McCoy turned from the stove with a start, when the door to the loft opened, almost an hour later. Wordlessly they made wary eye contact, before Malinowski went through her routine of setting her briefcase on beside the computer on the desk and discarding her suit jacket and shoes. McCoy eyes softened, realizing she was there to stay and not there not there to pack, as he turned his attention back to the skillet in front of him.
"If you're willing to share a meal with me, it's not too late for me to throw in another egg or two,"he said as she peeked over his shoulder at the contents of the skillet.
"If I didn't enjoy your home cooking so much, I wouldn't have come back," she replied with the faintest hint of a smile, as she reached for the open carton beside the stove."That and I was half to Islip before I remembered I don't have a house out there anymore."
McCoy smiled at the double meaning of the first statement, as well as the image of the second. He took the eggs from her and paused to hold her hand a moment, before adding the indgrients to the pan.
"I was half way to my apartment when I remembered…where I keep my eggs now."
Malinowski gave his free hand a squeeze as their eyes met.
"Nice save Jack, but you don't have to walk around on well…eggshells...with me,"she said with chuckle. "About the kidnapping... about the kidnapping or about anything else."
"I won't tell you she means nothing to me," he said earnestly, as he furiously whipped a fork through the contents of the skillet."But it's over and has been for a long time."
Malinowski nodded thoughtfully, before turning to pull some plates out from one of the cabinets.
"For the record, I wasn't spying on you. I walked in to the bar just a few steps behind Charlie Graham. When I saw you and Vanessa…I'll admit... I wanted to see where that kiss was going to go. Then Charlie came unglued and I wanted to hear more about how you handled that case…the one with the kidnapped girl. It sounds like I'm not the only damsel you put your white hat on, to rescue."
"I hardly did that," he said, more flustered than he wanted to admit."Green and Fontana found the girl. I just…"
"After you went against Arthur Branch and almost got yourself fired…maybe even disbarred."
"Charlie Graham has a big mouth," he said disparagingly, as he divided the eggs and handed her a plate and fork.
"The man is a George Clooney clone. He can get away with it," she said with a grin, as she sat down." But, Charlie aside,I still don't know why you stopped seeing her. She strikes me as your type of woman."
McCoy looked up sharply from his eggs to be sure her comment wasn't meant as the start of another battle of words. The sincerity in her expression immediately put his fears to rest.
"That's funny. Danielle and Abbie both almost had kittens when they found out I was seeing Vanessa. Danielle even had the nerve to tell me Vanessa looked trashy enough to be mistaken for a working girl posing as an attorney."
Malinowski stared at him incredulously for a long moment before she started to giggle.
"I forgot for a second we were talking about Danielle Melnick. She wouldn't be one to mince words," she said, thoughtfully moving the eggs around on her plate."She's wrong though, isn't she? As much as I hate to say it; Vanessa's not trashy, is she Jack? She's exciting and fun. She probably got you doing things you never thought you'd do."
"She didn't get me to propose," he countered uncomfortably."Where are you going with this, Brooke?"
Malinowski deliberately filled her mouth and took her time before swallowing the scrambled eggs. She knew she was pushing the issue, but she couldn't help herself. A month before she would have dealt with Vanessa Galiano, or any other woman that turned her sights on McCoy, with cutting humor or she would have blatantly marked her sexual territory by greeting her lover with a kiss that would have left both McCoy and Galiano staggering at its finish. The only good thing that came out of drenching Galiano, was the knowledge that Malinowski had been restrained enough not to have made her fiancée the recipient of the shower of tomato juice.
When she saw McCoy enjoying a kiss with his former lover, his current lover saw the woman she had been, before the kidnapping. But that woman, the woman that challenged McCoy to make love on a deserted beach, didn't seem to exist anymore.
Malinowski's mind told her a month was more than too soon, to expect herself to have healed completely. But her emotions told her with every passing day she was losing ground…getting further away from who she had been before…
"We can't keep skirting around the issue Jack. I can't," she said as she took the fork out of his hand."I know you love me. I know you think you're protecting me…Jack... I'm not going to break if you touch me."
"Maybe not physically, but emotionally, I'm not so sure," he said with candidness, that surprised them both.""The times we've tried …Brooke if we force it and I hurt you in anyway…I'm not so sure I could live with that. Not after everything else you've been through."
"Then we have a big problem," she said as she stood, still holding his hand,"If we don't force it…if we don't try and succeed one way or another, I know I can't live with that."
McCoy stayed where he was. He watched as she came around to his side of the table and took a place on his lap. As her arm went around his neck, his went around her waist. As their kiss became more passionate, McCoy could feel the buttons of his shirt being opened and soon a warm, trembling hand ran itself over his chest.
As his body began to respond to her touch, he admitted to himself that Malinowski was right. Sooner or later it ,would come down to taking a leap of faith, taking things to their natural conclusion and hoping nature would take its course.
As he ended the kiss, he pressed her to him, only to hear the sound of a disappointed sigh.
"Brooke, it's not what you think," he said reassuringly."I agree. We can't go on like we have. But tonight was supposed to be a celebration and I think..."
"How did you know? I never got a chance to tell you about the promotion."
McCoy pointed to the bright red button that flashed on the machine beside the phone, on the countertop.
"When I came in, Jake was leaving a message for you. He mentioned your getting the EADA spot in the message. I hope you're ready to put in more overtime and to get less thanks for doing it," he said with a knowing grin.
" I Wouldn't have it any other way," she replied firmly."You're right. Tonight was supposed to be a celebration. That is reason enough tonight should be the night..."
McCoy shook his head, as his grin became more rogish.
"That's reason enough for me to plan something special, something I think will please you. But, good things only come to those who wait. Trust me. You won't regret it."
