Chapter Ten #3
Her belly clutched, and she reached for the sugar bowl. He would ask, because that was the kind of man he was. How had she forgotten that? “No. But thanks.”
The silence hummed while she stirred in her sugar, then she turned and leaned back against the counter. “So, is this what the up-and-coming young insurance executive wears these days?”
Nash glanced down at his T-shirt and shorts. “The ones who work from home. The ones in the office wear suits, poor bastards.”
“Isn’t that you today? I thought you were going in for the AC.”
“I will if it’s not fixed by tomorrow.” He frowned. “Which means I’ll have to dig out my suit.”
“Suit?” she queried. “Singular?”
“Why would a man have more than one suit?”
“I have no idea,” she said drily. “So you’re planning to sweat through your Zoom meetings today?”
He shook his head. “I took the day off.”
Her belly did a quick little jig. “Any special reason?”
“Merry-Go-Round Museum.”
She rolled her eyes. “I should’ve known.”
“I like museums,” he said defensively.
“Oh, I’m aware,” she drawled. “I’m the one who spent spring break waiting for you in the Smithsonian.”
“You’re the one who wanted to go to DC,” he pointed out.
“For the cherry blossoms,” she reminded him. “For the theatre, the nightlife.”
“Museums have nightlife,” he protested, and grinned when she snorted. “Okay, that might be a stretch.”
“Where is this merry-go-round museum?”
“In Sandusky.”
Her eyes lit up. “Ooh, Cedar Point.”
“Not on my agenda,” he said firmly.
She shook her head sadly. “You never want to have any fun, Nash.”
“Roller coasters make me puke, Bailey. How is that fun?”
“Fair point.” She sipped her coffee as nostalgia swamped her. “I haven’t been to Cedar Point in years.”
“Why not? You love that place.”
She shrugged. “I get busy, and by the time I have time, the season’s over.”
“Go today.”
“What?”
“Ditch work and go today. Come on, Bay, what’s the point of owning your own business if you can’t do what you want?”
“I can’t ditch because it’s my business,” she told him impatiently. “Employees rely on me, and clients don’t like last minute cancellations.”
“So, tell them you had an emergency.”
Genuinely aghast, she shook her head. “That’s just asking the universe to give you a real emergency.”
He rolled his eyes. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“Don’t you remember when you told your mother you couldn’t come home for the weekend because you had the flu?”
He jabbed a finger at her. “I didn’t drop you, I slipped. The floor was slippery.”
“It was slippery because you didn’t make sure the shower curtain was closed. You sprained your ankle, I needed six stiches, and we had to pay for the damages from you ripping the towel bar out of the wall.”
He scowled. “That thing was not sturdy at all.”
“The point is, you don’t tempt fate,” she finished triumphantly. “Which I wouldn’t have to do anyway, because it’s my day off.”
“Then what the hell are you arguing with me for?”
She shrugged. “It’s fun?”
“You’re such a pain in the ass.”
She grinned. “Hey, Nash?”
“No.”
She blinked. “You don’t even know what I’m going to ask.”
“You want me to go to Cedar Point with you,” he said and shook his head. “Well, forget it. I don’t do roller coasters, and I want to go to the museum.”
“I’ll go with you to the museum if come to Cedar Point with me,” she wheedled.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Why?”
“Why not? I’ve been to museums with you before.”
“And I had to drag you to every single one,” he reminded her, eyes still narrowed. “You hate museums.”
“I do not hate them,” she protested. “I just don’t see why you have to look at every tiny little thing in every single exhibit.”
“Because I do,” he said stubbornly.
“Fine. I’ll watch you look at every little thing in the carousel museum—”
“Merry-Go-Round,” he corrected.
“—if you come to Cedar Point with me. And I won’t complain or try to drag you out of there early or annoy you if I get bored.”
“Is that even possible?” he wondered.
“They probably have a gift shop or a café. I’ll go there.”
“Why do you want me to go to Cedar Point with you?” He looked genuinely baffled. “I can’t go on any of the rides.”
“Because it won’t be any fun alone. Please, Nash?”
He stared at her for a moment, and she thought he was going to say no. Then he held up a finger. “We go to the museum first.”
She nodded so fast she almost got dizzy. “Absolutely.”
“And I get to look at everything,” he continued. “You don’t try to rush me, or nag me to go faster, or sigh really loud so I know you’re annoyed.”
“Cross my heart,” she swore, swiping her finger in an X over her chest.
“And buy me lunch and a souvenir.”
“Okay, now you’re getting a little greedy.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”
She wanted to pretend to think it over, but she was too happy. “Fine. Lunch—at a place of my choosing—and a souvenir of your choosing.”
He thrust out a hand. “Deal.”
“Deal.” She shook his hand solemnly, then let the grin loose. “I’m going to go get the sunscreen. Cedar Point, here we come!”
“God help me,” he said fervently, but when she dashed past him to run upstairs, she saw his smile.