sat up. “Now what do they want? I’ve been gone twenty minutes!”
    When Josh wasn’t at Simmer to supervise, the staff routinely called him about supposed emergencies. Despite having a strong sous-chef, Snacker, the restaurant seemed practically unable to function without Josh. Our romantic moments were forever being interrupted because someone couldn’t find the order sheets or because the stove wasn’t working properly or because the produce bill hadn’t been paid or... The list was endless.
    “Oh, it’s not them,” Josh said, meaning his staff. To me, he said, “Hold on, I have to take this.” He stood up and walked into the kitchen as he talked. “Hi, this is Josh Driscoll.”
    I trailed after him and wrapped my arms around his waist. I could make out the sound of a woman’s voice coming from the phone.
    “Yeah, that sounds good. Can I call you back, though?” Josh sounded strange. Embarrassed, maybe? “Okay, thanks.” He hung up.
    “Who was that?” I asked.
    “No one. Don’t worry about it. I’m going to take a shower, if that’s all right.” He loosened my arms from his body and slipped his phone into his pocket.
    “Sure. What do you want to do for dinner? I could make something, if you trust me to feed a chef of your caliber.”
    “Actually I’m meeting up with Digger later.”
    “Oh,” I said, unable to disguise the disappointment in my voice.
    “It’s just kind of a guy thing tonight. That’s all.” Josh went into the bathroom and ran the water in the shower while I sat dejectedly at the kitchen table. “Are you upset?” he called from the shower.
    I poked my head into the bathroom. “Kind of. I mean, I feel like I’ve hardly seen you.” After a pause, I said, “That’s because I have hardly seen you.”
    It was quiet for a moment, and then Josh spoke. “I guess it would be all right if you came.”
    Irritated, I said, “I don’t want to be a third wheel or anything.”
    Josh pulled the curtain back and peeked out. “You won’t. I want you to come.” He puckered his lips and blew me an exaggerated kiss.
    I blew a kiss back and planted myself on the toilet seat to talk to him. How pathetic is that? I was so desperate for time with my boyfriend that not only was I going to barge in on his guys’ night out, but I was stalking him while he took a shower.
    “So how has work been?” I asked. “I’m getting the impression that there have been a lot of