“Thanks.” She handed him a bottle of water and a plate.
Andrew took two slices from the box, set them on the dish, and slid it to her. She smiled softly and bit into a piece. His chest tightened when she let out a low moan. “Good, huh?”
She nodded, chewing her pizza happily and even doing a little dance. “So good.”
Chuckling, he said, “I actually wasn’t expecting it to be that good.” He’d taken a chance with a local pizza parlor that had good reviews, and lucked up. “They had a cheesesteak pizza that looked good, too.”
Her face lit up. “I know. I tried that one a few days ago. Delicious.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes. He struggled to find the words to say, and he’d never been tongue-tied around her. But he didn’t want to say anything that would disrupt the fragile peace between them. He took a moment to study her. Still stunning, beautiful from her bare feet to her wavy curls. But he couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under her eyes and the way she stared off at some point behind him when she thought he wasn’t looking.
“I’ve never been to South Haven,” he confessed.
“Really? We used to come here in the summer. My father’s family lives in town.”
“Have you seen them since you’ve been here?” Andrew didn’t know why he asked, because he was well aware of the tense relationship she had with her father and his family.
“Of course not. I thought about going up to my mother’s house in Traverse City, but she’s having it renovated right now. And I’m kind of in love with this house.” She smiled wistfully, and pointed outside. “I mean, look at that view. Stunning.”
Andrew couldn’t tear his gaze away from the first genuine smile she’d blessed him with since he’d arrived. “Stunning is right,” he whispered.
“My mother’s brother had this house built last year. He was going to put it on the market, but I convinced him to let me lease it for a while. Who knows?” She shrugged. “I may buy it myself.”
“Not a bad investment, and it would always be an escape for you when you need it.”
“Yeah.” Paige bit into another slice and moaned. “I can’t believe how good this is.”
Andrew laughed. She’d veered the conversation back to safe territory so he’d roll with it. “Right? I should have ordered a large.”
“I know!” She giggled. “I’ll probably eat more than I should.”
“And that will be okay. How are you doing?” he asked.
“What are you doing here?” she tossed back, dropping her pizza crust on her plate.
The tension was back in her voice, her smile was gone. But he wouldn’t let that stop him. “I needed to check on you,” he said, his voice small to his own ears.
She raised a questioning brow. “Because of work?”
“Because I needed to see for myself that you’re okay,” he admitted.
Paige’s beautiful brown eyes softened. “I’m okay. I just needed to get away.”
“I heard about Julius.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want to talk about him.” “Okay,” he said. “We don’t have to.”
The room descended into silence. He wanted to ask her more, to beg her to talk to him. He missed her voice, her laugh, the way she danced when she was excited. The realization that she was more than a client, more than a friend, had been too much for him to admit. Even though the truth had been staring him in the face for a long time. But now that he was face-to-face with her, now that he could hear her breathing and smell her shampoo, he could no longer deny it.
“I don’t love him anymore,” she offered, in a voice so low, he almost missed it. Almost. “But, damn, he’s an asshole. He took me through hell, prolonged the divorce only to sign the damn papers and get engaged to another woman. What the hell?”
“You said it right. He’s a fuckin’ asshole. He didn’t deserve you.”
Her gaze flew to his, stared at him, stared through him. Sighing, she said, “I guess work is calling.”
The change in subject surprised him, but he nodded. “Yes. You have offers we haven’t responded to. Appearances you didn’t make.”
“Can you handle it? Or tell Vonda to ask for more time? I can’t go back right now, Drew. I’m in no shape to put on a happy face for reporters or directors. I just . . .” Averting her gaze, she picked at her nails. “I have so much on my mind right now. Work is the least of my problems.”
