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“Oh, for goodness sake!” She grabbed the phone off the floor and went and flopped down on the sofa. She didn’t trust her knees to hold her up, and if he wanted to do the video thing, he’d just have to take her as he found her.
“Hi,” she answered, unable to keep the smile out of her voice.
“Hey, is this okay? I know I said half an hour but …” He laughed. “I didn’t want to wait any longer.”
A rush of warmth spread through her chest. She loved that he was being so open with her. And he was, she knew that. With some guys, it might sound like he was feeding her a line. But not with Bentley. He was just being honest with her; it made her feel like they were in this together – whateverthismight turn out to be.
“This is great. I’m glad you didn’t wait any longer. I’ve already walked a hole in the carpet from pacing back and forth.”
He was silent for a moment, and she worried that he’d take it the wrong way – that she’d come across as needy or demanding. She was relieved when he laughed.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“You are? You think I need to replace my carpet before I move?”
He laughed. “I wasn’t talking about the carpet. I meant I’m glad that you were pacing, too. Glad that it sounds like I’m not the only one who didn’t want to wait.”
“You’re not. I thought you were right that we should just let things ride for a while, but … I was right when I said that I was going to miss you.”
She could hear the smile in his voice when he spoke again. “I miss you, too. I shouldn’t. Usually, when I’m on a trip like this the guys tease me that I don’t even know that they’re around. I get too focused, too caught up in what I’m doing to pay attention to anything else. That hasn’t been the case with this trip.”
Alyssa felt a big smile spread across her face. “I’m glad. I’ve been the same. You know I started with new clients this week? It’s going great, but I haven’t been as totally locked on target as I usually am, either.”
“Do you think we have a problem?”
Her heart sank. She didn’t understand what he meant. “Do you?” she hedged.
He laughed. “I do. But don’t sound so worried. What I meant was that I think we have a problem that we can only solve by seeing each other.”
Her heart felt like it was exploding in her chest. “You do?”
“I do, if you do.”
“Well, in that case, I definitely do. What are you thinking?”
He chuckled. “I didn’t dare allow myself to think. Up until a couple of hours ago, I thought texting you might be too much. I didn’t want to get ahead of myself.”
She couldn’t wipe the smile off her face. “You’re not ahead of yourself. Or at least, if you are, I’m right there with you. When do you get back from New York?”
“We should be done here on Thursday and fly back on Friday. What does your weekend look like?”
Alyssa frowned. “I want to see you, I really do. Don’t think this is an excuse because it isn’t. But I’m moving this weekend.”
“That’s right, you did tell me.” The disappointment was evident in his voice.
Her mind raced. “But we could still do something if you like. I can’t come to Napa, but if you want …” She hesitated. Perhaps she was pushing too hard? She didn’t know.
Her shoulders relaxed when he said, “I want.” He chuckled. “I don’t know what you were going to suggest but whatever it is I’d like to do it. If you need help with moving, I’m up for it. If you just want to get on with your thing during the day, I can come and take you out for dinner afterward. Or if you’re exhausted and just want to veg out after a hard day of moving, I can bring takeout and a bottle of wine. It’s your call.”
She pressed her lips together and tried to blink away the tears that formed in her eyes.
“Are you still there? Did I over suggest?”
“No!” she reassured him hurriedly. “I just … Wow! You’d really do that?”
“Of course. I don’t even know which option you mean, but I’ll do any of them. Whatever works best for you, you tell me.”
“I mean, you’d just come here, well to my new place, and bring takeout and just hang out? You wouldn’t mind?”
