Yet he’d talked to Abbi—told her almost the worst thing ever. His heartbreak over what had happened to Brooke. And that stuff the other night about how anxious he’d been when he’d first moved to her school.
He closed his eyes. Regretting it. Because he’d seen the horror in her eyes and he so did not want pity. He was pleased with how his life had turned out. He’d played in the NBA for fuck’s sake.
He’d worked so freaking hard. But he was happy with his life. He’d done okay. More than okay. He didn’t even curse the injury that ended his pro basketball career after only a couple of seasons. There were other things he needed to do. But relationships weren’t part of that.
Yeah. He needed a time out. He still had a week to get the rest of her lessons in. A couple of days’ break would be good.
Except, even as he made that decision, he reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone. He had to let her know, right? Or she’d get all angsty and insecure and he didn’t want to do that to her. She needed the lesson schedule.
What about the art of the flirt-by-text? You game to practice?
He sent the text and waited.
I’m not sending you a sexy pic.
He chuckled at her instant response.
Why not? It could be a good part of your game plan. Tantalize me.
Smiling, he waited again. Again, not for long.
Words are better.
Yes and no. He still ached for the picture. Actually, he ached for the real thing. Not just to look at, not even just to hold. And like she said, words were better.
He wanted to talk to her.
But even as he tried to remind himself about his priorities, his fingers slipped over the touch screen of his phone.
“Hey Joe.”
Pleasure filled him at her rapid answer. At the slight breathiness in her voice.
“How’s your day going?” he asked. Lame.
“Not too bad.”
“You getting all the framework together for your app?”
“It’s coming along nicely.”
He grinned. “Glad to hear it.”
“How about you?” she asked. “Your day going well?”
“Not too bad. Too much paperwork.”
“You’d rather be out doing your jumping jacks or something?”
“Always.” He spun his chair back to face his desk and pushed bits of paper around with his finger. “Whereas you were always the bookworm. Did you go straight to college from school?”
“Yes, I did,” she answered.
“Did well and stayed there for years, I bet.” He didn’t know why he was asking when he knew what her answer would be.
“Yeah.”
It was the brevity of the answer that bothered him. He waited, but she wasn’t volunteering anything extra. His eyes narrowed as he spotted a small rectangular card poking out of his in-tray. He reached forward and grinned as he read the invite. “There’s an art exhibition opening on Saturday night,” he said. “You want to come with me?”
His heart stopped for half a beat—was he really nervous about her reply?
“Of course I want to come with you. But you’re going to an art exhibition?”
He chuckled at the flirt in her voice, but he was less amused at the audible shock about the exhibition. “Why so surprised? One of my gym clients is a sculptor. From what I’ve heard, talented too.”
“Oh. Okay. That would be great. Thank you.”
“I’ll pick you up at seven.”
“Okay, uh, what’s the lesson going to be this time?”
“Lesson?” He frowned, then remembered. This was meant to be one of their tutoring sessions. Hell, he’d forgotten. “Ah…you’ll see. Saturday.”
He hung up. Should be satisfied. Saturday was three days away. Plenty of time to have the space he needed.
Perfect.
Twenty-four hours later he tossed his phone onto his desk, not giving a damn if the screen cracked. He couldn’t stand it anymore. He was thinking about her all the fucking time. What he needed was fresh air.
It was only a short walk to her office and before he knew it, he was there. He got the receptionist to phone Nadia, who gave him security clearance to go up to their floor. So it was easy to spin Abbi on her seat and surprise her.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here?” She looked pleased. He loved the way she sparkled when she saw him.
“You had lunch yet?” he asked.
She brightened more at his suggestion. “No. Give me a second.”
She disappeared for a couple of minutes and looked so bright-eyed when she returned, he couldn’t resist kissing her. Just a brief touch of his lips to hers. Forty seconds later he had to stop and get them out of the building before he really lost it.
Apparently making out in cubicles was frowned on by management.