There was nothing quite as relaxing as seeing a matinee by yourself. I loved enjoying a movie with a date or a friend, too, but there was just something special about disappearing from the world for a few hours in the middle of the day.
It felt like a secret. Like playing hooky.
The theater was small, and there was only a scattering of other people at the movie, which was perfect. I lost myself in the flashy film with a wide, goofy smile plastered on my face. I bobbed my leg along to the music and mouthed my favorite lines and got tied up in the tragedy of it all. When it was done, I felt light again and ready to face the day.
I pushed open the door, and the bright daylight made me blink a few times. When my vision cleared, I saw a silver car with a bulgy front, something that looked overpriced. And a second later, I realized Leo was standing in front of it, a phone dangling loosely from his hand while he stared at me with those dark silver eyes.
What the hell. The guy’s eyes matched his car.
“Oh, hey, River. Funny seeing you here.”
I glanced over my shoulder at the Ringhouse. “You catching a movie?”
He held his phone up and gestured with it. “I just pulled over to take a call.”
I remembered what Kai had said, that he was excited for me and Leo to get to know each other, and reminded myself of how welcoming he’d been at the office.
Or maybe it was just that my teenage Leonardo DiCaprio crush had put me in a good mood. Leo, Leonardo, they didn’t really look alike, but they were both cute blondes.
Not that this Leo was my type. But regardless, I decided it was time to give him a proper chance.
“You having a nice day?” I asked. “Isn’t today the day you had two lunches on your schedule?”
He patted his stomach. “I will definitely not need dinner anytime soon.”
I laughed. He approached his life with a lot of enthusiasm, which I appreciated. “Me either. I took advantage of the free refills on the popcorn.”
Leo gestured to his James Bond car. “You want a ride back to the condo? I just have to grab a couple things from the grocery store on the way.”
“Sure, I need a couple things, too.”
He gave me a funny smile, very nicely pulled the passenger door open for me, and then jogged to the other side and hopped in. The seats were lower to the ground than I expected, and the whole thing was like his room, perfectly clean and tidy.
“Did the lunches go well?”
He waited for me to buckle my seatbelt, then took off. “Not bad. The last one took a while. Maxwell Hunt’s wife is leaving him. He’s horrified it will affect the popularity of his show, but he’s delivered the nightly news through five other divorces, and no one in Pittsburgh has seemed to mind.” He rolled his eyes. “I just had to buy the man a lobster salad and assure him we’d take care of things, same as I did when his last twenty-year-old girlfriend left him.”
He turned a corner, just fast enough to make my stomach tickle but not fast enough to actually feel unsafe.
A laugh slipped by my lips. “Do you ever get tired of dealing with your clients like that?”
“I’ve learned not to take on their stress and their bad moods. My job is to listen to Maxwell Hunt talk about his problems, sort through all his bullshit, and come out the other side with a functional public relations strategy. I try to tune out the personal dimensions.”
“I think I would get distracted by it,” I said as he pulled up to the small grocery store that he and Kai liked. “I’m already curious about this twenty-year-old divorcee of the news anchor.”
Leo parked. “She’s great. Lara will be fine.” He flipped off the engine. “This is why I never see a guy for more than one hookup. Nothing ruins a clear head like hormones and lust.”
He hopped out of the car, and I sat there, processing what he said. When I caught up with myself, I jumped out to join him.
“You never see a guy for more than one date?”
He grabbed a basket as we stepped into the store. “Nope. It’s a strict rule.”
“That’s out of control.”
Leo let out a deep laugh. “How is it out of control? It’s actually incredibly in control, I’d say.”
I paused to let a woman our age pass, then grabbed an apple. I noticed her check Leo out, and I realized that he probably did look like a catch.
