“How?” I moved my hands down his back.

“I don’t know, maybe use a limp. Or a facial tic.”

“Oh, yeah, the studio will love that.” I laughed. “Their sexy leading man shows up as Ratso Rizzo.” I massaged down his back until my hands slipped under his briefs.

“Hey, not now, I’m concentrating.”

“Sorry.” I tried to keep the rejection out of my voice and sat up. “So, when do we leave?”

“We?” Brett sat up. “No, Jackie, you can’t come with me.”

“But—”

“I need to focus, honey. And the schedule is going to be grueling. Most days we’ll be out riding.”

“I’ll wait at the hotel.”

“Honey, this is not Paris. It’s Yuma. They’re putting us up in a motel. There isn’t even room service.”

“I’ll go sightseeing,” I whined.

“There is nothing to see. You’ll be bored out of your mind.”

“I don’t care.” Tears filled my eyes. I hated being alone. I also drank way less when Brett was around. Left to my own devices, I might revert to old behaviors. Naturally, I couldn’t tell him this. Brett made a religion out of self-control.

“I’ll be home every weekend,” he reassured me.

“I’ll miss you,” I fought back emotion.

“I’ll miss you more,” Brett said. “But I’ll see you bright ‘n early every Saturday morning.” He kissed my forehead and went back to his script.

Another thing I loved about Brett; he was a man of his word. He didn’t promise to be somewhere and then run off to Vegas with the boys. Most days, he was up at seven and asleep by midnight, and though that could get boring, I appreciated his stability.

The back doorbell was still ringing.

“Arzelda! Tell them to take the dumbbells out of the boxes before they bring them upstairs!”

Quickly, I cleared the space in the corner where the racks were to go. Making a gym for Brett was a purely selfish act. Brett loved to work out and I loved having him home. I’d done a ton of research. After all, I was in competition with every private gym in the city. If I gave Brett the best equipment, then he wouldn’t go outside our home to do his pumping.

“Arzelda! What’s taking so long?” I yelled.

Arzelda appeared at the door, slightly out of breath. “Sorry, missus. Is a lady, say she know you.”

“A lady?”

She nodded.

“Who?” I asked impatiently. I was disappointed that the equipment hadn’t arrived; Brett would be home in a few days, and I wanted everything ready.

Arzelda shook her head. “She not say.”