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She grimaced, wondering how to fend him off. “All I can promise is that I won’t be going anywhere until this exhibition is out of the way.”
Zig nodded, and Kate noted the hopeful expression, the slight lift of his shoulders, and realized he had more confidence about her future with Ethan than she did. But then she knew what her future looked like, at least in the immediate sense, and she knew there was no room for Ethan in it. Only Giancarlo and her commitment to him.
Forty-One
The menu Kate held had Chinese characters beside the English words, which made her smile to think that she was here ordering Dim Sum on Christmas day instead of turkey with stuffing. It certainly was a different experience and in no way reminded her of Christmases past. The music that filtered into the dining area had little Christmas flavor to it either, rather it supported the Asian ambiance of the dragon murals and carved teak tables and chairs. Kate wasn’t certain how she and Tom had ended up there for dinner, but she knew, given the overbooked restaurants that had surrounded the midtown hotel they were staying in, she should be grateful they’d found anywhere. She hadn’t imagined how many people preferred to eat out at Christmas, or enjoy a New York City Christmas break. Still, Tom didn’t seem to mind the choice of food, either.
The waiter took their order, and Kate found herself sipping an Asian beer that she’d never tried, relishing the cold bite to it. Tom had joined her, though the pursed lips and half-frown let her know they didn’t share opinions on its flavor.
She held her glass up to him. “To a Christmas with a difference.”
He laughed. “Definitely different.” He clinked his glass with hers.
“How’s the ankle?” she asked him. They’d spent the afternoon trying to ice skate at Rockefeller Plaza in a burst of spontaneity that had ended up being both fun and distracting.
“Are you insinuating that my ice hockey days are done?”
“Since you never had any ice hockey days, how can I be insinuating that?”
He shook his head. “I did play a bit.”
“When you were ten, and I think it lasted only a month.”
He put a hand to his chest. “You wound me. It was a whole season.”
She laughed. “On the bench. At least that’s what Dad told me.”
“I was very good on that bench.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe I can’t perform a spin anymore.”
Tom shrugged. “I turned my ankle. What can I say? Years pass, and we get older.”
The words seemed to take on a meaning in that moment that brought all the carefully tucked-away emotions to the forefront again. She looked away. “Yes,” she said in a small voice.
Tom reached out and touched her hand. “Hey, hey. I didn’t mean it like that.”
She nodded and put her fingers to the edges of her eyes, as if to push back the tears that could well at any second.
She took a deep breath. “Sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me.”
Tom squeezed her hand. “Understandable. You’ve had a lot going on.”
She looked at him. “So have you.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but you had a lot more baggage there in the first place.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
Tom gave her a direct look. “I think you know what I mean.”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t.”
He sighed. “Oh, Kate. Are you sure you want to go into this now?”
“What do you mean ‘go into this’? What exactly needs ‘going into’?”
Tom studied her a minute. “Missy,” he said softly. “Giancarlo, Ethan.”
