“Rough night?”
“Yeah, you could say that. A rough day too.”
“Can I get you a coffee?” He gestured to the Keurig in the office seating area.
“I can’t even tell you how much I would love a coffee right now. I don’t want to keep you, though. I know you’re busy.”
“I’m never too busy for you.”
Her eyelashes lowered.
As he walked over to the coffee machine, he realized he didn’t even know how she took her coffee. There were so many things he didn’t know, things that now seemed imperative to find out. “How do you take it?”
“Black, please.”
Just like him. For some reason, it made him smile. He prepared a couple of coffees and handed one to her. They sat in the seating area, on either side of the glass coffee table.
Dana took a demure sip and placed her mug on the table. Whatever she had to say, she wasn’t ready to say it.
“I tried to call you this morning.”
“You did?” She whipped out her cell phone and rolled her eyes. “Sorry about that. I turned it off earlier.”
“Too many telemarketers calling?”
“Something like that.” She reddened. “I’m sorry I missed your call.”
“It was nothing important. I just wanted to make sure you were okay after last night.”
“That’s nice of you.” She looked around. “This is a cool office. Very streamlined. Not what I expected. Or maybe it is.”
“I’m a simple man. My needs are basic.”
“Yeah, right.” Her huff held amusement rather than cynicism. “Basic.”
He leaned back on the trim grey sofa, one ankle propped up on his other knee. “You’re looking much better today.”
“Oh, God, Alex. I look like crap. My eyes are red and puffy. I’ve had to hide behind sunglasses all day because the light hurts. My skin is sallow and I’m still not convinced I’m done throwing up. I had no idea I was such a pitiful drunk.”
Was her skin sallow, her eyes puffy? He hadn’t noticed. “You look good to me.”
Dana shifted in her seat and swallowed a gulp of coffee. “I want to apologize. This is turning into a habit. I’m beyond embarrassed.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“I ruined your evening and I’m pretty sure I got puke on your shirt.”
“You didn’t ruin my evening or my shirt. Far from it.”
“But you saw me at my worst.”
“That was your worst? You’re going to have to do a lot more than that to scare me away.” His throat grew thick. “Besides, I liked looking after you. I hated leaving you.”
Her eyes grew big and wide.
Alex stood and walked over to the other couch, sitting next to her. “So did Anise lecture you?”
“Yeah. She’s not used to seeing me go off the rails.”
