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He left before she could say another word and Caroline didn’t know how long she had been sitting in the armchair holding the melting ice cream, but when Tessa walked in she drifted back to reality.
“I still can’t get over him. Good God, he’s gorgeous.”
“Uh-huh. He just asked me out to dinner.”
“Okay. I need details now. Why?”
“I’m not sure. The rejection? He feels more comfortable.”
Now it was Tessa’s turn to be without adequate words. “So you have a for-real date with the object of your affection since, like, forever?”
“That would be him.”
“And to think I thought your sister’s husband was gorgeous. Lordy. What the hell was in that gene pool? So you’re going to dinner? Where?”
“A new place. It’s on Tenth.”
“On Tenth?Porto Salvo? No one can get in there; they’re booked for months.”
“He didn’t tell me where. Is it fancy? He’s picking me up at eight.”
“Very upscale. Very in.”
“Great.” Caroline had no idea what to wear to a trendy, upscale restaurant. She looked at her hands. Her nails weren’t even done. “I’m screwed.”
“Nah. We need to work fast, but you’re going to look gorgeous.” Tessa waved her hand up and down. “First a shower. Then we start polishing.”
* * *
“I’ve seenthree celebrities since we walked in here.” Caroline glanced over her shoulder at the latest actor to walk by their table. “I loved his last movie. Did you see it?”
Josh leaned back against the soft leather of the banquette and tried to be unaffected—he was always in places like this—but her enthusiasm was the best part of the evening so far. That, and she looked amazing. Between the time he’d seen her at her apartment and now, she looked like a different women. She’d even gotten her hair cut. He wasn’t sure what to say initially, he loved her long blonde hair, but the sleek bob was perfect for her.
“No. I missed it. Believe it or not, going out with you has been the only real break from work I’ve taken in a long time. How is the soup?”
“It’s delicious. I adore lobster bisque, but this is very different.” Silence settled between them, and as usual his girl cut to the chase. She put her hands in her lap and stared at him. “Is work that bad?”
Josh thought hard about how he should answer. He’d spent so much time around his father and business that he’d forgotten how to actually share emotions. He was really out of his element, but he wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know what he was facing.
She asked if things were bad. Bad was one way to put it. His parents were currently away, so Josh had the investments and the day-to-day operations to worry about, but there was more. He’d noticed some problems with cash flow, and once he examined the different account, Josh concluded that someone was skimming capital from the accounts. The obvious suspect was his father. And if he were the one, he would brush him off and find fifteen ways to justify what he’d done to everyone else.
Fixing his eyes on Caroline, he didn’t know what he should say. Getting to know her had shown him that he led a pretty shallow life. He had only a couple of close friends, and she was hands-down the most important. He needed to tell her.
“The business is in trouble. My father isn’t just playing fast and loose with investments, he’s acting like the company is his very own money tree. I think his personal funds have been completely drained.”
Caroline’s eyes were locked on his. “They’re broke?”
“In a word, yes. And I’m facing the very real possibility that I might have to turn my own father in to the feds.” Her hands reached over and grasped his. The quiet support meant more to him than he ever expected or ever thought he deserved. Especially support from her. “This has been eating at me. You’re the only one I’ve told. I know I should tell Jason, but I can’t bring myself to do it.”
“Oh, Josh. I wish you’d said something sooner. You listen to me yammering on about the stupidest stuff, and you’ve been holding this back.”
“I’m not used to laying it out there, I guess. “
“You can share anything with me,” she said as she leaned into him, her head almost resting on his shoulder.
Caroline’s thumb was moving back and forth over his knuckles, but she didn’t say anything more. Josh absorbed the feel of her tiny hands, of her soft skin, against his. Then she drew a breath, and sat back and faced him. Squeezing his hand, she wore a gentle, sweet smile that played at her lips. “You’ll do the right thing. I know you will. And remember that I’m here to listen if you need me.”
Josh knew at that moment he was in real trouble. It didn’t matter that he’d tried to keep this friendly; he realized at that moment, when she put her faith in him, that he was falling for her. Hard.
