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“I- uh- can I help with anything?” Callie shot him a look that told him she knew he was studying her. Her face burned bright, but he wasn’t actually sure if the blush was just her fair skin flushed after being in the cold for so long.
“No- I- I’ve got it under control. Unless you want to set the table.” He nearly winced. He shouldn’t ask his guest to set the table.
Callie nodded. “I guess I can do that. As long as it doesn’t require candles and we keep the lights on.”
It finally dawned on him that she was talking about the whole romantic dinner for two atmosphere. “I planned on leaving the lights on.” He pointed towards one of the cupboards on his left. “The plates are in there. And below that, in that drawer, is the cutlery.”
“Okay.”
Despite the fact it wasn’t her house and she was probably nervous as hell, though she did her best to hide it, Callie made quick work of the table. And he managed to put on a pot of water and get the rest of the herbs chopped for the sauce.
“You have a nice place.” Callie leaned on the other side of the island. She was attempting a casual pose, but he could see how uncomfortable she was in the rigid set of her jaw and shoulders.
“Thanks.”
“I didn’t expect anything less.”
He rolled his eyes. “Also, thanks?”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I just- it was what I imagined.”
“It was a good deal. I bought it as sort of an investment. It needed quite a bit of fixing up. The previous owners actually foreclosed on it. And before you ask, no, my parents didn’t help me out with it. At least not with the money part of it. Some of the renovations, yes.” Callie looked a little taken aback. He had to laugh. “What? You can’t imagine me lifting a hammer and doing anything myself? I might push paper around for a living all day, but I do have some other hidden talents.” He was pretty sure now that the pink hue riding high on Callie’s cheeks was a blush.
“I guess I just thought- because you’re rich that-”
“I’m not that rich. I make a good living, but that doesn’t mean I’m drowning in money. My parents are well off and I had nice things growing up. I also have two brothers. We didn’t have the best of everything. My dad worked hard for what they have. And I paid for college by working part-time, and, I went to public school. And I didn’t go to an Ivy League before you ask.”
“I- well- I wasn’t-”
“Yes, you were. I have a regular business degree just like everyone else. I just happen to be good with numbers and better with people and that served me well.”
“Everyone says you’re a good manager,” she admitted, then looked embarrassed at letting that little piece of information slip.
Matt got the sauce going, just premade pasta sauce with a few added fresh herbs, and put the pasta into the boiling water. He made sure everything was at the right temperature and turned back to Callie. She was staring at him but dropped her eyes quickly back to the counter.
“Did you have fun tonight? No, scratch that. I know you did. Was it really so bad? Letting yourself enjoy the evening?”
Her head snapped up and her lips shifted upwards at the corners. He thought he spotted a dimple on her left cheek, but the smile was too small to actually produce it.
“I guess I had a good time. Although, I’m pretty sure that anyone would have. It was a good choice. I didn’t even know you could do sledding like that. And not having other people there- I guess that was pretty cool.”
“It’s definitely better at night. It reminds me of being a kid. My brothers and I would take our sleds to this hill a few blocks from our house. It was in a park, but that’s all the park was- a huge hill. We used to spend hours and hours sledding down there. It was always dark, and I thought it was so much better than in the daylight. There was just something- magical or whatever, about the night.”
“Really? I was always scared of the dark. My parents always said something would happen to me at night and that I had to be careful. That was when I was a kid. After that- I- I grew up and I guess it didn’t matter to them as much.”
Callie’s eyes flickered downwards, to the granite countertop. Matt had the feeling that she wasn’t just talking about the natural progression of getting older and parental guidance tapering off. It was something else. Something- something worse.
His insides tightened. The urge to protect her was so damn strong he nearly walked over and wrapped his arms around her small, frail shoulders. Don’t. It’s the last thing she wants. She’s made that real damn clear. No funny stuff, she said. That was her stipulation. He kept his distance, but barely. He had to grip the edge of the countertop so hard his knuckles turned white.
