“So are you,” she said softly, never taking her eyes off his, and the way she looked at him did funny things to his heart. Foreign things he hadn’t felt in years. “But don’t start thinking calling me beautiful is going to distract me.” She snapped and pointed to the oranges and the fallen apple. “Juggle. Now.”
She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, waiting.
He grabbed the apple, tossed it high, then threw the oranges and juggled them round and round for at least a minute, his full concentration on keeping the quartet in the air, and impressing her with this skill. He slowed, ending the whirl, taking a bow and returning the oranges to the counter. He dropped the bruised apple into the basket, grabbed another one, and walked to Casey. He tugged her arm, and gestured to the couch. They sank into the cushions, next to each other on the lounge section.
“Say it. Say you’re impressed with my skills,” he said.
“I am so impressed with your skills,” she said as he crunched into the apple. He offered it to her next, and she bit into it, passing it back to him. He draped an arm around her shoulder, and she snuggled in close as they finished off the apple. He stretched across her to set the core down on the table, the same one that held the tickler and blindfold. The crop was still on the floor.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“For you? Yes. For food, the answer is also yes. What do you have in mind?”
“Food first. Want to order from the House of Nanking around the corner? I’m craving their moo shu pancakes.”
“Of course. And you know what I like.”
“I do,” she said, grabbing her phone.
That’s what was so odd between the two of them right now. As she ordered his favorite dish, sesame chicken, it occurred to him that she knew so many things about him. She knew bits and pieces of his past with Joanna, she knew his challenges and his triumphs in business, she knew what he liked to eat, to read, how much he enjoyed watching the Yankees, and she knew what he liked to do on the weekends. Oftentimes, the answer was work. They both had admitted how much they actually did love the siren call of the deal, the decision, and the chance to increase the profit margin. “I like working late,” she’d once confessed. “I can’t resist it either,” he’d seconded.
Except now.
He had no desire to be anyplace but here. When she ended the call, he gestured to the artwork on her brick walls.
“You got a new print of one of Lichtenstein’s kisses?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but it’s not an original.”
He laughed. “I know. I didn’t think it was an original one. They’re kind of pricey. I think one of them went for $6 million at auction.”
She arched one eyebrow, giving him a curious look. “Since when do you know the prices of artwork?”
“There was a Lichtenstein lithograph next to one of Joanna’s early sculptures at an exhibition years ago. I wound up knowing all about him.”
She cringed, squeezing her eyes shut, saying, “Shit, I’m sorry. I should have known that would be the connection.”
He placed his hand on her arm. “Hey, it’s okay.”
She shook her head. “Well, I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“I swear, Casey. It’s okay. I’ve gotten over it. It’s not as if I can’t be surrounded by the art world because of Joanna,” he said, and that was mostly true. Joanna’s star had risen quickly after she finished her MFA. Her works were featured, bought and sold at top galleries in Manhattan and London. He couldn’t insulate himself from the imprint of her.
“I’m glad she hasn’t totally ruined it for you. That woman did a number on you, though.”
He simply curved up the corner of his lips in acknowledgement. “I won’t deny that. But I also like to think I’ve moved on,” he said, and that was true too. He had moved to a better place. A spot where he could never be hurt like that again. Trust no one, let no one in, and you’re safe.
“I’m glad you feel that way, for you. And because it also means I can tell you that I’m going to an auction in London when I go there later this month to meet with my clients at Sofia’s Pharmacy. I’m so excited,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “I have my eyes on a few items in the lot.”
“What are you hoping to bid on?”
“Nothing too fancy. I’m still just a working girl,” she said, jokingly. Then, she turned serious. “There are some gorgeous paintings from a newer artist, Miller Valentina, and I want to get them to finish out my collection of kisses. But I suppose, if you think about it, you don’t really ever need to finish a collection of kisses. They can keep going on.”
He looked at her, and she was gazing at the images on her wall—an image of a couple in the rain curled together in an embrace, then a black-and-white photograph of a sailor kissing his girl, and also a movie poster of Rhett locking lips with Scarlett from Gone With The Wind. “You are such a romantic,” he said.
“Yeah, I am,” she said, nodding, and owning it. “I completely am. All the more ironic, considering my parents are anti-romantic, isn’t it? They couldn’t wait ’til I left the house for college so they could finally divorce.”
“I like that they didn’t sap the desire out of you.”
“But aren’t you glad you don’t have to worry about tending to the overly romantic side of me? You only have to think about this side,” she said, gesturing to her body, as if she were presenting him with it.
Admittedly, there was a part of Nate that was immensely glad he didn’t have to worry about the romantic side of her. The evidence of her heart’s true desire for love was displayed on her wall for all to see—proof that she was the opposite of him. And she didn’t hide it. She didn’t try to deny it. She simply tried to live by it. Of course, now she was trying to both live by it and add a few new tricks to the mix in the proverbial quest to have it all.
But some small part of his heart lurched in sadness that he could only serve the physical. He didn’t have it in him to be more. He wasn’t prone to romance, or to the kind she wanted. He’d made a choice to live on the other side, and that was a damn good choice that had served him well, and protected him. He’d stand by it, come hell or high water. And since they didn’t see eye to eye on this front, it was best for their friendship, and their future, that they be able to do precisely what they were doing right now—safely return to the friend zone after a session in the lover’s lane. So he did what he’d done before, even if it pained him to bring up an ex.