“I could teach you to cook. It’s not hard.”
“No doubt you could teach me lots.”
“Speaking of teaching, you know how you mentioned Cannes?”
“Yeah.”
She twirled her fork. “Well, I did it. I convinced my boss to let me go.”
“You did? How?”
“Well, I kind of used your idea.” When he looked confused, she added, “You know how you said there were awards for good works?”
“Related to sustainability,” he said with a nod. “Yeah, so I said there’d be a learning opportunity, if Lauder would sponsor me.”
“And she said yes?”
“She said it was a great idea.”
“You’re a genius.”
“That was the presentation I was going to show you.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thanks. Will you be going too?”
“Wouldn’t miss it. I leave in a week and a half.”
She swilled the last of her wine.
He read her expression. “Thursday. It’s one of the last direct flights with seats left. How about you?”
“Um, I need to book my trip. I’ve never been to France, so maybe we could…?” Orchid didn’t want to have to spell out her request explicitly.
“If your timing matches up, do you want to travel together? Since you’ve never been,” he offered.
Something hitched in her heart. “That’d be great.” Through a wine-induced gaze, she met his eyes.Business, just business, she reminded herself, but the words buzzed with the dissonance of the lie.
“I’ll ask Liv to send you my itinerary.”
“Do you want to show me the rest of your work?” she asked.
As he pulled open his laptop, she went to fetch the sweets she’d brought.
Not that she needed baked goodies to top off the sweetness of this day.
CHAPTER15
RIDING ON THE METRO
Orchid
Phoenix was waiting for Orchid at the entrance to the first-class lounge. A patch of sunlight brightened his smile at the sight of her. She was sure that was a smile of relief.
“Experienced travelers like cutting it close, so you must be a platinum pro,” he said.
The lines above his brow smoothed when she neared. His clean smell, the scruff of his beard, made her want to lean in for a kiss. “I wasn’t aiming for pro status. Just enjoying the free escalator rides,” she said lightly, attempting to joke away the last half hour’s anxiety hoofing it through JFK Airport.
