Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
O n Sunday morning, Kat slid into the booth opposite her chronically late friend. “Wow, you beat me. Are you all right?”
“Are you kidding?” Mia leaned over the table. “I’ve been here for five minutes. I can’t wait to hear about the visit from Colorado Man. Come on. I need deets .”
Kat was happy to give them. She wanted Mia’s take on the situation.
Would she be in the hang-on-and-see-where-things-go camp or the let-it-go-it-was-a-fun-fling camp?
“Well, I have to say it was pretty amazing.” She gave Mia a quick overview of her almost two days with Nick and all the things they’d crammed into their time together. “It was so much fun.”
“Oh, my gaaawd, girl,” Mia drawled. “You are, like, all sparkly.” She flittered her hands in the air for emphasis.
Rolling her eyes, Kat laughed. “Anything wrong with that?”
“Not at all, just so not you. Photo, please.”
Right. The post-date selfie, something they’d done since college.
Kat pulled out her cell phone, glad she’d remembered.
“Coming right up.” She found the photo the woman at the skating rink had taken and turned the screen toward Mia.
Then she watched as Mia tapped the photo and held it up for a closer view.
Her friend’s eyes widened. “Yum!” She gave Kat a long, speculative look. “Please tell me this turned into a sleepover.”
Kat flopped back against the padded booth and blew out her breath. She shook her head.
“No. Way.” Mia groaned. “Why not?”
Kat shrugged. “I’ve only known the guy a few days.”
“Sure, but now you know him, right?”
Did she? Kat felt as if she knew Nick, but how could she really in that amount of time?
She toyed with the napkin on the table, practically squirming under Mia’s challenging eyes—and waffling between being okay with her decision Friday night and seriously regretting it.
Yes, she’d been stuck on the number of days they’d known each other and what was “appropriate” rather than how she felt.
Kat’s stomach fluttered just remembering Nick’s caresses, the way she fit against him, his goodnight kiss.
She couldn’t deny he’d left an ache of longing inside her.
“Besides, he already had a room booked.”
“Uh-huh. And he already cancelled a flight. I doubt he’d have hesitated to cancel a hotel room.”
Kat honestly wasn’t sure whether Nick would’ve accepted an invitation to stay or not. Would it have felt like a one-night stand? She met Mia’s eyes. “Too late to change my mind now.”
Mia shook her head. “Someday, my friend, you’ve got to let go of this prim and proper upbringing and let yourself have some fun.”
“I said we had fun,” Kat reminded her. She wasn’t surprised by Mia’s assessment. The two of them had always had a different approach to intimacy.
Mia took another look at Kat’s phone then slid it back toward her. “Looks good to me. Cute. Nice smile. Just the right amount of facial hair. So, what’s next? Another rendezvous on the horizon?”
There it was—the real question. Kat stared into her cup and told herself it didn’t matter.
She’d had a nice weekend with a great guy, and it didn’t need to be more than that.
She had plenty to keep her busy—friends, a good job, and her painting.
With the upcoming show, her life was moving along just fine. No relationship needed.
“Hello?” Mia waved a hand. “You expecting that mug to turn into a crystal ball and answer my question?”
Kat let out a long groan. “No, we don’t have a definite plan. But if he gets this HomeBuilders gig, he might have to come back here for something.”
“And you could come up with all kinds of reasons to go visit your grandmother.”
“I am definitely not running back to Colorado every weekend. That would be ridiculous. Besides my show, we’re getting ready to start a new project at the museum, plus we still have the volunteer stuff with the kids.”
“Have you heard from him since he left?”
“Yeah, he texted me when he got home last night.” Of course, that had been midnight Eastern time, and she’d missed the text. Wasn’t a bad thing to wake up to, though. He missed me already.
“Ah, out of sight, but not out of mind. That’s a good sign.”
Sign of what, Kat wondered. “But how long before out of sight turns to out of mind with work and everyday life? We’re both busy.”
“Why do you have to worry about that now?” Mia demanded.
“Maybe I don’t.” She’d never had a long-distance relationship.
Never left anyone special behind when she went to college.
Unfortunately, Nick didn’t like the city, and that’s where her life was.
She began gathering her things. “Come on. Let’s head over to the studio.
I need to get some work done today. I’ve got a meeting with Pete tomorrow.
” She’d spent two days goofing off with Nick, and even more time thinking about the man.
Time to put the fantasy aside and get back to real life.
“With Pete, wow, and you’re just now mentioning this? That Nick guy really was a distraction then.”
Kat sputtered a laugh. He was indeed.
“Meeting about the show, I presume?”
“Yeah. Hopefully I’ll get all the dates and details and a list of which paintings he wants.”
“Cool.”
Inside the studio, Kat quickly became absorbed in her work. With bold, fluid motions, she completed the first layer of a whimsical landscape with bright wildflowers dancing in the foreground and mountain peaks behind.
She looked up when she felt Mia’s presence beside her.
Mia set a fresh cup of tea on Kat’s side table. “Hmm,” she said. “One might think you’ve got the mountains on your mind. Maybe the Rockies? Yep. Definitely has that Colorado vibe.”
Kat shot her a sideways glance then looked back at her painting. It definitely did.
She’d been painting Colorado scenes for years, right? But they’re more interesting now, a voice whispered inside.
* * *
Hands on his hips, Nick studied the interior space of the shop, visualizing Kat’s paintings on display and wondering how many it would take to make an impact and get people looking.
If she could send him some before tourist season kicked in, he’d bet he could sell more than a few, especially if she included some mountain landscapes.
Better yet, maybe she’d be willing to deliver them.
She could fly into Colorado Springs and not even have to–
“Has that wall done something to offend you, hon?”
Nick startled at the sound of Trena’s voice. Though she had the Sunday afternoon shift, he hadn’t heard her come in. “What’s that?”
“You’re glaring at that wall as if it reached out and tripped you or something.”
“Oh.” Nick laughed off the comment, embarrassed at having been caught daydreaming. “Just thinking.”
Trena’s brows arched. “Good thoughts, I hope. How’d it go in New York?”
“Great. Really good. Spent some time with an artist whose work I might want to consign. Lives in New York, but she’s from Denver, so still counts as local.” He gestured toward the wall. “They’d give us a nice block of color for spring.”
Trena stared at him, her expression turning into a puzzled frown. “What about the interview?”
Oh, right. His actual purpose for going to New York. He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I think it went well. Hoping to hear something at the end of the week. In the meantime, it’s business as usual.”
“All right, then,” Trena said. “I’ve got a few new pieces to inventory and find a place for.” She started past him, then turned back. “Do you want me to send consigner forms to the New York artist?”
Heat rose on the back of Nick’s neck. “No, I’ll take care of it. She hasn’t committed yet.”
With a nod and a wave, Trena headed to the back room.
And Nick strode to his office. Business as usual?
What a laugh. He’d barely given any thought to his own work since, oh, about sometime Friday.
Today, he needed to get a couple of estimates written up, including a revision and potential contract for Rebecca Andrews.
He was due at her place on Wednesday with final drawings and numbers.
Kat was right. It’d be harder to work with her mother knowing that she didn’t support Kat and her career choices.
How could the woman not see what a talented artist her own daughter was?
And didn’t she realize how prestigious it was to land a job at the Museum of Modern Art?
Just as well he didn’t know all the details of their relationship, or, as Kat put it, the dirty laundry.
Thirty minutes later, Nick shut his laptop and turned the place over to Trena.
He spent the rest of the day in the studio, his glance occasionally straying to his cell phone.
He didn’t yet have a good handle on Kat’s schedule and had no idea how long she stayed at her studio on Sundays or what time she normally went to bed.
He wanted to call but didn’t want to interrupt her.
And he had to work around the two-hour time difference.
By the time he was ready to start winding down in the evening, she might be ready to call it a night.
He skimmed through the estimates a final time before hitting “send” then placed the proposed contract for Kat’s mother into his briefcase. His phone buzzed, and he opened a text message from his mother.
— Dinner tonight? Lasagna in the oven.—
An offer he couldn’t refuse. He figured his parents were eager to hear about the interview as well.
Too bad he didn’t have anything concrete to report yet.
And he didn’t dare mention Kat to his mother.
Her hinting was bad enough already. But if she knew he was actually interested in someone, it could become relentless.
Nick loved his mother dearly but didn’t want to fuel her anticipation that someday he’d get married and start producing grandkids.
—Be there in 10—
He decided to shoot a quick text to Kat first.
—Do you have time for a call tonight?—