“Fine, but you’re taking me somewhere nice,” Whitney said.
“I intend to.”
“Oh. Well, fine then.”
“So let’s go.”
Whitney’s mouth dropped wide. “Now? I’ve?—”
“I believe you’ve met your match, sister.” Carina got up and walked out. “Have fun.”
Matthew took his phone out and texted a message, then tucked it back into his pocket.
“Okay, well, let me shut everything down.” Whitney turned off her computer.
He watched her scurry behind her desk, and if he didn’t know better, he might think she was buying time, hoping he’d back out or say he was kidding.
His phone pinged. He looked and was pleased to see the message. The owner of the finest establishment in the city had just answered his request. “Our table is waiting. I hope you enjoy a good steak.”
“As much as the next gal. Where are we going?”
“The Butcher Block.”
“No. Impossible. We need a reservation,” Whitney said, looking smug. “It takes months to get in there.”
“Not if you know someone.” He turned his phone toward her.
She read the message out loud. “Your table is waiting for you, my friend. Come on over.” She breathed a sigh. “And you really didn’t already have this planned?”
He shook his head.
“Then I’m impressed. Let’s go.”
He resisted placing his hand on the small of her back as he held the door for her. Overall, he was pretty pleased with the turn of events tonight. “You’re okay with walking over since it’s such a beautiful night?”
“Sure.”
They walked in silence. Soon, the turn came up where they could view his mural from the street. He was happy with how it was shaping up. All there was left to do now was some outlining to accent the images and give it more depth, and he fully intended to let Cammy and Sam take the lead on that.
Whitney didn’t seem to notice, so he didn’t mention it—not wanting to sound like he was fishing for a compliment. All that mattered was that he was happy with it, anyway.
He stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
She took two steps and realized he’d stopped. She turned with a questioning look.
“This is where we technically met,” he said.
She looked ahead and behind her. “Yeah, I guess it is.” Recognition crossed her expression when she saw the mural on the building and gave him a wry grin. “This is your project. You know, I’m not usually a fan of murals.” She looked on, and he let her quietly take it in.
There was a lot going on in the mural. A replica of the town in years gone by with the original turn-of-the-century buildings,river boats in the distance, and a lot more green than was here today.
“I bet you could see so much back then.” She didn’t take her eyes off it.
“Do you like it?”
“This is where you were working when the storm came through?”
He nodded. “On the top level of scaffolding.”
