“And you were the one who took care of everything else, weren’t you?”
“Why do you think that?”
She gave a short, little laugh that went straight to his balls. “Because that’s who you are. You take care of things. And you always expect things to go sideways so you’re not surprised when they do.”
It shook him to realize she’d seen that part of him so easily. Yes, he worked damn hard to present an unruffled appearance. Jed always said Armageddon could be happening and he would be stockpiling cases of water and caviar for the aftermath.
Which was probably true.
“So,” she started without waiting for his response, “tell me what you’ll expect from me and the boutique.”
“Does this mean I can have a contract drawn up?”
He hadn’t realized until now how much he wanted to tie her to him. At least through the boutique. Did that make him a bad person?
Her lips quirked into a wry little smile. “No. Not yet. I’d like to know a little more about what I’d be getting into. What my liabilities will be. What I’ll be expected to do.”
He appreciated that she wanted all her ducks in a row before she signed on the dotted line. “The way we work the boutique at the hotel is that Jed and I own the space. We hire a manager for the shop and she decides on the clothing she wants to stock. Then we work a deal with the designers. Every deal is different. Some of the pieces we take on consignment. Some we buy outright.”
“So I’d be just one of several designers in the boutique?”
He couldn’t tell if she liked the idea or not. “No. Because of the size of the boutique and the nature of the merchandise, we’re only planning to feature one designer. And from what I’ve seen, I think one will be more than enough. Your designs are beautiful, Kate. Sexy and sensuous, but they still manage to be tasteful. What I’ve seen is more than enough to make me confident your designs are perfect for what we’re looking for.”
Her cheeks blushed with the barest hint of color. “Thank you, Tyler. And I can’t deny that this is a major opportunity for me. I’d be a fool to pass it up.”
“Then say yes.” He wanted her to say yes. Wanted to work with her on this, help her build this.
Until now, he’d only ever trusted Jed to be his business partner. He’d even kept Mia on the sidelines about the hotel.
But Kate . . . He wanted Kate to want this, to want to work with him. Wanted it with a teeth-grinding need that shocked the hell out of him.
He trusted her judgment. Trusted her ability. Trusted her.
She drew in a deep breath, like she was preparing to take a plunge into deep water. “I need just a few more days to decide. Is that okay?”
No. But he couldn’t say that. “That’s fine. Now come over here and let’s not talk business.”
There was that half smile of hers again. “I still have a lot of questions—”
“And those can all be answered later. Right now, I want you.”
He barely reined in the urge to demand she get off the chair and come to him. Turned out he didn’t need to.
With her chin stuck in the air, she rose from her chair . . .
And turned toward the kitchen.
“Would you like some more coffee?”
He was on his feet and only steps behind her when she stepped into the tiny kitchen. Leaning against the wall, he watched her pour another mug for herself then held up the carafe at him.
“Did I frighten you last night?”
He needed to know. Needed to know if he had to curb his appetite if he wanted to continue to see her.
Because he really wanted to continue seeing her.
She didn’t answer right away and, for a few seconds, he wasn’t sure she was going to. Then she sighed and set the pot back into the machine.
“No, you didn’t scare me.”
Her emphasis on that one word made him hesitate and take a mental step back. “Then what did?”
She didn’t answer right away as she set her mug on the counter. Crossing her arms under her breasts, she stared up at him for several seconds before shaking her head. “I’m not sure I’m cut out for that type of lifestyle.”
What was he missing? “I’m not asking you to change the way you live, Kate. I’m not looking to take over your life or put a collar on you.”
Her expression showed nothing of her thoughts, and he wondered how she’d gotten so good at that. “I’m just not sure I enjoyed how it made me feel.”
Now, he knew that was bullshit. She’d enjoyed the hell out of it.
Why would she not want more of that pleasure?
His first inclination was to argue with her, but he bit back the urge. He could push her away and that’s exactly what he didn’t want to happen.
“Okay.” He shrugged as if he wasn’t beating back the very dominance that she found so distasteful. “Would you like to discuss terms for the boutique instead?”
For a moment she looked stunned, as if she hadn’t expected him to give in so easily. Then she nodded and gestured toward the tiny table against the wall. “Why don’t we sit down? Let me get a pad and pen to take notes. I’ve got lots of questions.”
Yeah, he was sure she did. Just not all of them were about the boutique. But it didn’t seem like they’d be talking about those anytime soon.
“So do you want to talk about it or are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?”
Kate made a face at Annabelle as she pressed the hem on Mr. Morrissey’s new suit pants. The retired banker had to have the most expensive wardrobe of anyone in town. And she’d know because she’d been doing all of his alterations since she’d taken this job at Parisi Dry Cleaning.
His suits were Hugo Boss and his shirts custom made in Italy and shipped to his home for final fittings. He owned a huge horse farm outside of Adamstown and bred racing stock. He also dabbled in stocks, according to the town gossip mill, otherwise known as Cuppa Joe, Tracy Tate’s coffee shop on Main Street.
“There’s no elephant. Yes, we had amazing sex. Then he gave me details on the boutique at the spa to think over and then he left.”
No, Kate didn’t think there was an elephant. It was more like a voracious black bear, waiting to rise up on its hind legs and bite her in the ass.
She didn’t think anyone had seen Tyler leave her apartment Sunday morning but she’d dreaded coming into work in case someone had.
And of course, that person would not be able to keep it to themselves. No, they’d head to Tracy’s for their morning coffee and someone would say, “Did you notice that sweet Mercedes sitting in the lot behind Schmidt’s apartment building?”
Then someone else would say, “No. Did the Harrisons get a new car?”
And because no one believed the very nice Harrisons, the couple who lived on the first floor of Kate’s apartment building and had two kids in college, would spring for an expensive foreign car, it wouldn’t take long for someone to say, “You know, I think I saw that car parked at Annabelle’s for the party.”
And someone else would say, “And did you see who left with Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome that night? Kate Song practically dragged that man out of the building—”
Annabelle snapped her fingers in front of her face, startling her out of her thoughts.
Shit. She looked down to make sure she hadn’t scorched Mr. Morrissey’s pants. Luckily, the iron stood upright at the end of the board.
“Hey, you winked out there for a minute,” Annabelle said. “If last night was so amazing, why are you scowling just like your boss? Could you stop? You’re kinda freaking me out.”
Since she had a love-hate relationship with Joe Parisi, who’d hired her straight out of college with no experience whatsoever but had the patience of a gnat and an Italian temper to go with it, she gave Annabelle one of Joe’s favorite hand gestures.