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“And you don’t want to go?” I ask, surprised at how much I don’t want him to go. Which is silly. I just met him. Of course, he will leave soon. His international market is massive.
“No,” he says, his eyes meeting mine. “I find New York calling me right now. Have you ever been to Germany?”
“I haven’t even been to a German restaurant.”
“You’re kidding me. You’ve never had spaetzle?”
“What is spaetzle?”
“German pasta.” His cellphone buzzes with what sounds like an alarm. He snags his phone from his jacket pocket and silences it. “Unfortunately, our talk of spaetzle must wait until later. I have a meeting at Riptide with Mark and Chris. Can I give you a ride home on the way?”
“No,” I say quickly, the idea of putting him out and making him late one I won’t allow. “I’m going to make another stop at this end of the city.” I grab my bag. “I have to swing by my client’s office and talk to him. I really should have been on my way by now. His office is right around the corner.” Which, thankfully, is also not a lie. I do think I’ll stop by and see Ed. An in-person visit will soften the bad news.
He shrugs into his jacket. “I’ll walk you there.”
I don’t know why I suddenly feel awkward when I didn’t a few moments ago. “That’s not necessary.”
“No,” he agrees. “It’s not necessary, not necessary at all. Most things worth doing aren’t. That’s what makes them meaningful.” There’s a bloom of warmth between us, and a message in his words. He chooses to walk with me. He wants to walk with me. And I am far from eager to end this encounter.
“I’d like that,” I say of his offer.
At my reply, there is something that resembles relief in his eyes but that makes no sense. Surely he didn’t really think that I’d decline his company? He motions to my cup. “Do you want to take your coffee to go?”
I shake it to find that, having sipped in between our conversation, it’s all but gone. “Nothing to take.”
He grabs both our cups tosses them into the can just behind him. “Hang tight a minute,” he says, grabbing the cookie box and walking around me to the counter, where he speaks to Jenny.
I wait and as I do every empty second I own these days, I grab my phone from my bag and check for messages from Gio, but as is always the case, there’s nothing.
Kace heads back my direction and by the time I slide my phone back into my bag, he’s in front of me, offering me his hand to help me up. Once again, it feels like a question. One I know I shouldn’t answer with yes, and yet, what do I do? I steel myself for the impact of his touch and I press my palm to his. I, in essence, say yes. He eases me to my feet and then we’re close again, really close, our hands still joined. He towers over me, staring down at me, and I’m transfixed, drowning into the deep depths of his stare. And yet somehow, as intimate as this moment, I understand what Crystal meant when she described him as reserved. He’s here with me, one hundred percent present, and yet he’s not. There’s more to him, something edgy and dark, something I don’t understand, but Lord help me, I want to understand.
“We’d better go,” he murmurs softly.
“Yes,” I say, feeling an odd sense of regret, when nothing about this encounter should scream regret at all.
Several people crowd into the seating area, and Kace—reluctantly, it seems—releases my hand. The people just keep coming, and I maneuver forward. Kace is right behind me as I pause at the counter to smile at Jenny. “Thank you, Jenny. I loved everything. It was delicious.”
“Oh good, honey.” She hands me a bag. “Those are for you. Come back.” She points at Kace. “With him.” She waves and hurries to the opposite counter to help a customer.
Oh my god. She didn’t say that. My cheeks are officially hot with her assumptions about me and Kace and I can’t look at him. I hurry forward, and once we’re outside, the chill of the fall day is no match for the heat of my embarrassment over Jenny’s comment. “You don’t have to walk me,” I say again, forcing myself to face him.
His eyes burn with understanding. He knows what she did. He knows what I feel. “We already established that I don’t have to walk with you and that I want to walk with you. And I’m pretty sure Jenny is watching expectantly. She wants us to leave together. Let’s do this for her and us. Which way are we headed?”
The man is charming, so very charming. And stubborn. I point to the right. He smiles. “Right it is,” he says, and we fall into step side by side. “Jenny’s really lovely,” I say.
