Okay, so she’d seen him from afar, more than a few times. And he looked good from that distance-no frowns, no scowls. Her reaction to him was becoming almost comically predictable. Her pulse rate would jump. Her skin would heat up. And she’d lose her train of thought.
“Are you falling for him?” asked Lindsay.
Kaitlin started to speak, but then stopped, unwilling to lie to Lindsay. “I’m admiring his features from afar,” she admitted. “Along with half of the city.”
Zach was an undeniably attractive man. So she found him good-looking? Big deal. So she occasionally found him charming? Another big deal.
He had breeding and education, and plenty of practice at dating and small talk. If she forgot about the fact that he’d tried to ruin her life, she could almost pretend he was a decent guy.
“He does make a hot pirate,” Lindsay concurred with a saucy grin.
“Hot” definitely described the way he’d looked that night at his penthouse, his tie off, sleeves rolled up, a day’s growth of beard shadowing his chin. He’d looked every inch the rakish pirate of his ancestors. And it had been more than sexy.
Lindsay was watching her closely. “Promise me you’ll keep your head in the game.”
Kaitlin tucked her loose hair firmly behind her ears, taking a quick check of her diamond stud earring. “My head is completely in the game,” she assured Lindsay.
There wouldn’t be a repeat of Vegas. Kaitlin had slipped up that night. She’d let down her guard, and Zach had turned on her within the week.
Apparently satisfied, Lindsay eased forward to peer over the edge. Taxis, buses and delivery trucks cruised past. Three city workers in hard hats set barriers up around an open manhole, while a police cruiser, lights flashing blue and red, pulled halfway up on the wide sidewalk.
“So, have you started unpacking yet?” asked Lindsay.
“Nope.” Kaitlin watched two uniformed cops stride into a deli. She was more than happy to leave the topic of Zach behind. “I’m going to take advantage of having everything out of the way. Clean the carpets and paint the walls.”
“Nesting?” asked Lindsay.
“Yes, I am.” When she gave herself time to think about staying put in New York City, Kaitlin felt a surge of relief lighten her shoulders. She’d curled up in her window seat yesterday evening with a cup of cocoa, simply staring for an hour at the bustle of the neighborhood.
“You deserve a great place to call home,” said Lindsay, warmth and caring evident in her tone.
Kaitlin smiled her agreement. “I may even buy that new rocker.” She’d been admiring a big, overstuffed gliding rocker in the window of a local furniture store for a few months now. Something about it said home.
“You?” Lindsay teased. “A frivolous expenditure?”
Kaitlin nodded with conviction. With no means of support other than her part-time job, she’d been forced to be frugal during her college years. The habit was hard to break. But she was gainfully employed now, and she had good prospects. And she was determined to make herself a real home.
“First the rocker,” she explained to Lindsay. “And then the Prestige espresso machine.”
“I love hearing you talk like that.” Lindsay laughed.
“It feels pretty good,” Kaitlin admitted, then her voice caught on her age-old sensation of loneliness. “I
Lindsay linked her arm and nudged up against her. “You’ve already made it a real home.”
It didn’t feel like a real home to Kaitlin. Then again, how would she know? Over her childhood years, most of her placements had been in group facilities instead of with families. The workers were mostly kind, but they came and went in shifts, and they often moved on to other jobs, replaced by new people, who were also nice, but also employees, not a family.
Lindsay gave her a squeeze, obviously recognizing that Kaitlin was getting emotional. “You ready for lunch?”
“Sure thing.” There was no point in dwelling on the past. She was staying in New York City, and that was a great thing. The rocker would make a difference, she was sure of it. Maybe she’d get a cat, a calico or a black- and-white gerbil. A pet would make things that much more homey.
With one last look around, she followed Lindsay inside. They locked the rooftop door and took the aging elevator back to the third floor and Kaitlin’s small office.
“There you are.” Zach’s greeting from inside the office sounded vaguely like an accusation.
“What are you doing here?” Kaitlin’s guard immediately went up. She suspiciously scanned the room, the deck, the bookshelf, her computer, checking to see if anything had been disturbed. She’d put a password on her laptop, and she was keeping the preliminary renovation drawings under lock and key.
She’d made Zach promise to give her carte blanche on the project. But she still feared, given half a chance, he would try to micromanage it. She wasn’t planning on giving him half a chance.
“I have something to show you,” he announced from where he stood behind her tilted drafting table.
She saw that he’d rolled out a set of blue line drawings. She moved forward to get a better view. “Those aren’t mine.”
“They’re something Hugo Rosche put together,” he responded.
Kaitlin slipped between the desk and drafting table, while Lindsay waited in the doorway of the cramped office. Kaitlin stopped shoulder-to-shoulder with Zach, and he moved closer up against the wall.
“What’s different than how it is now?” she asked, moving through the pages, noting that a few walls had been relocated. The lobby had been slightly expanded, and new windows were sketched in on the first floor.
“We’d also repaint, recarpet and get a decorator,” said Zach.
She glanced up at him, searching his expression. “Is this a joke?”
He frowned at her.
“Because, I mean, if it’s a joke, ha-ha.” She dropped the pages back into place.
He looked affronted. “It’s not a joke.”
She gestured to the sheets of paper. “You’re not seriously suggesting I use these.”
“We don’t need to make massive changes in order to improve the building,” he insisted.
“I’m not a decorator, Zach. I’m an architect.”
“Being an architect doesn’t mean you need to tear down walls for the sake of tearing down walls.”
She turned and propped her butt against the side of the desk, folding her arms over her chest and facing him head on. “Did you seriously think I’d fall for this?” Because if he had, he was delusional.
He lifted his chin. “I thought you’d at least consider it.”
“I just considered it. I don’t like it.”
“Thank you so much for keeping such an open mind.”
“Thank you so much for bringing me a fait accompli.”
“I paid good money for these plans.” He snagged the bottom of the sheets and began to roll them up. His voice rose, the offense clear in his tone. “And I paid good money for your original plans. And now I’m paying a third time for the same work.”
Lindsay shifted forward, stepping fully into the room. “Would you prefer to fire Kaitlin and meet us in court?”
Zach’s steel gaze shot her way.
He glared at her briefly, then returned his attention to Kaitlin. “I thought you could use them as a starting point.”
Kaitlin shrugged. “Okay,” she said easily.
His hands stilled. He drew back, eyes narrowing in suspicion. Then he paused and asked, “You will?”
She shrugged again. “Since they’re virtually identical to the existing building, I’ve already used them as a starting point.”
Lindsay coughed a surprised laugh.
Zach came back to life, snapping an elastic band around the paper roll, while Kaitlin hopped out of his way.
“It’s my backup plan,” Zach said to Dylan. It was Sunday afternoon, and the two men maneuvered their way
