Chapter Twenty-Three
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Eugene hated that he had to be in business meetings all day, but of course, that was the reason for the trip.
On the plus side, he was currently surrounded by design geniuses. They’d gone over his plans for the ride, and he’d outlined some of the programming problems that were giving him and his team fits. They’d suggested some awesome, time-saving solutions that would save them several weeks in the creation process and had pinpointed a few flaws in the programming. He could have kicked himself for not seeing where things had been going wrong, but he knew for a fact that a fresh set of eyes could help, and he’d been right. Plus, they had bonded over most of the games he loved, and a couple were fans of his work. What wasn’t to like about that?
On their break, he grabbed his phone, smiling when he saw pics that Natalie had sent him. They’d had breakfast together in the hotel this morning, and he’d told her that Michael could set her up with some tours, but she wanted to go exploring on her own.
Now he saw that she’d done the Statue of Liberty tour and was headed to the Empire State Building. After that, she planned to do some shopping.
She hadn’t seemed afraid to be off on her own exploring, which made him feel a little less guilty about being tied up in meetings all day.
Tonight, though, they’d have a nice dinner together.
He couldn’t wait to see her.
· · ·
Natalie had always loved shopping. But shopping here? A whole new experience. She tried not to overdo it, had gotten a few gifts for Camryn and Christopher, and had picked up a scarf she knew her mom would love. She’d found some “I ? NY” dog T-shirts for Hazel’s dogs, which she knew Hazel would enjoy way more than a gift for herself, but she still bought matching shirts for Hazel and Linc. How cute would they all look in a pic together in their shirts? And she’d splurged a little on an outfit for herself. Eugene had told her he was taking her out to dinner. Sure, she’d brought plenty of clothes from home, but she could totally justify the new dress. She’d seen it at the shop and just had to try it on. And once on, it had molded to her body as if it had been made just for her.
It was like a sign that the dress had to belong to her. She couldn’t say no. After all, she already had the perfect shoes to go with the dress.
When she got back to the hotel, she put all the packages away and hung the dress in the closet. She made herself a cold drink, then kicked off her shoes and put her feet up in the comfortable chair and called her mom to check on the kids.
“Shouldn’t you be focusing entirely on having fun?” her mom asked.
“I am having fun. I went and did touristy things today while Eugene worked. Oh, and I shopped.”
“Shopping is very exciting there.”
“Yes, it is. How are the kids doing?”
“They’re just fine. Paul and I took them out for pizza last night, then we came home and played games until bedtime. Tonight we’re making tacos, and Christopher wants to build a fort in the living room. I’m putting Paul in charge of that.”
“They love tacos. And games of all kinds. Make sure they put all the fort things away when they’re done.”
“Oh, no worries there.”
“Thanks again for doing this, Mom. I really appreciate it.”
“And I appreciate having time with my grandchildren. You should go away more often.”
She laughed. They chatted awhile longer, then she hung up, took a deep breath, and let it out. Her kids were in good hands with her mom, and Hazel already told her that she and Linc were going to take the kids out on Friday night so Mom and Paul could have a break.
She was so grateful to have her mother and sister in her life, especially in light of her ex-husband not being as cooperative a parent as she would have liked. But she couldn’t make him step up and take responsibility for his children with the enthusiasm everyone else had for the kids, so she’d make sure her kids were extra loved by her family.
The door opened and Eugene walked in, looking especially delicious in a suit, though he carried the jacket over his arm, and the sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows.
She warmed just looking at him, then got up and went over to him, curling her hand around his neck. “Hi. How was your day?”
His lips curved and he drew her against him. “It was good.” He kissed her, a long, lingering kiss. “It’s perfect now. How was your day?”
She stepped back and took his suit jacket to the closet to hang it up. “It was good. I had fun today. How about you?”
He went to the bar and fixed himself a cold drink. “It was productive. We got a lot accomplished and a few problems resolved.”
“That’s good.” She took a seat in the living room, and he sat next to her.
“Tell me everything about your day.”
She loved that he’d asked, that he was even interested. She gave him a rundown of all the fun she’d had sightseeing, shared some pictures she had taken, and told him about the gifts she’d bought for her family.
“They’re going to love those,” he said, running his hand along her thigh.
“I got a gift for you as well.”
He gave her a curious look. “You did? Really?”
“Yes.” She got up and went to the closet, bringing back a gift bag and handing it to him as she took a seat next to him.
“You didn’t have to do this.” He held the bag with both hands, but hadn’t yet looked to see what was in it.
“I saw it and thought of you.” She waited, but he still hadn’t moved. “Open the bag, Eugene.”
He did, pulling out the box. He looked at her and frowned, then opened the box and gave her a surprised look.
“I noticed you didn’t wear a smart watch.”
He shrugged. “Not really my thing.”
“But I thought you might want one that just tells time.” She held up her wrist to show him her watch. “I don’t always like to have to look at my phone to see what time it is.”
“This is…wow. It’s really cool, Natalie.” He took the watch out and slid it on his wrist.
Natalie had to admit that it looked sexy on him. A gunmetal gray, it was simple in design and utterly masculine.
“This is really cool,” he said, staring down at the watch before looking up at her. “Thank you, Natalie.”
He leaned over and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips.
“You’re welcome.”
He grasped her hand in his. “You surprised me. That rarely happens to me.”
“You should get surprised more often.” She lifted up and kissed him. “I’m going to go get ready for dinner.”
“Okay. Me, too.”
She went into the bathroom, smiling as she got dressed.
The night was starting out perfectly. And it was only going to get better.