“What made you go into training and development as a career?” he asked.
“Well, I actually thought of becoming a teacher. All through high school, that’s what I intended to do.”
“You like kids?”
She blinked at him, but smiled. “Yeah. I love kids.”
“Me too. Not that I’ll likely ever have any,” he added. “Anyway, go on.”
“I started working at my first part-time job in this office that had really horrible management, and I had all these ideas how they could improve the place. I got interested in how businesses work and making things better. So then I wanted to go into business, but since I like the aspect of teaching, I decided to specialize in training and development.”
“Cool.” He had a sense from those words “make things better” that she also liked to make people better. Maybe sometimes whether they wanted it or not. Which was admirable but could also be annoying. He smiled at her, liking her sense of purpose. “Anyway. You’re probably happy where you are. But you never know, one day if things work out…keep it in mind. Maybe in the meantime, though, you can be a sounding board for me. Hey, I know—I could pay you a consulting fee.”
She opened her mouth then closed it. Then opened it again. “Great,” she said, glancing at her watch. “You owe me…two hundred dollars for the last hour.”
Laughter burst from his lips and he shook his head. “Nice try.”
“You’re loaded,” she said. “Why not?”
He studied her, hearing the slight edge in her voice. “That bugs you, doesn’t it?”
“No, of course not.”
“Bullshit.” He rubbed his forehead. “That night at Vincent’s, I wasn’t showing off when I ordered that wine.”
Her mouth twisted. “Yeah,” she finally said. “I know.”
“You and Chris aren’t hurting,” he said. “I know what VPs at RBM make.”
“A lot more than I do,” she said ruefully. She laughed. “I’m sorry. I judged you and I shouldn’t have.”
“Thank you. But I’m still not paying you for the last hour. Although I will buy your lunch.”
“Thanks.”
They exchanged a smile that now held shared experience, a link between them that was more than just Chris.
“What are you up to this afternoon?” he asked as they walked back to his car.
“Shopping. Errands. Things for the condo. How about you?”
“Hmmm. Not much.”
“Meetings are all done?”
“Yeah. Now I’ve got a different path though, have to give it some thought. Hey. I’ll come shopping with you.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Nah.” He shrugged and they paused beside his car, the bright midday sun glinting off the windshield. “I got nothing else to do.”
“Gee, thanks.”
He rolled his eyes but smiled. “Sorry. That didn’t come out right. What I meant was, take pity on me, Kassidy, I’m all alone in town with nothing to do this afternoon.”
“Oh, for—all right, come with me, but I’m going to Bed and Bath. Chris hates that store.”
“Well, I’m not Chris.” And he rounded the front of the car to jump in while she slid into the passenger seat.
What was he doing? Sure he was at a bit of a loose end, and yeah, he’d enjoyed the last hour talking to her about ideas and plans, in fact he was buzzing from the adrenaline of it. But spending time with Chris’s girlfriend without Chris shouldn’t be a problem. Really. Why would it?
Just that sexual tension underlying everything they said, every glance they shared, and never mind if he actually were to touch her. Then he wanted to, just to see if actual sparks would fly. Bad. Bad idea.
He followed Kassidy around the store. He’d lied to her. Well, actually no. It was true, he wasn’t Chris, but truthfully Bed and Bath wasn’t his favorite store to shop in. He was more into electronics and cars. But he had to admire how she shopped—with a purpose and organized efficiency. She had a list, and headed straight for the towel department. She knew what she wanted. She selected some other bathroom accessories, and then led the way to the curtains, where she took a little longer to make her selection.
She pulled out fabrics and studied them, nibbled her bottom lip as she looked at different rods and checked prices. When she finally made her decision, she tried to lift a long package into the shopping cart.
“Let me,” Dag said and easily shifted the carton into the cart.
“Two of those,” she said, and he grinned.
“What’s next?” he asked after they’d gone through the checkout.
“Well.” She glanced sideways at him as he pushed the cart through the parking lot. “I was going to just browse around some of the shops on Armitage Avenue. There are some funky little places. But really. You don’t have to come with me.”
“Why not?” He loaded her purchases into the trunk of the rental car, slammed the lid shut and dusted his hands together. “Like I said, take pity on me. And if we finish early, I’ll buy you a drink and we can talk more.”
“We’re going out tonight,” she reminded him.
“I know.”
They climbed into the car and he drove back toward the condo, the shopping district she wanted to look at not far from there. His memories of how to get around Chicago were coming back to him, despite having only lived there for the years he was in college. His mom was still in Springfield. Not that he ever saw her or ever wanted to.
They strolled the sunny sidewalks, wandering in and out of the little shops, and Kassidy bought a few things—cool things he actually liked. In one store, she stood there looking at chunky dark wood candle holders, each of them a little different in shape and size. She picked them up and set them down, until finally he said with amusement, “Tough decision?”
She smiled at him. “Yes. It is. I don’t know which three to get.”
“Then buy all of them.”
“There are six.”
“So?”
“It can’t be an even number,” she said patiently. “Don’t you know the rule of three?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Rule of three?”
“Yes. It’s some kind of design rule. You have to have an odd number. Three is the best number for an arrangement.”
“And you know this how?”
She grinned. “I like to watch a lot of home decorating shows on TV.”
He laughed.
“Seriously. The rule of three applies to lots of things.”
“If you say so.” He reached out and picked up one candle holder, set it aside, picked another slightly shorter one, and another, grouping the three together. “There. There’s your three.”
She studied them and nodded. “Okay. Now I need candles.”
She chose three pillar candles to sit on top of the candle holders, some funky office accessories for the room that was to become Chris’s office, and a small rug for their bedroom.
“I’m done,” she said, surveying the shopping bags he was carrying for her out of the store. A warm smile curved her pretty mouth. “Thanks for helping.”
“No problem. Now how about that drink?”
“Sure. I guess.” She glanced at her watch. “Chris’ll be finished work soon. I’ll text him and tell him to meet us.”
After dropping her purchases into his car, they walked to another outdoor patio nearby. Kassidy thumbed a message into her cell phone as they waited for a table. It was early on Friday afternoon, but the weekend happy-hour crowd had already begun to arrive at the small bar.
The hostess showed them to a small table under a bright umbrella, potted palms dancing in the breeze next to them. “This is nice,” Dag said, looking around. “You know all the good places to go.”
She laughed. “Actually I don’t. Chris and I really don’t go out much. Now my sister, on the other hand, knows everywhere. And everybody.” Her phone buzzed and she flipped it open to read Chris’s message. “He says he’ll be here in an hour.”