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I bid goodbye to Marie and stopped off at my office to grab my purse and jacket before heading out to lunch. As I was waiting for the elevators, I got a phone call from Donal.
“Hey, you.” I couldn’t contain my smile.
“Hey,” he replied, sounding harried. “You haven’t left yet, have you?”
I stepped onto the elevator. “I’m on my way out now.”
“I’m so sorry to do this, but I’m not going to be able to make our lunch date today.”
“That’s okay,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment. It wasn’t as if I wouldn’t see him tonight. Even when he worked late or had dinner with his kids, he always came over after he got home.
“There was a snafu with my clients’ schedule and my two thirty got moved up an hour. I don’t have enough time to make it out of here for lunch.” He sighed, sounding stressed and aggravated.
“How about I pick something up and bring it to you?” I offered, wanting to cheer him up. And okay, yes, I selfishly wanted to see him, even if it was just for the time it took to hand him a sandwich. I’d been looking forward to our lunch all morning, and the thought of not seeing him at all made me unreasonably bummed out.
“You don’t have to do that.”
“You’re not going to eat if I don’t. Tell me I’m wrong.”
He was always skipping meals when he got busy. The protein bars his secretary supplied him with were better than nothing, but hardly an adequate substitute for real food.
“I’ll grab something from the cart downstairs,” he said.
“No, you won’t. You’ll get caught up working and forget.” The elevator doors opened, and I stepped off into the lobby of my building. “I’ve got to pick up something for myself anyway. I can get us sandwiches from Hannah’s Bretzel.”
“I do love their pretzel bread.”
“I know.”
“Temptress.”
I smiled, knowing my plan had hooked him. “Let me do it. I could use the walk, and I’ve got extra time blocked off on my calendar thanks to my lunch date standing me up.”
“It would be really great to see you,” he said. “We could eat together in my office if you want.”
I definitely wanted.
Thirty minutes later I pushed through the revolving glass door and into the shiny marble lobby of the building where Donal’s law firm was located. I hadn’t been here since the day I’d showed up unannounced and angry that he’d been ignoring my attempts to talk to him about Erin. Hard to believe how much had changed between us over the last six weeks. I could still remember how cold his expression had been and how much animosity I’d felt when he looked at me.
This time I was expected, and when I identified myself to the receptionist I received a guest badge and instructions to take the elevator to the thirtieth floor. Donal was waiting for me when the elevator doors opened on his floor, and his expression was the opposite of cold. As soon as he looked up from his phone and saw me, the deep furrows in his brow melted away, replaced by the same heart-stopping smile that had been dazzling me since I was fourteen years old.
“Hi,” he murmured, leaning in to press a quick kiss to my cheek as I stepped off the elevator. “Thanks for doing this and for not being mad.”
It had never even occurred to me to be angry. Obviously, work was more important than a casual lunch date.
But then I recalled the things he’d told me about his marriage and wondered how often he’d canceled plans with his wife at the last minute. How long had she weathered the disappointments like a good sport until she’d started to resent him? How long, I wondered uneasily, would I be able to do it?
Nope, now was not the time to indulge insidious thoughts like that. I was here to enjoy a lovely lunch with the gorgeous man standing before me.
Pushing my doubts away, I looked up into his blue eyes and smiled. “Honestly, my motives were entirely selfish. I really just wanted to see you.”
His smile hitched wider, his dimples shining in all their glory. “You just made my shitty day a thousand percent better.” Inclining his head, he shifted his arm behind me, his fingers barely grazing the small of my back as he ushered me down a long hallway. “My office is this way.”
I let him shepherd me through a maze of offices, conference rooms, and bullpens full of cubicles. He tipped his chin at several lawyerly-looking suit-clad people on the way, and I noticed a few of the younger folks we passed giving him awed, deferential looks.
My estimation of his importance at the firm was reinforced by the office he led me to. Unlike the hive of tiny, glass-walled interior offices we’d passed, Donal’s was located in a quieter, less-trafficked area. It was more private and set farther apart, with its own small waiting area and cubicle workstation located outside it.
When he gestured for me to precede him inside, I saw a slightly older woman standing behind the large desk shuffling stacks of papers around. She looked up at my appearance and smiled.
