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Cameron smiled. “Maybe. Then again, maybe not.”
She shook her head at him. “Anyway, what did you want?”
He chuckled. “Nothing, other than to see your reaction to the flowers.”
“You horrible man.” She smiled as she looked at the flowers. “I’m pleasantly surprised. Even though I don’t generally subscribe to the idea of spending gobs of money on pretty things that have been cut and are going to die within a week.”
Cameron laughed. “See, I told you, you’re a realist. Antonio’s making a big romantic gesture, and you’re thinking about the practicalities. Maybe you two won’t be such a good match after all.”
Mary Ellen’s heart sank, and a ball of disappointment settled in her stomach.
Cameron met her gaze. “No. I didn’t mean that at all. I was just curious what your reaction might be when I said it. Now we both have a better idea of how you feel.” He gave her a smug smile. “You’re not fooling me, and I suggest you don’t try fooling yourself. Why don’t you give him a call to thank him for them and then meet me in the conference room? We need to start working on Q3 projections.”
Chapter Ten
Antonio checked his watch. He should have left the office ten minutes ago. He just needed to wrap up the report, then he could hand it over to Daniel.
“Are you still here?”
He blew out a sigh when Daniel stuck his head around the door. “I’m almost finished.”
“Why don’t you go and let me work on it now. You can finish up your conclusions tomorrow. I don’t need them to work on the rest.”
Antonio smiled. “Yeah, I think I will, thanks.”
Daniel smiled. “I’d hate for you to be late and upset Mary Ellen. I have a vested interest in her sticking around. You’ve been so laid back this week, she’s making my life much easier.”
Antonio made a face. “I’m not seeing her tonight. She’s out with the girls, so I’m meeting up with Cam and Grant.”
Daniel smirked. “I never thought I’d see the day. You’re meeting up with the guys because she has other plans?”
Antonio tried to look stern, but he couldn’t pull it off. He chuckled. “Crazy, isn’t it? I’ve seen her every night this week, and I wanted to see her again tonight, but she already had plans with Chelsea and Piper. I tried to get her to bring them to Muse, but they’re eating at Molly’s.”
Daniel shook his head. “It’ll do you good. Keep things fresh. If you see each other every night, the flame might just burn itself out.”
Antonio couldn’t help smiling. “In our case, the flame keeps getting hotter and hotter.”
Daniel raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think it’s going to burn itself out?”
“I don’t.” He managed to stop himself from voicing the thought about an eternal flame that came to mind. It sounded crazy enough to him, he could imagine what Daniel would think. He shut down his computer. “I just emailed you everything I’ve got so far. I’ll get on the rest in the morning. I might not be seeing Mary Ellen, but I don’t want to make Cam and Grant mad by being too late.”
“They won’t get mad; they’re used to it.”
Antonio nodded. They were. He wasn’t known for his punctuality, but he was working on that. It had never mattered before, but now he wanted to be known as a reliable kind of guy—the kind who Mary Ellen could take seriously.
“See you tomorrow.”
When he reached Muse, Rodney greeted him with a smile. “Your guests have arrived. I’ve seated them at your table. Though I will confess, I was a little surprised to see them.”
Antonio smiled. “If it were up to me, I’d be having dinner with Mary Ellen, but she’s out with the girls.”
Rodney nodded. “It might do you good.”
Antonio scowled. Why did Rodney and Daniel think he needed to cool it with Mary Ellen? He wished he could spend every minute with her. “With Mary Ellen, her presence makes my heart grow fonder. I don’t want her absence.”
Rodney raised an eyebrow. “I simply meant that an evening in the company of Cameron and Grant might do you good. Considering the recent developments in both of their lives.” Antonio stared at him for a moment, but Rodney simply smiled. “Would you like me to walk you to your table?”
Antonio chuckled. “No. I might be acting clueless at the moment, but I think I can still find my way out there.”
