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Realizing he’d spooked her a little, Cam pulled back. “Sure, thanks for your help.”
“No problem. See you later.” She smiled at him over her shoulder, taking any possible sting out of her abrupt departure.
And then she was gone. Cam couldn’t shake the feeling that he had somehow done something wrong, even though she hadn’t seemed upset, and it dogged him while he finished up in the conference room. Pleased that Mia’s measurements matched up with his, he knew he could start moving the new desks in as early as next week. He was just going back to tell her when he saw Emilia packing up her things. On a spur of the moment decision, he waved at Mia through the glass and decided to hang back to wait for Emilia.
“If you like, I’ll walk you to your car,” he said as she moved towards him, falling in step beside her.
She smiled up at him, obviously still a bit wary. He cursed inwardly. He wanted to get back on an even footing with her. He needed to.
“Thanks,” she said, and he was glad her voice was strong and sure. He let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “But I don’t have a car and I’m going to yoga class.”
“Then I’ll drive you to yoga class.”
“That’s very sweet, but I quite like walking.”
The elevator opened and they stepped inside. “Something tells me you’re lying.”
Laughing, her eyes sparkled with glee and he saw her visibly relax. “You’re right, I hate it. I used to drive with Mia sometimes, but she lives on the other side of town now. I don’t want to impose on anyone, and I definitely don’t want to impose on strangers.”
“Oh, we’re not strangers. I’ve even held your hand.” He smiled to himself, remembering standing in her sunlit kitchen, holding her injured hand.
“That doesn’t count,” she said over her shoulder as she exited the lift. She was walking quickly now, calling out a cheery farewell to the security guard manning the front desk. He had to hurry to keep up with her.
“It counts,” he said. “My trucks right here, let me drive you and we can talk.”
Nodding wordlessly but with a friendly look in her eye, Emilia let him open the door of his truck and she climbed in. He jogged around the hood and hopped in.
“Okay, tell me where to go.”
“Left just up here.” Pulling out of the spot, he let her scent surround him. He hadn’t expected her to say yes and had to pull himself together now that he actually had her next to him. Cameron wasn’t some kind of playboy, but he’d had his share of women and something about Emilia was telling him she wasn’t playing hard to get, he had to actually take it slow with her.
“Okay,” he said, breaking the silence. “Are you going to let me take you out for dinner?” He took a quick glance at her and saw something flitter across her face that he couldn’t name.
“I’m very flattered, but I’m not dating right now.”
“So we won’t date.”
Her laughter filled the cabin of his truck and he couldn’t help but smile. “What would you call you taking me out to dinner then?”
“A date, but we’ve just established we’re not going to date. So instead, I’ll just tell you I’m going to be at Alfredo’s on Saturday night at eight. I’m going solo, and if you’d like to take pity on me, you can meet me there.”
He was pleased when she laughed again. “That’s creative. Stop.”
“What?”
“Here’s the yoga studio, pull up.”
“That was like, two minutes! We didn’t even leave the business park!” He came to a stop and looked over at her. Her eyes were sparkling.
“Yeah, but you were so insistent, how could I say no?”
“Emilia Beyonce, you’re killing me. See you Saturday?”
“Maybe,” she smiled. “Thanks for the ride!”
And without another word, she opened the door and jumped out of the truck. Cameron waited at the side of the road, watching her, but she didn’t look back as she entered the studio.
A car tooted angrily behind him, and he pulled back into traffic, shaking his head. He wanted Emilia. And he was determined to get her, even if it meant sitting in a few restaurants on his own, feeling like a fool. Something told him she was worth it.
