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She closed the door behind him and dropped her fake smile. So much for a fun day ice-skating. What should she spend her day doing now? She glanced around the apartment. The place could use a thorough cleaning, but this was her day off. Did she want to spend it dusting and vacuuming? It wasn’t like a messy apartment would kill her or anything, and she didn’t get many visitors. In fact Gray had been her first visitor in weeks.
Yeah, housework could wait. She needed something fun to do. Maybe Joanna and Stephanie were free. They could go to the movies and maybe lunch.
Kiera’s stomach rumbled as she locked the door. She’d call her friends and then make breakfast. Since she thought they were going out she only had a glass of cranberry juice that morning. Evidently her stomach wasn’t satisfied with that. She moved away from the door and stopped when she spotted the black leather glove on the floor.
Gray had been wearing gloves when he came in but not when he touched her cheek. She touched the soft leather. He’d figure out he dropped it here soon enough. For now she’d put it in a safe place. When he claimed his rain check, she’d give it back to him. She hoped he did that soon.
***
Gray tossed his coat onto an empty seat and sat down.
“Should I let the pilot know you’re ready to leave?”
Gray looked over at the flight attendant. “Yes. Did you ask him about our arrival time?”
“He said winds should be favorable, so we should still reach Cozumel on time. Once we are in the air, I’ll serve coffee.” The flight attendant smiled and walked away.
Relieved, Gray pulled out his laptop, annoyed at himself for being late that morning, something that wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t stopped at Kiera’s place first. He’d realized that a trip to Lincoln might make him late and that a phone call would be his best bet. He’d also known that he’d be kicking himself later if he canceled their plans via a simple phone call. So, rather than head straight to the airport Gray had insisted the driver bring him by Kiera’s apartment first even though Lincoln was twenty minutes in the opposite direction of the airport.
While he hadn’t lingered at her apartment, he’d spent more time there than he should have. Then, he’d hit traffic going though the city, which meant they arrived at the airport fifteen minutes late. He couldn’t believe he jeopardized an assignment to satisfy his personal life. That wasn’t like him.
Gray set his laptop on the table. As soon as he got the go-ahead from the pilot, he’d turn it on. Then, he pulled out the package the courier had handed him. He needed to read through everything before they landed. Rather than wait for coffee, Gray grabbed his bottle of water and spotted the container of soup Kiera gave him.
Thanks to his lifestyle and what he did for work, he spent a lot of time around women. None made him soup for lunch and asked him to go ice-skating. In truth, he didn’t want them to.
“Mr. Sherbrooke,” said the pilot via the intercom. “We’ve reached cruising altitude. Feel free to use any electronic devices.”
Gray didn’t waste any time powering on his computer and plugging in the thumb drive from Randall. Typing in his password, he opened the files he needed. He read through the first two pages, and then had to stop when he got to a section that made reference to something in the beginning of the report. Something he’d either missed or forgotten.
Most days, he considered himself an attentive person. Someone who could concentrate even in a room full of distractions. This morning, rather than focusing on the words in front of him, his mind kept wandering back to Kiera.
She’d appeared unaffected by their canceled plans. She’d even smiled and joked a little. Had she not been disappointed at all or had she been acting?
He wanted to think she’d been as disappointed as he was. They way she responded to him yesterday made him believe his attraction wasn’t one-sided. Unfortunately, he couldn’t ask her. He also couldn’t do much about the situation now. Until he took care of this situation in Cozumel, his personal life was on hold. As soon as he finished up, though, he planned to claim that rain check.
***
“How are things going with Steve?” Kiera asked her friend, Stephanie, later that afternoon while they waited for the movie to start. They’d arrived extra early so that they got good seats.
“I don’t want to talk about my love life. I want all the details about the Sherbrooke wedding.” Stephanie reached for her soda. “And I mean everything. Who was there? What color did the bridesmaids wear?”
“Yeah, Kiera, spill it.” Joanna chimed in from Kiera’s other side. “No photos have shown up anywhere.”
She’d expected questions from her friends. Actually, she thought they’d call to bombard her with questions right after the wedding. “I don’t think they allowed any media in, and I doubt they’ll give any magazine the right to publish pictures.”
“Which means you have to tell us everything,” Stephanie said.
Joanna nodded in agreement. “Let us live vicariously through you since you get to live such a glamorous life.”
Kiera laughed. “Me? Glamorous? Joanna, you’re the one dating a major league baseball player, right?”
“John only played in two major league games last summer before he got sent back to Triple A. You, my dear, are the one who gets to rub elbows with the Sherbrookes.”
“Give us something. What was served for dinner?” Stephanie said.
Kiera sighed. Her friends would keep at it until she gave up at least a little information. “I had filet mignon, but there were several choices.” Kiera grabbed a handful of popcorn. “And it was a traditional Catholic ceremony at the cathedral in Providence. The reception was at Cliff House in Newport.” She paused and considered some other non-intrusive details she could share? “It looked like only family and close friends attended.”
“Did you see Curt Sherbrooke?” Stephanie always argued that Gray’s cousin, Curt, was the most handsome of the Sherbrooke men.
