Page 14 of Second Time Around

She had gotten five steps farther down the hallway to the kitchen when her phone pinged. That couldn’t be Will.

“Pass” being the key word, I assume.

She grinned, both at his joke and at the fact that he had responded to her instantly.

Not sure if it’s been passing too fast or too slow,she typed back. This time she waited for the ping.

An important distinction. You need to study your test client more thoroughly.

Think I’ll let someone else handle the scatological research.She leaned against the wall, staring at her phone. She wasn’t disappointed.

Can’t believe we’re discussing this shit,came right back.

She gave a crack of laughter. She had always loved the way Will would switch from highbrow to earthiness in an instant.

Me either. Don’t you have balance sheets to analyze?

The pause was longer this time. She started walking again. But the ping came right as she strolled through the kitchen door.

Nothing so interesting. I have a meeting in five.

So he was filling a few free minutes on his schedule. She was fine with that.

“Kyra, you wanted some help?”

Kyra jerked her gaze away from her phone to see Emily, the center’s dynamic young director, sitting at the kitchen’s long island with a mug of steaming coffee in front of her. Her dark hair was pulled back in a neat ponytail, and she wore tailored trousers, a silk blouse, and a blazer. She always dressed in business attire because she felt all the adults atthe center were role models for the kids. Kyra got a pass on dressing up because cooking was messy work.

“Oh God, yes. Thank you so much for coming down.”

“Happy to,” Emily said. “First, I want to thank you for helping Diego with the dog food project. I know that’s not exactly your job.”

“I enjoyed the challenge,” Kyra said. “We just did a taste test and Shaq approved. Now we have to see if his digestion improves.”

“It’s amazing how much time we spend discussing the dogs’ poop,” Emily said, making a comic grimace.

Kyra laughed, her text exchange with Will fresh in her mind. “Since they can’t talk, that’s one way to judge their general health.”

Emily took a sip of her coffee. “I’m intrigued to find out what you need my help with.”

Kyra hurried to the pantry and plucked a garment bag off the apron hook. On Saturday she’d gone shopping at her favorite deep-discount clothing store and found three possible dresses for the Chases’ Spring Fling. The owner of the store trusted her enough to bend the “no returns” policy, so Kyra could bring back the two frocks she wouldn’t need after her consultation with Emily.

She carried the bag to the kitchen island. “I need your advice on wardrobe since you hang out with billionaires.” Emily’s fiancé had recently sold his cutting-edge chemical company for a massive amount of money.

Emily laughed, her brown eyes soft. “Only one billionaire.”

“That’s one more than I spend time with.” Kyra unzipped the bag and pulled out the dresses. “So I’m going to the Chase family’s spring garden party in Connecticut. It’s outdoors under tents on Sunday afternoon. Will is wearing khakis, a button-down shirt with no tie and the sleeves rolled up, and loafers. Which of these do I wear?”

“Whoa! That’s a lot of information to process. Who’s Will?”

Kyra left the dresses lying on the bag and plopped down on a stool across from Emily. “You know the Ceres café chain? He’s the CEO ofthat ... and several other companies, according to Google. I knew him in college, and we ran into each other at my favorite Ceres last week.”

“And he invited you to a party already? You must have been good friends in college,” Emily said. “Have you stayed in touch?”

Kyra shook her head. “He was my suitemate’s boyfriend so we spent a lot of time together, just talking.” She gave Emily an off-center smile. “Which didn’t stop me from having a huge crush on him, but he was off-limits. Not that I could have competed with Babette anyway.”

“Seems like he might have had a crush on you, too, if he asked you out after seeing you once.”

Kyra sighed. “No, he just wants a buffer between him and his family. He and his parents don’t get along. Since he told me all about it in college, I make the perfect fake date.”