There was a difference.
“So this girl didn’t like it. Or she was truly frightened?”
“That’s the problem. I’m not sure.”
“Did you talk to her about it?”
“A little. Mostly we discussed business.”
He’d shocked Greg again. “I thought you didn’t discuss business with anyone but Jed and me.”
“I don’t. Usually.” He grimaced. “We’re talking about opening a lingerie boutique at the spa. She’s the designer Jed chose.”
“Well, damn. Another rule broken. Business and pleasure. Now that’s a slippery slope.”
Yeah, Tyler wasn’t happy about it either. But he wanted Kate and, for the first time in his life, he was willing to bend some of his long-held rules.
“So what are you going to do?” Greg asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Greg lifted an eyebrow at him as he sipped his whiskey. “Another first. I think I need to meet the lady who makes you more human.”
More human? “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Since Mia died, you’ve been going through the motions. I’ve been waiting for you to snap out of it. Seems like you might be ready to do that.”
With a start, he realized Greg was right. He had been going through the motions. Waiting . . . He hadn’t known what for.
“So,” Greg prodded, “what are you going to do about her?”
He didn’t have to think very long on that one. “I’m going to call her and see if she wants to have dinner with me later this week. Take it slow.”
“Slow’s never been your strong suit, Tyler.”
“I think you’re mixing me up with my brother. Jed’s the impulsive one.”
Greg just smiled. “I didn’t say you were impulsive. But when you make up your mind to do something, you’re like a freight train gathering speed as it heads down the hill. Now, since I haven’t met the girl, I don’t have any pertinent advice. But why don’t we correct that. Invite her down for dinner Friday night. I don’t have plans. We can make it a double with Jed. I’m anxious to meet his girl too.”
“That should make things easier. Kate is Annabelle’s best friend.”
“Interesting. I look forward to it.” Greg took a deep breath then set his glass on the table, his expression settling into serious lines. “All right, enough small talk. Let’s get down to business.”
“Dr. Malinowski, this is Kate Song. I was a student of—”
“Kate! Oh my God, it’s so nice to hear from you. How are you?”
Kate swallowed an audible sigh of relief as she caught up with her former professor for several minutes on the phone.
Since she couldn’t make this call from work, she’d taken her lunch break at home Wednesday afternoon. But she hadn’t eaten yet. She’d been too nervous.
She didn’t know why. Dr. Dinah Malinowski was as personable as she’d been at college. They talked for several minutes before Kate worked up the nerve to get around to the real reason she’d called.
“Dr. Mal—”
“Oh, please call me Dinah, Kate. You’re not in college any longer. And I can’t believe you called me, today of all days. I was actually planning to call you. There may be an opportunity for you to work in New York with me on a show. Would you be interested? I wanted to talk to you before I throw your name into the pot.”
The question took her by complete surprise and left her speechless for several seconds as her brain tried to process.
A show. An actual New York show?
Before she could think of anything to say, Dinah continued on. “It would be off-Broadway but for an established company. Their longtime costume designer is retiring and, since I’ve been working with her for years, she suggested me for her position. And the first person I thought about bringing with me was you.”
“Congratulations, Dinah. That’s a wonderful opportunity for you. And I’m flattered that you thought of me.”
“I know it might be a huge leap of faith for you, considering I have no idea what you’ve been doing since graduation, but that doesn’t change the fact that you were one of my most gifted students and I want you to consider it. What are you doing now?”
She almost didn’t want to say. Not that there was anything wrong with her job. It was a solid use of her skills. But working in a dry cleaners wasn’t exactly the life she’d had planned.
But this . . .
This was her dream.
And totally not what she’d called about.
“I’m working as a tailor and designing on the side,” she said, then rushed on before Dinah could ask more questions. “I’d love to hear more about this.”
“Great! That’s just what I hoped to hear. Are you free later this week to meet? I guess I should ask if you’re still in the area. I know you always talked about heading for New York but . . .”
Her mother had died. “I’m still in Adamstown, so I could be in Gettysburg any night.”
“Actually I’m living in New York City now but I’ll be in the area tomorrow night to visit my folks. How about I give you a call? We can meet for drinks and talk. Now, I guess I should ask why you called.”
Kate assured Dinah they could discuss it at dinner and they hung up after a short round of good-byes.
When her phone rang again only seconds later, Kate almost expected it to be Dinah calling back, telling her she’d made a horrible mistake, that she hadn’t realized who she was talking to and that she didn’t really want to talk about a job in New York City.
And when she picked up the phone and realized the call was from her father, she nearly put it down without answering.
Of course she couldn’t do that.
Deep breath. “Hi, Dad. How are you? Is everything okay?”
His sigh rang through the connection, loud and clear. “Why do you always assume something’s wrong when I call? I’m not that old, am I?”
She had to laugh. Her dad had an extremely dry sense of humor, when he had any at all. It’d taken her years to figure out when he was making a joke.
“No, Dad, you’re not that old. Sorry. What’s up?”
“I haven’t heard from you since last week. I’m simply checking in. I called the shop but Joe told me you’d gone home for lunch. Are you feeling okay?”
She wasn’t sure how to answer that without divulging more than her dad would probably want to know so she simply said, “I’m fine. The wedding dress I made for Maggie Shanahan survived the day despite being ripped by a dog. I had to repair it before the wedding but it held.”
“I have no doubt it did.”
Was that pride she heard in his voice? It would be nice if she could tell. But that was something to ponder another day. She had way too much stuff in her brain now.
They talked for another few minutes. Her dad asked questions. She responded. A normal conversation for them.
It was all so . . . civilized. Which was a sucky way to characterize her relationship with her father. But true.
“I heard Annabelle’s grand opening was quite the event.”
Shit. Had he heard about her leaving the party with Tyler? Would she get his infamous “You should have more respect for yourself” speech? Or would it be the “Don’t disgrace yourself” speech? With her dad, there was always a speech.
“Um, yeah. It was.”
“Please let her know how sorry I was to miss it. I understand she made an announcement about her parents. That must have been difficult for her. Please tell her I wish her the best with her new endeavor.”
And once again, her father had surprised her. “I will. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it.”