AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s a shame,” she said. “Your photographs are so beautiful. I loved hearing Vincent talk about the trip to Africa, but it was your photographs that had me mesmerized. I felt… transported. Like I’d fallen intothem.”
He looked at her. “You should stop before my egoexplodes.”
She smiled and shook her head. “I’m sure it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. I can’t imagine it means more coming from someone who doesn’t know a thing aboutphotography.”
“It sounds like you know more than you realize,” he said. “Professional reviewers are so far up their own intellectual asses they forget that pictures are aboutfeeling.”
She laughed. “Maybe you should diversify, go intowriting.”
“Maybe you should go to dinner withme.”
He said it so casually, his eyes still on the wall, that she almost wondered if she’d imaginedit.
But no. The words were there, lingering in the air, vibrating like a nearly dissipatedecho.
“Dinner?”
He turned to look at her. “It’s a bit early for dinner, I’ll give you that, but since you’re working, I assumed we’d do itlater.”
She shook her head. “Why would you want to have dinner withme?”
The words escaped her lips before she had time to edit them. She heard the unspoken question in them — why me? — and hoped he didn’t. She wasn’t ready to throw herself at a hot younger guy, but she wasn’t going for patheticeither.
“Why not?” he asked. “The city seems determined to throw us together, and I have to admit, I’m beginning to think the city knows what it’sdoing.”
She bit her lip. “I don’tknow…”
“Not interested?” The question was spoken gently, without a trace of bitterness. He was giving her an out she wasn’t sure she wanted totake.
“It’s not that,” she said. “It’s just… how old are you, if you don’t mind myasking?”
He laughed, and his eyes crinkled at the edges. “I’mthirty.”
“That’s… younger than me,” she said. “A lotyounger.”
“Not to brag,” he leaned down and whispered conspiratorially, “but I think I can get the Dinner Police to ease up on the rules and let us eattogether.”
She smiled in spite ofherself.
“What time do you get off?” heasked.
“Four.”
“Want to call it seven?” heasked.
He’d given her an out. He would be gracious if she declined, she already knew that much about LiamMcAlister.
But she suddenly very much wanted to go to dinner with him. To sit across from him and watch his expressive eyes and listen to his dry sense ofhumor.
She drew in a breath. “Seven’sgood.”
“I know a great place in the neighborhood.” He hesitated. “Are you avegetarian?”
“I’m afraid not.” It seemed like everybody and their mother — literally — was a vegetarian or vegan. Nina wondered if this would be the deal breaker, the thing that would finally make Liam McAlister realize she wasn’t some hip Brooklynite but a middle-aged woman who consumed steak without a secondthought.
“Thank god.” He pulled out his phone and handed it to her. It was already on a new contact screen. “Give me your number and I’ll text for directions to yourplace.”
She typed in her information and handed him back hisphone.
“See you tonight…” he looked down at the information she’d just typed into his phone, “NinaFontaine.”
She watched him head for the door and step out onto the pavement. He lingered in the window, his eyes on the photographs on display, before continuing out ofview.
Her heart was hammering in her chest as she returned to the photos she’d beensorting.
What are you doing,Nina?
