He took her hand. “Catch you later, Laylee.” The silence was damning, but he didn’t mind. In fact, he came close to grinning.
It helped that Laylee suddenly laughed and leaned out the door behind them. “I like him, Skye! He’s slick, but funny, and almost perfect.”
Nice to hear her sister wish her well. At least, he thought that was what she’d done. Skye didn’t look overly certain about her sister’s intention either.
Once they were on their way, the silence stretched out. He glanced at her. “Are we going to talk about it?”
“What?”
“Your amusing sister.”
Low, she muttered, “I don’t think she was trying to be amusing.”
No, probably not. At least not at first. “Does she do that often?”
This time with her jaw tight, she repeated, “What?”
Damn, their reactions were both funny. “Try to steal the show.”
“There’s notryto it. Laylee gets the lion’s share of attention just by existing.”
Not how he saw it, but trying to imagine it from her point of view, he understood. “Maybe because the second she shows up, you retreat. Don’t think I didn’t notice.” Even with his gaze on the road, he felt the keen attention his words got.
“You think I retreated?”
“Seriously? You gave her the stage.” He expected her to deny it, but instead she pondered.
“Maybe I do. Habit from long ago and all that.”
It wasn’t until they were approaching the shelter that she spoke again. “You have a beautiful car.”
“Thanks.” He glanced around the interior of his Mercedes. “You know, I’d prefer a kickass truck like Knox’s, but being a pharmaceutical rep means looking the part.”
Her brows twitched together. “You can’t just drive whatever you want?” Before he could answer, she twisted in her seat to partially face him. “I’m curious about your job. You seem to have odd hours.”
Aha. He tried not to gloat, but it wasn’t easy. “I thought you didn’t make note of my comings and goings.”
“With women,” she specified. “I have noticed that sometimes you’re home more, and other times you’re gone all day.”
“My schedule changes a lot. I’m usually up by six, and by seven I’m either making calls from home or heading out to medical offices or hospitals to meet with doctors before they start seeing patients. Probably half my day is spent traveling to meetings with physicians, pharmacists, staff, or other clients. I can usually sneak in an hour or two of gym time, and when I can’t, I jog when I get home.”
“Or swim laps in your pool.”
Another aha. “Noticed that, too, did you?”
“Don’t act like I’m spying on you.” She fought a grin. “There’s not a lot of distance between our houses. When I’m home and the windows are open, I hear you splashing.”
She made him sound like a kid. Oddly, he didn’t mind that. “Swimming is a nice switch to my routine, at least in the summer. Not so much in the fall, winter, or spring.” To wrap it up, he explained, “I usually bring my lunch to a doctor’s office. It gives me a chance to share drug samples and product brochures. Around all that I make more calls, either to set up meetings, or chat with my manager to discuss strategies.”
“Wow, you’re busy.”
Unsure what to make of that observation, he shrugged. “I’m often a sales leader at the company.” Often enough to irk others and to get ribbed by his friends for being an overachiever. With a quick frown, he wondered if he should have mentioned it. Did it sound like bragging?
When she said nothing, he tried to correct any false assumptions. “I’m competitive, but I don’t mind when someone else takes the spot.” Not much, anyway. “I’ve helped some of the others with ideas or given them some leads when I need a little more free time.”
As if she didn’t understand what a sacrifice that was, she teased. “Free time for women.”
It struck him that she was right, but not the way she meant. He had freed up time, but not always for dating. “I meant time for friends, and some of them are women . . . like Lucy. She’s just one of the guys.”
