by Gina Drayer
Kira waved him off, feeling frustrated. This was a big reason she didn’t date; there never seemed to be time. But she was used to juggling multiple schedules. Thursday looked good on both of their calendars, so she blocked out extra time for lunch.
That morning, Kira took a little extra time with her makeup and wore something a little less—as Jason put it—frumpy. The day seemed to be moving in slow motion, and as it drew closer to noon, she started to get nervous all over again.
“What’s going on with you?” Kim asked.
Kira looked up from her laptop and frowned. “Nothing.”
“Nothing? You haven’t been listening to me at all. I just asked you to be my bridesmaid. For my wedding December 5th.”
“December 5th? I thought you were going to wait until the spring.”
“See? You weren’t listening,” Kim said, shaking her head. “We either have to do it now or wait until after the baby. Neither one of us wants to wait.”
Kira knew her friend’s situation was completely different than her own had been. But she felt the need to ask the question. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
“Absolutely.” Kim smiled confidently. There was a contentment in that look that Kira hadn’t seen before. She was happy for Kim and said as much, but the mood in the room had shifted.
“What about you? Are you sure you know what you’re doing with Jason?”
“Nothing is—”
“I’m not buying it,” Kim said, stopping her. “I see the way you two look at each other—and the way you don’t look at each other.”
“Is it really that obvious?” Kira said, slumping down in her chair. “I don’t want people in the office to talk.”
“You know the people we work with better than I do. No one will care, I promise. You’re both adults. What you do in your personal life is your own business.”
Kim’s conviction put Kira at ease. And she was right. One of the reasons she loved her job was that her co-workers were more like family. Other people in the office dated from time to time, and it wasn’t a big deal. The only one stopping her from being fully committed was herself.
“So dish.” Kim sat down on the other side of the desk, but didn’t wait for Kira to fill in the blanks. “You realize this is a big deal, Miss I-don’t-ever-date. I mean, I knew something went on with Jason at Simon’s wedding. But then you were all icy toward him and I thought maybe it didn’t go well. And then when you guys started pulling late nights, I knew there was something going on. But something changed in the last few days. Is it serious?”
“I don’t know,” Kira said, truthfully. “Maybe?”
“Do you want it to be? Jason doesn’t strike me as your type.”
Kira furrowed her brows. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s … you know.” Kim took a deep breath and shook her head. “Kind of immature.”
“Immature?” Sure, he could be a little goofy at times, but she wouldn’t call him immature. He’d looked after her when she was sick. He’d taken an interest in her daughter. He’d shown a great deal of dedication to his job. The urge to defend him colored her words. “That’s not the way I see him. If anything, I think he worries way too much about how people see him around here.”
“I didn’t mean it in a bad way,” Kim said, holding up her hands in surrender. “I just figured you’d want someone that was in the same place in life as you are. You know, settled. A family guy.”
Kira was about to defend Jason when she saw the blonde from Monday walk up to Jason’s office. They spoke for a few seconds in his doorway and then he escorted her inside, closing the door behind them. Kira wouldn’t have thought twice about the interaction except for the intimate way his hand rested on the small of her back and the ease with which the blonde touched his face.
They looked like a couple out of a fashion magazine: Jason with his sandy blond hair and wide shoulders, and her with the designer clothes that were cut perfectly for her willowy frame. Kira, on the other hand, probably looked more like Jason’s frumpy aunt than his sexy girlfriend.
“God, what is she doing here?” Kim asked, breaking into Kira’s thoughts.
“Do you know her?” Kira asked.
“That’s Bridget. Jason’s ex-wife.”
Kira turned back to stare at the closed door, a new set of concerns plaguing her thoughts. Was it possible that Jason wanted to get back together with his ex?
“Crap. I have a lunch meeting. And by meeting, I mean my sexy husband-to-be is picking me up for a date.”
Kira looked at the clock and frowned. It was twelve. Jason was supposed to have lunch with her today, but instead, he was behind a closed office door with his beautiful ex-wife. Kim reached over and patted Kira’s hand.
“Don’t worry about her. She’s an awful woman. Everyone was thrilled when they split.”
Kira nodded, but wasn’t as reassured as her friend left. Just because his family didn’t like Bridget didn’t mean that Jason was happy about the divorce. As a matter of fact, she vaguely recalled him saying just the opposite that night at the wedding.
As the seconds ticked by, Kira’s confidence drained away. At twelve-thirty, Kira packed up her purse and stopped at the desk to tell Rita she was going home with a headache.
Maybe Kim was right, Jason wasn’t the right guy for her. Or the other way around. They were at different places in their lives. Kira had a house payment and a teenager. Those kinds of responsibilities aren’t taken on lightly. Maybe he was just now realizing that.
“Why are you back, Bridget?” Jason said as soon as the door closed. “I told you, I’d call if I decided to accept your offer.”
“Cal and I are leaving tomorrow and I thought this would be my last chance to sway you.”
“You should be happy that I’m even considering your offer.” Jason looked at the clock and sighed. “I have a lunch appointment. I’m sure you can find your way out.”
Bridget reached over and grabbed his arm. “Please, Jason.”
That stopped him. Bridget never begged for anything. “Why is this so important to you? It’s hours away from the city. It’s not even in one of the trendy bedroom communities. Why?”
“I need someplace quiet where Cal and I can spend some time together.”
“Trouble in paradise already?” Jason said, unable to resist the jab.
“No, you asshole. Cal has cancer. We were here seeing a specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering.” Bridget collapsed into the nearby chair. “It’s been a stressful month and I remember how relaxing it was at the lake. I thought that if we had a place like that—” A sob cut off her words. “I don’t know what to do.”
This wasn’t the way he had seen their conversation going. Jason grabbed a box of tissues off his desk and handed it to her, still trying to figure out if she was being earnest or if this was just another one of her manipulative ploys. She knew how much his mother’s breast cancer had affected his whole family. If this was just a stunt …
Jason sat in the chair across from her and waited.
“I’m sorry,” she said, dabbing at her eyes. The damage to her makeup was already done. “I didn’t mean to tell you that. We’ve been trying to keep a low profile. Cal’s planning a leave of absence from the station after his surgery.”
“How bad is it?” he asked, still a little skeptical. For all he knew, it might be a mole he needed removed from his ass.
“It’s brain cancer. The doctors are optimistic. They said we caught it early, and after the tumor is removed he might not even need radiation, but—” Bridget sobbed into the tissue. “But it’s brain cancer. Brain cancer.”
Jason spent the next hour listening to his ex-wife talk about her new husband’s cancer. It wasn’t how he wanted to spend his lunch break, but he’d shared a life with Bridget and it was obvious she didn’t have anyone else to talk to about it.
By the time she’d calmed down enough to leave, Jason assured her that he’d make a decision about the house before C
al’s surgery. Bridget gave him a hug and then surprised him. “I’m sorry things didn’t work out between us. I don’t think either of us was ready to be in a serious relationship, let alone get married.” She picked up her purse. Pulling out a compact, she attempted to fix the blotchy red spot. “But I do hope you find someone. Maybe that secretary of yours?”
“Thanks,” he said. He wasn’t going to talk to her about Kira. Ever. “I hope everything works out for Cal. And for you.”
As soon as she was on the elevator, Jason went to Kira’s office to apologize for missing lunch. He was prepared to grovel if necessary, but she wasn’t there. It was almost one, and she probably went without him. But when she wasn’t back by two, Jason called her cell.
“Where are you?”
“I went home sick. I would have told you I was leaving, but you were occupied,” she said, flatly.
“I’m sorry I missed lunch. Bridget stopped by and she was upset.” It sounded like he was making excuses, so he stopped. “Do you want me to grab some soup or something and come over?”
“No. I’m going to try to get some sleep before Riley comes home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up, not waiting for him to answer.
The next morning, Kira tried to avoid him. But by lunch, he was done dancing around the subject. Jason decided to take the bull by the horns. “Come to lunch with me,” he said as he walked into her office.
“I really—”
“Unless something is literally on fire, cupcake, it’s not up for negotiation.”
“But—”
“Not negotiable. If I have to, I’ll toss you over my shoulder, all caveman. I really enjoyed that the other night,” he said with a wink.
Kira made a face, and he almost thought she was going to protest, but she just nodded. “Fine. But I need to be back by one-thirty.”
At noon, they walked up to a little sushi place they both liked and sat in uncomfortable silence while they waited for their order to arrive. He wasn’t sure why he thought getting her out of the office would solve this awkward dance they’d been doing all morning, but he had to do something.
When their plate of sushi arrived, Kira picked up a roll with her chopsticks, and dipped it into the tiny dish of soy sauce at the side. “I’m glad you asked me to lunch, actually,” she said, breaking the silence. “I wanted to talk to you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding just that all day.”
She didn’t look at him, but he could sense her agitation. “What are we doing?”
“Having lunch,” he said dryly.
“Jason …”
He held up a hand. “I’m sorry. I know what you mean.” This was the conversation he’d wanted to have, but now that they were having it, he wasn’t sure what to say. “I like you. A lot. I like us. And I thought we were going to give this thing a real try.”
“Meaning what?”
“I don’t know, but we need to figure it out. I’ve barely seen you, or talked to you, all week. Whether in the office or outside of it. You’ve avoided me like I’m a leper with herpes.”
She started shredding her napkin, the pieces floating away like bits of snow. “Maybe we’re moving too fast,” she finally murmured.
Jason wanted to disagree entirely, but he knew it was best not to push her when she was afraid. He blew out a breath. “We haven’t seen or even talked with each other all week; how much slower can we get?”
“Are you sure you really want to date me? I’m never going to carry a designer purse or host fashionable dinner parties. I’m a mom,” she said with a shaky voice. At this point, her napkin was completely shredded. “I do PTA meetings and bring snacks to band camp.”
“I don’t get where you’re going with this.” Although, he worried that this had to do with Bridget’s visit. “I don’t need any of that stuff.”
“But you do need more than I can give. I can’t just drop everything and go out with you whenever we want. I have responsibilities. I know it’s not what you want to hear.” She smiled a little sadly. “If you want to end things now, I’ll understand.”
Hell no, he wanted to yell, but he just gritted his teeth. She needed reassurances. He could do that. “Trust me when I say I can handle it. We haven’t even given it a try. I know you’re busy, and so am I. But we can still make it work. Why don’t I come by tomorrow with pizza?”
She looked up, blinking. “By my house?”
“Why not? We can rent a movie.”
“But Riley is going to be home and we can’t …”
“Haven’t you figured it out yet? I want more than your body.” Jason laughed and picked up her hand, kissing the tender spot on her wrist. “I’m signing up for the whole package.”
Chapter 14
Take it Slow
To avoid trouble later, you should be cautious about hitting those relationship milestones too fast. You might think you work in a huge office, but it gets really small when you’re trying to avoid someone. Start out with casual dates before jumping into bed with a co-worker. It will save you both from having to share awkward staff meetings.
* * *
Saturday was like any other weekend night at the Clark house. Pizza, a movie, a teen girl texting on the loveseat. The one difference was the large man next to Kira on the sofa, arguing with her daughter about which movie to watch first.
“We can’t watch them in chronological order,” Jason said, shaking his head. “The original trilogy should come first.”
“You’re so old,” Riley snapped back. “Just because the new movies weren’t filmed like a hundred years ago doesn’t mean they’re bad. Let’s start with Episode 2.”
“We can’t do that,” Jason said, sadly. “Star Wars is Luke’s story and the prequel movies spoil the pivotal moment in his hero’s journey.”
“How can it be about Luke?” Riley asked. “He’s not even in the first three movies. The story is about Vader. How he turns to the dark side and how he redeems himself.”
“Oh, Padawan, you have a lot to learn,” Jason laughed and turned to Kira. “I’m disappointed in you. You’ve failed to educate this child properly.”
“Keep me out of this.” Kira said with her hands up. “I’m just here for the food.”
Riley scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Well, if we aren’t going to watch them chronologically, what order do you suggest we watch them in?”
“Machete order by episode. Four, five, then two and three, and back to six. Then finish it out with seven.”
“What about episode one?” Kira asked.
“Totally unnecessary,” both Riley and Jason said at the same time.
Kira laughed, amused by the way they were bonding over fictional characters. “I had no idea this was such a serious topic.”
“I’ve seen friendships break up over this argument,” Jason said in all seriousness.
“That’s stupid.” Riley shook her head and went back to texting.
The doorbell rang. “You guys decide. Just agree on something by the time I get back with the pizza.” Kira went to the door, looking back over her shoulder.
The two of them were still having a heated debate, but both were smiling and laughing. Riley usually wasn’t this open around other adults, and the sight of her daughter and … boyfriend. Yes, boyfriend. That thought made her heart swell in her chest. As nice as it felt falling asleep in Jason’s arms, this was what she’d been looking for. It felt right. As if she and Riley had been waiting all this time for him to join their little family.
The doorbell rang again. Jason looked up, that devastating smile of his lighting up his face, and winked. Yeah, he felt it, too.
Riley grudgingly agreed to watch Episode Four, and they devoured the pizza to the unfolding story of Luke. About halfway through the movie, Jason flopped back onto the sofa and tossed his arm over Kira’s shoulder, pulling her closer. Kira tensed, shooting a nervous glance over to where Riley was sitting. Her daughter looked up, but did
n’t even acknowledge the casually intimate gesture. Kira relaxed into Jason’s side and after a few minutes it felt natural to be sitting there in his arms.
It was the perfect night in. But just after the opening scroll of the next movie, Riley stood up, waving her phone. “I forgot. I promised Danielle I’d help her with the math homework.”
“ But ‘Empire’ just started. Why don’t I take you by her house tomorrow and you guys can work on it then.”
Riley scrunched her face and looked between her and Jason. Shaking her head, she said, “Danielle has some choir thing tomorrow. We’ll just Skype. I’ll close my door so I don’t bother you. It’s going to take the rest of the night.” Then she looked directly at Jason. “You should stay and come to brunch with us tomorrow. We go to Urbanspace with Nanny once a month.”
“I’m sure Jason—” Kira started, but Jason interrupted.
“I’d love to, but I already have plans for tomorrow. But next time, for sure.”
Riley shot Kira a look out of the corner of her eye as though she were responsible for his refusal and shrugged. “Whatever.”
After she left, Jason started to laugh.
“What?” Kira asked. She didn’t see the humor in her teenager’s attitude.
“Did Riley just invite me to stay the night?”
“I’m sorry about that.” Kira picked up the empty pizza container. “She’s not usually so …”
“Manipulative?”
“I was going to say interested in my personal life, but yeah, manipulative works here.”
“Give the girl a break.” Jason caught Kira around the waist and pulled her back down to the sofa. “She’s going to make a great wingman one day.”
Kira fell onto his lap with an oof and her hands went to his shoulders to steady herself. She was facing him now, inches away, and heat flooded her face. “I’m … I’m glad you came over tonight.”
