"Honestly, Dane? I don't know. I'm still so new at my job, but I can already tell that I love it. I can't see myself walking away or doing something different. It's the job I've dreamed about for years, and I thought I'd had to work my way up to obtain something that dropped in my lap. I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. And I won't lie … part of the reason I love it so much is because of you."
"I guess I'm just worried how much our personal feelings toward one another might affect our working relationship." I wanted to kick myself for inadvertently admitting I felt the same as she did.
Her eyes met mine and softened. The beginning of a small grin shadowed her lips. And just like that, all the worry inside me vanished. "You're a good man, Dane. Even though you didn't tell me about Gabi when we first met, you said something when it counted. Most men wouldn't have done that. Not to mention, I'm not a fan of cheating … so you don't have to worry about me causing any problems."
If only she knew how many problems she'd already caused to my now constant inner turmoil. Granted, it wasn't her fault. She couldn't control my dreams any more than I could, but it didn't change the fact I thought about her when I shouldn't … which was pretty much all the time.
"Hey, Dane?" Her soft and timid voice caught my attention more than a loud shout would've. "Why don't you wear a wedding band?"
Her question caught me off guard. I couldn't recall telling her I was married. I'd only indicated to her I had met Gabi in high school and had been with her ever since. I told her about the baby, but plenty of people got pregnant before getting married.
My silence must have made her nervous because she continued. "I overheard someone talking at work and she called Gabi your wife. But I've never seen you wear a ring, and looking at your finger now, I don't see a tan line, either."
"That's because I'm not married."
I didn't miss the spark in her eyes when they met mine.
"We're engaged, though."
Nor did I miss it vanish right before she closed them.
6
"Why do you keep checking the phone every five seconds? Are you waiting for a call?" Eden asked as she unwrapped her sandwich.
Somehow, ever since the beach, we'd found ourselves a good routine. It'd only been a week, but we managed to find a comfortable balance between work and friendly conversation. The door between our offices always remained open, and every day at noon-providing we weren't in the middle of a conference call or meeting-we ate lunch together at my desk.
"Gabi finally made an appointment with her psychiatrist and it was this morning. She was supposed to call me afterward, but I haven't heard from her. I'm starting to get a little worried."
"What are you worried about?" Her concern was real, and it comforted me to know she cared enough to talk about it. It was new to me, since I wasn't used to having anyone I could talk openly about Gabi to, but I was adjusting.
"I don't know. She hasn't been herself in a really long time. So I don't know what kind of mood she'll be in after leaving the appointment."
The phone on my desk came to life and I instantly picked up the receiver, grappling with it until I finally settled it against my ear.
"Kauffmann." I tried to sound confident, but felt ready to lose it at any moment.
"Well, hello there, Dane."
The weight nearly crushed me when I recognized the female voice on the other end of the phone. I blew out a long exhale into the receiver in place of a greeting.
"Don't sound so excited to hear from me," she said with a giggle.
Janette. She was my publicist, and a damn good one at that. She had a husband and two boys who she kept in line, and she did the same things here at the office. Truly, she was a godsend. I always enjoyed hearing from her, but not when expecting a call from Gabi regarding therapy. It was just bad timing.
I rolled my eyes and loosened up a bit. "What'd I do now?"
"What makes you think you did anything? Guilty conscience?"
"That depends … Did you find out about me moonlighting as a high-priced male escort?" I'd forgotten about Eden's presence until she laughed under her breath, catching my attention. I couldn't help but smile at her. And just like that, all worry had vanished and I found myself living in the moment, lost in her green eyes.
"High priced? Please, Dane. You wouldn't make a buck."
Roaring laughter ripped from my chest until I was reclined in my black leather chair. "You're just jealous. My going rate is five figures, easy."
"Not on the corner I see you on at night."
"Janette … I'd ask why you're driving past corners with hookers, but I'm gonna leave that one alone." I continued to laugh but stopped the second I saw the humor drain from Eden's face.
"Whatever. I actually called for a reason, and it has nothing to do with you paying for sex. I returned from my two-week vacation to find out you've hired a new assistant. And to make matters worse, you stole her from me. She was supposed to be my new receptionist." Her tone was filled with humor, so I knew she wasn't legitimately angry.
"We both know she's overqualified to be your receptionist. Consider it a win-win because you still get to work with her, and now it will be on a more collegial level." Eden took another bite of her sandwich and wouldn't meet my gaze. "We'll schedule something soon so you two can meet. I'd like to brainstorm some ideas I've been thinking about."
"Sounds good. Talk to you soon."
I hung up and let out a sigh. I'd convinced myself it would be Gabi calling and almost had a heart attack. Living under this kind of stress wasn't healthy.
"That was Janette, my publicist. She's fantastic. You should set up a meeting in the next week or so to go over a few things."
"Oh," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "That's why the comment was made about still working with me."
I nodded and continued eating my lunch.
"Tell me about how you and Gabi met."
"Why?" I stopped mid-chew, both surprised and perplexed by her question.
She smiled and waited until she swallowed her bite before answering. "Sometimes when I'm worried about something, thinking about a more cheerful time gets me through. Maybe I'm way off base, but I assumed thinking of her when you first met might make you feel better about what's going on."
I couldn't believe I was about to give in, but I did. "It was in tenth grade. Her mom had recently gotten married and they'd moved to town. She was the new girl, starting school mid-year, which every kid dreads. But it also made it hard to miss her. She was quiet and mostly kept to herself, so had it been the beginning of the year when there were tons of new kids, I might have missed our chance meeting.
"We had math together and she sat right in front of me. It was always one of my better subjects, but she was struggling, so I finally offered her my notes. And eventually, I started helping her after school a couple times a week. We'd meet in the library and work on our homework together. She didn't talk much and I chalked it up to her being new. Her introverted attitude made conversation difficult and all we ever discussed was math. But I got to spend time with her so I didn't care if we talked about math or the weather."
"So you tutored her in order to spend time with her? That's cute."
I thought it'd be weird discussing Gabi with Eden, but her smile made me chuckle, and I was quickly reminded of how easy it was to talk to her about anything.
"Finally, just before the school year ended, I asked Gabi out to the movies. She said no." I grinned, remembering it as if it were yesterday. "I kept at it, though. I asked her out every day until the last day of school. I didn't know where she lived, and she wouldn't give me her phone number, so I waited the entire summer until the first day of junior year and persistently started again. She readily agreed on that very first day of school. We went to dinner that Friday, and the rest is history."
"That's a really great story, Dane," she said, the corners of her mouth curving up. "But now you have me intrigued. The rest is not history. Tell me more."
"I was so used to her not saying much, that when I finally got her phone number and called, I was surprised by how much she opened up. We stayed up talking from eight that night until two in the morning. And then the next night, we spent five more hours on the phone. I don't know what the hell we had to talk about for that long, but we managed to think of something interesting, I guess. There wasn't one awkward moment of silence the entire time." Those memories brought a smile to my face.
Eden finished her sandwich before asking another question. Leaning back in the chair, she tightened her features and took on an inquisitive stare. "So she started getting depressed after the baby? Things were good until then?"