“For almost two years. I knew they would be perfect for each other. She’s crazy about him and desperately needs someone to fuss over. If anyone ever needed fussing over, it’s Pinkie. He was just being pigheaded.”
Hunter studied her as she smiled. “You like him very much, don’t you?”
Her eyes came to rest on his. He was close. His hard thigh was only an inch from hers on the seat. She couldn’t exactly feel it, but she knew it was there. “Very much. He’s the friend everyone should have.” She sipped at her wine. “Sometimes it’s painful to have a friend like that.”
“How so?”
“They tell you the truth when others would tell you what you want to hear.” She sighed and closed her eyes. “You see, I counted on Pinkie to bail me out of the mess I got myself into. He made me take my punishment like a good little soldier.”
“Kari.” Her eyes drifted open. “I’m sorry I was the cause of your suspension. Please believe that I had nothing to do with it.”
“I know.” Her voice was as soft and quiet as the hand she laid reassuringly on his arm. She was as surprised as he that she had touched him voluntarily. She gazed down at her hand, but couldn’t find a good reason to remove it from the hard strength of his forearm. “None of this was your fault, Hunter. I apologize for what I said that day in the restaurant.”
“You apologized in your note.”
“My stilted and formal note,” she said and he shrugged slightly. “I was embarrassed by the scene I’d caused and didn’t know what to write.” Her eyes shone with tears and her voice was tremulous. “You should have punched me out.”
“Kari, don’t let it upset you again. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He covered her hand with his own.
“Dessert tonight?”
Kari was grateful to the waiter for intruding. Her head was buzzing, and it had nothing to do with the wine she had drunk. Things were moving too fast. They had to slow down. She was just coming to grips with Thomas’s death, his infidelities, her career, her whole future.
Did she need another emotional upheaval now? She seized the opportunity to prolong the dinner, because she didn’t know what would happen when it was over.
“Please. I’d like to see a dessert menu,” she said quickly. “It must be the mountain air, but since I’ve been here, I’ve been eating like a horse.” She tried to sound frivolous and gay, but didn’t think Hunter fell for it. He was studying her closely with a half-formed smile on his lips, as though he knew her craving for dessert was a delaying tactic.
They perused the menu together. “New York cheese-cake,” Hunter commented.
“That sounds good,” Kari said. “With strawberries, maybe?” The waiter nodded.
“What’s the difference between New York cheese-cake and plain cheesecake?” Hunter asked him.
“Seventy-five cents,” he quipped.
They both laughed. “I buy only the best. One New York cheesecake with strawberries for the lady and I’ll have apple pie. Two coffees.”
“With cheese or vanilla ice cream?” the waiter asked, noting down their order on his pad.
Hunter turned to her. “Do you take cheese or vanilla ice cream in your coffee?”
“No,” she said seriously.
“I meant on the apple pie,” the waiter said with forbearance.
“Oh, on the pie! Vanilla ice cream.”
The waiter went away shaking his head and they burst out laughing. Kari even went so far as to press her fore-head against his shoulder as she giggled. She rather imagined she was tipsy, but it felt so good she didn’t care. When she lifted her eyes to his, they melted together:
“The only other time I’ve seen you laugh was one day in court when your photographer said something to you. I like the sound of it,” he said softly.
“I’ve never seen you laugh.”
“This is a night for firsts, isn’t it?”
His husky whisper found its way into her body. Once inside, it scattered to every erogenous spot and brought on a riot. Battling so many bonfires was futile, so she let them burn slowly and deliciously.
“It’s a shame to waste that last bite, but if I eat it, I’m going to pop,” she said a few minutes later.
“We can ask for a doggie bag. You could have it for breakfast.”
“No, but thank you. Remember that fifteen pounds the television camera adds?”
“I remember everything you said that day.”
She remembered it, too. She had walked into his office, curious but confident, having no inkling of the impact he was going to have on her life. And it wasn’t over yet. She felt that the influence he had already had on her future was mild compared to what was coming.