He laughs. “Yeah, that’s really fulfilling. Much better than a real relationship.”
I roll my eyes. Typical guy.
“Cat, I’m kidding.” He contemplates me for a second, screwing up his face. “You have some pretty fucked-up ideas about men, you know that?”
I cut him a look. “I’m not doing this again with you, Freud. You love to psychoanalyze me. I’ve never met a guy who did that as much as you.”
“So it’s bad to think about things, to talk about things?”
“No. It’s just exhausting.”
“Fine, I’ll stop. I’ll stop trying to get to know you. I’ll just drink beer and watch football and grunt in response to everything.”
I smirk. But the truth is, it’s kind of hard to picture him being that guy, with his philosophy books and his meditation and his thoughtful observations.
He releases a long breath, reaching for his laptop. “We should probably do some work before I have to head off to the bar.”
“Oh, yeah.” I laugh. Somehow, I’d forgotten the whole reason we’re working together in the first place. “But, um, I want to show you something first.” I grab the garment bag and take it over to the sofa, unzipping down one side. Then I reach in and pull out the two dresses I made for his daughter. One is the unicorn print he pointed out in the store, with a gold band around the waist; the other a mermaid print on a teal background with yellow details around the neckline. “I hope the prints are okay.” I hold them up, one in each hand, and look at Myles for approval.
He stares at the dresses for a moment, saying nothing. Then he blinks and his gaze swivels to me. “What are these?”
“They’re for your daughter, like you mentioned a while back.”
He sets his laptop to one side and stands, reaching out to inspect the unicorn fabric. His eyes sweep over the dress, but he doesn’t say anything.
Shit, I hope I’ve done this right. It was the unicorns he liked, wasn’t it? I’m sure it was.
“It’s just a little something to say thanks for the work you’re doing. I’ve had to guess her measurements, but we can adjust them once she’s tried them on. And if they’re no good, I can always—”
“They’re great,” he says, avoiding my gaze. But I can see his eyes are shining as he looks at the other dress, and my head clouds with confusion.
“I thought you wanted me to make her a dress? I mean, if you think she won’t like them—”
“Sorry.” He huffs self-consciously, wiping a hand down his face. “She’ll love them. But—no. It’s not… I can’t…” His gaze turns steely and he shakes his head, turning away.
I frown, puzzled by his response. This is not how I thought this would go at all. He’s been such a vocal supporter of my designs, but maybe he had something completely different in mind when he suggested I create a children’s line. Whatever it is, I’ve obviously missed the mark.
He lowers himself back onto the couch without saying anything more, and reaches for his laptop.
“I’ll just put these over here,” I mumble, hanging the dresses over the back of a chair. I wish he would just be honest with me. He’s hardly held back on anything else, why is he being weird about this now?
“So, the site,” Myles says without looking up from the screen. He gestures for me to sit beside him. “Come see what I’ve done.”
I flop down onto the sofa with a half-hearted smile. He’s working hard for me with this website and I want so much to pay him back. I’m going to have another go at making a dress for his daughter, I decide. I want to create something beautiful—I want to show him how much his help means to me.
17
“Hey, Cat.”
“Hi, Jimmy.” I smile at the tall, fifty-something guy who’s manned the entrance at Bounce for years. He opens the door for me with a welcoming smile. He looks like a puppy-dog, but I’ve seen him pick up drunk guys almost twice his size and hurl them out. Another reason I always feel safe having a date here: they’d never survive Jimmy.
I scan the crowd, spotting Alex and Geoff in a booth near the back. Myles waves from the bar, gesturing that he’ll bring me a drink, so I thread my way over and drop into the booth, pleased to finally be sitting down to relax.
It’s been a hectic few days, but that’s good. The store is busy as Hayley has continued to spread the word. And we went to the East Village Market Collective to check it out, and she’s right—a booth there would be perfect. We put in an application for one when an opening becomes available. I’m pretty excited about it.
Myles has been working hard on the site, emailing me updates. And I’ve made some more of my dresses, doodling ideas for new designs in my notebook when I get a second. I haven’t felt so on fire and inspired in my work in ages, and it’s fantastic. I’d forgotten how thrilling this feeling is.
The only bummer is the whole sex thing. God, I know it’s stupid, but ever since Myles suggested we have sex it’s like my whole body has woken up from hibernation. I’m suddenly ravenous, ready to gorge myself at the first opportunity. I had to take myself off to a yoga class after work tonight just to work out some of the tension in my body.
