Page 65

She opens the door to the cage and I follow behind her, silently waving goodbye to the dogs.
“Would you want to go out to eat?” she asks me. “Are you free?”
I grip the sides of my dress so I don’t reach out and pull her into a hug. She’d actually want to go out with me? Are we becoming… friends?
Wait, I can’t go. I need to meet the interior decorator. “Any other time I would. I just stopped in real quick on my way to work. We could do it tomorrow, though. Or Monday. Or Tuesday…” Okay, best to quit before I sound too desperate.
“Yeah, sometime this week would be great.”
A grin creeps over my face, but I quickly stifle it. I’m going to scare her off before we can even start. “As long as it’s not where we had dinner the other night. I definitely can’t afford that.” It was the kind of restaurant with no prices on the menu. Thank God Connor had picked up the bill for everyone.
“It’ll be my treat,” she promises. “I have Archer’s credit card.”
I laugh at the sly smile on her face.
“So Connor makes you work weekends too?” she asks. “I hope he’s not a workaholic like Archer used to be.”
“No, he doesn’t know I’m coming in. I’m redoing the apartment above his office for him.”
“Oh, I never thought about where he’s living now that he’s here permanently.”
“He’s just been in a hotel.” Admittedly, an insanely nice hotel suite. I mean, the place had a grand piano as soon as you walked in.
“But he inherited so much property.”
Wow, even more than the apartment at Bishop Tower?
I shrug. “He doesn’t seem concerned about it, but I thought he should have somewhere that’s actually his, you know?”
“I’m glad he has someone looking out for him,” she says softly. “Connor’s always been nice to me. The first night I met him, he was the only one who really welcomed me to the family.”
“He’s a great guy.” My stomach churns at the reminder of what I did yesterday. How I tried to manipulate him, how he doesn’t deserve it. He’s been so good to me and I…
No, I have to stop dwelling on that. I’ll make myself sick otherwise.
I check the time and realize I need to get moving if I’m going to meet Hannah at Bishop Tower. After thanking Serena for the tour and promising to get together for lunch sometime this week, I head back out toward the subway.
Setting up a home of his own is at least one thing I can do for Connor. Does it make up for everything I’m putting him through? Definitely not.
But I’ll take what I can get to ease my conscience.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Emma
My phone dings again as I step off the elevator onto the sixtieth floor, and I check it, cursing when I see it’s another text from Hannah asking to push back the meeting. I’d be mad, but the bus she was taking got into a fender bender and she decided to just walk the rest of the way.
“Emma?”
I jerk my head up, panicking for a moment before I realize it’s Connor. Walking toward his office, I peek in, finding him seated behind his desk. “You’re not supposed to be here. It’s Saturday.”
He gives me a lopsided grin. “You’re not either.”
Okay, that’s fair.
“I’m meeting with the interior decorator. She’s reviewing the space one more time before she orders the furniture. If you want to meet with her too—”
“No, I’m good. I trust whatever you pick.”