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“So, Rosie…” I took a sip of my now lukewarm coffee, letting my gaze travel down her neck and taking in the off-shoulder sweater covering her upper body. I wondered if she had been headed to the office. “You work at the same firm as Lina, right? What was the name…Techsomething?”
“InTech,” Rosie answered with some sort of grimace. “And I… did. Not anymore. I… It’s a long story.”
I waited for her to elaborate but even though her lips opened and closed a couple of times, she never did.
I hummed, tapping my fingers against the table. “I’ll make you a deal.”
She frowned. “A deal?”
My lips twitched. “A game. A ‘get to know each other’ game, you know. Because if we’re going to be friends, we should break the ice somehow.” I was trying my luck here, I knew that. She had no reason to share a single thing with me, but I knew stalling when Isaw it. And Rosie could have been on her way already. But she was here. Sitting with me.
Rosie’s head tilted, a lock of dark hair coming out of her bun. “So, we both get to ask questions?”
I nodded. “An answer in exchange for another answer. We take turns until we make it to five. And it doesn’t matter how long the answer is. How does that sound?”
We stared at each other for a long moment, and I could see the battle in her face. She was hesitant. She also was curious.
Finally, she said, “Five questions. I can work with that.”
I nodded slowly, pushing my growing eagerness down. “Because you just fed me, and I’m a man in debt, I’ll let you start.”
Her gaze roamed around my face, one of her eyebrows dipping in thought, as if she was readying herself to uproot my deepest secrets right out me.
It was adorable. And a little scary.
She laced her fingers together and rested her hands on the table. “Where were you? Before coming to New York? You said you flew in from Phoenix.”
My shoulders relaxed. “I’ve been traveling across the States for the past six weeks.” I didn’t miss how that piece of information seemed to surprise her. “I started up north, in Portland, Oregon. Then headed south, rented a car, and drove from New Orleans to Phoenix.”
Rosie nodded her head, processing my words. Then she went with a simple, “Okay. Your turn.”
“Easy. Who were you going to share the rolls with? There were three of them, so unless you have a huge appetite…”
Averting her eyes to where the empty bag lay in a ball, she sighed. “My dad, hopefully my brother, too, but it’s a long—”
I tsked. “No breaking the rules. Long or short, I want the answer.”
She breathed out a laugh. “I am heading to Philly—Philadelphia—where Dad lives now. And I am hoping my little brother—who has been dodging all my calls for weeks because ofwhat I suspect is something that’s either going to make me upset or mad or both—will show up. There’s something important I want to tell them. Hence, breakfast.” A soft sigh left her. “These really are Dad’s favorite. He goes crazy over them.”
I remained in silence until her gaze lifted from the table and returned to me. There was something she was leaving out. I could guess as much from her expression.
I pretended to think about something, then said, “Should I be worried your dad is going to hunt me down for tricking her daughter into feeding me his all-time favorite?”
That pulled a laugh out of her. One more time, it was short-lived, but… enough to appease me. For now. She sobered up and pinned me with a look. “Is that your second question?”
“Not the biggest fan of angry dads, so yes. That’s question number two.”
“Do you have a habit of going around pissing dads off?”
Without breaking eye contact, I leaned on my elbows. “Is that your second question?”
Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded.
“Not anymore. In the past, though? I might have angered one or two.” I winked, and I didn’t miss the way her cheeks turned pink this time around. “You owe me an answer.”
I watched her throat bob. “No, Dad won’t hunt you down. He didn’t even know I was dropping by. It was a surprise, and the rolls were my emotional leverage.”
That last part sparked my interest, but Rosie beat me to the next round.
