Page 56 of The Sound of Harmony

ChapterFourteen

Sunday morning, Emma drank her coffee and got ready for work in a haze of frustration. Yesterday had been awkward and stilted and it was her fault. Kendrick had been happy to see her and eager to touch her, and what had she done? She’d gone immediately into defense mode.

She’d blamed her professional reputation, and he’d accepted that. For the rest of the day, he’d treated her like a respected colleague. That’s what she’d asked for, wasn’t it? So why was she feeling so conflicted?

Probably because of that kiss. If that’s what a travel-worn, distracted Kendrick could do with his lips, what could he do when he was well-rested and sharp?

Best not to dwell on that. She had work to do.

At nine o’clock, she opened Kendrick’s house for the cleaners she’d hired, and then rushed off to do a basement organization for a client who’d discovered her on Pinterest. She called Kendrick on the way there, putting him on speaker while she drove. “How are you today?” she asked.

“Better. Want to come over? I can lock Mitch in a closet like I used to do when we were little.”

“Did you really?”

“Not really. None of the closets had locks.”

Emma could almost hear Kendrick’s body language. His voice was buoyant and she imagined him bouncing on his toes as he spoke. She unclenched the tight grip she’d had on the steering wheel as she drove across the Scobal River toward campus. “Anyway, I can’t,” she said. “I’m on my way to another job.”

Kendrick gasped in mock alarm. “You’re cheating on me?”

“What made you think I was exclusively yours?”

“Foolish hope, mostly. Keeps me going most days.”

“I thought you lived on luck.”

“Ah. You’ve been talking to Gwendolyn.”

“Yep.” She’d had a long talk with her sister last night.

“I didn’t start on the right foot with your sister,” Kendrick said. “I think Mitch was trying to help, but…”

“Gwendolyn thinks Mitch is an oaf,” Emma finished for him.

“An oaf, huh?”

“Her word.”

“Accurate,” Kendrick said. “Mitch is an oaf.”

“Hey!” This from Mitch in the background. He’d been listening. The next thing Emma heard was loud rhythmic banging. Was he hammering something? The sound faded, as if Kendrick had walked to another room.

Emma slowed her truck as she drove through campus, which was an easy shortcut to the newer housing developments on the south side of town. Some hungover kids stumbled across the street in front of her, while bright-eyed joggers and women with yoga mats passed the other way.

“One more day until I move into my own place,” Kendrick said. His voice was glossy, like a soap bubble shining in the sun.

“What are you looking forward to most?” Emma asked.

“Sleeping in my own bed. Doing other things in my bed. Coaxing you into my bed. How much coaxing will it take, do you think? Because any amount is fine with me, but I’d like to make sure my expectations are realistic.”

There was no way to answer that and he knew it. Was she supposed to give him a timetable? Even she wasn’t that organized. She drove in silence past the elementary school and down a street of houses with stubby trees and new lawns.

“Forget I asked that,” Kendrick said when the silence had stretched too long. “How about we start with dinner? I’ll take you to your favorite restaurant.”

“Yes.” Dinner, she could do. Like a real date, face to face, with conversation and laughter. Definitely yes. “But nothing fancy, okay? Let’s go to Casa Mucho.”

“Is that where you go to get too many tacos?”