Page 25 of Kyle

"Er, I'll clean up."

"I can help."

"No," he shook his head and pushed away from the counter. "I can do it."

She slid off the stool and stood there for a minute.

"All right. Goodnight."

"Yeah. Goodnight." He waited until she was heading up the stairs before sliding back onto the stool. And found himself wondering what just happened. He had just spent almost three hours with a woman he professed not to like. And had enjoyed the easy conversation with her.

What was even worse, he had just broken things with a woman he thought he had been in love with. Thought? Shaking his head, he slid off the stool and went about setting the kitchen in order.

Upstairs in her bedroom, Ingrid could not settle. The conflicting emotions whirling inside her made her dizzy. Pacing from one end of the room, she went over the evening. She had arrived home from her brother's place with the intention of having a cup of tea and heading up to bed to think about her brother's situation.

She had not meant to stay so long in the kitchen or even expected that he would have come back so early.

Walking back to the bed, she sat on the side. She liked talking to him and saw something in him she had never seen before. In the past he had just been the entitled jerk who aggravated her in meetings. A guy too handsome for his own good and a slut to boot.

Now, she saw something different. He had charm as well as a great sense of humor.

And he had broken up with the actress. Which did not mean anything, she told herself. Getting emotionally involved would be a nightmare. Best to set things back the way they were, she decided.

With that resolution, she readied herself for bed.

*****

"Hi."

"Hi." He came upon her inside the kitchen the next morning after ten.

"Coffee?"

"Thanks." Walking in, he took the cup from her and sat around the counter. "I'm heading for the club. You?"

"I have some work to catch up on." She poured coffee into her cup and sat. "My dad called and asked me to come over."

"Everything okay?"

She shrugged.

"Who knows with him?" Wrapping her hands around the cup, she eyed him. "What about yours?"

"Who? My dad?"

She nodded.

"He's coming to the club. Thought we would make an outing of it. He does not go out much."

She hissed out a breath.

"It must be so damn hard to be trapped in the past. Do you still miss her? Your mom?"

A smile touched his lips.

"Do you remember her?"

"Of course. Who wouldn't? I always thought Katherine was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. Still is. She was what some would call effervescent."