‘I’m not going to steal your lunch.’
His eyebrows lowered as he eyed the lonely cup in front of her. ‘Maybe you should.’
‘I’m not a fan of pancakes.’
The look he shot her then was of such pure disbelief she couldn’t help chuckling. Then she went for distraction. ‘So aside from the Statue of Liberty, what do you recommend?’
He munched and thought about it for a bit. ‘Depends.’
‘On?’
‘What you’re into.’ He speared through three pancakes at once. ‘There’s something for everyone in this city. So what are you into?’
‘I don’t know.’
He paused and met her eyes. ‘You don’t know what you’re into? What you want?’
She felt that wretched heat bloom in her cheeks. Why must she read innuendo into everything the man said? ‘I just want to see some things.’
‘Not do some things?’
Oh, there was innuendo there. ‘Perhaps.’
‘You’re going to need more than coffee if you’re planning on doing things.’
‘Then perhaps today I’ll just stick with seeing.’
He inclined his head with a wry grin. ‘Fair enough.’
She stiffened as he opened his wallet. ‘You’re not paying.’
‘Yeah? Well, I don’t expect you to buy me breakfast.’ He sighed. ‘Though would it be so bad to let me buy you a coffee to make up for my rudeness of last night?’ He looked across at her for a moment, his eyebrows lifting higher as the seconds passed. ‘Clearly it would.’
Caitlin swallowed the last mouthful of her coffee. She was an idiot. Overreacting because she was oversensitive. The events of the last six weeks had made her paranoid. She wasn’t being fair. It was one thing not to trust, but to treat someone rudely? ‘I’m sorry, it was me being rude then. I really appreciate the way you’re helping me out.’
He met her gaze; a low smile spread across his face. An open, nothing-held-back smile that flooded her with warmth. ‘No problem.’
She stood, trying to escape the megawatt impact of that smile. ‘Thanks.’
* * *
Two minutes later James dug his mobile out and switched it on, keeping an eye on his new roommate as she walked off down the street ahead of him.
She’d finally smiled, finally relaxed and accepted the situation. And his apology. Good. Now all he had to do was get out of here as soon as possible. The condo was hers. The sooner he got back on a plane, the better.
With an effort he glanced at his phone. No messages. Most everyone thought he was in the back of beyond and wouldn’t expect to hear from him. Except for his boss. He touched her name in his contacts list. True to all-efficient form she answered on the second ring.
‘I need a project,’ he said as soon as she’d said hello.
‘You’re only just back.’
‘I know. And bored already,’ he lied.
‘Well, I do have something...’ Lisbet trailed off.
Despite his lingering tiredness, his skin prickled. He did like to stay busy. ‘Where?’
‘Here.’
‘Forget it.’ He heard Lisbet’s impatient mumble and hurried on. ‘You know I don’t want a desk job. Can’t think of anything worse.’
‘You have other skills we need. Not all our people can perform the way you do in a public environment. Communication, fundraising is necessary.’
‘I’m not your poster boy—you know this already.’ He watched as Caitlin disappeared into the throng walking downtown. Fleetingly he hoped she’d be okay on her own—that she’d not just ‘see’ but ‘do’.
‘And you know you already are. You could still go on overseas projects,’ said Lisbet. ‘Just fewer.’
Lisbet had been on at him about taking on more of a public role for a while now, but he wasn’t giving up the real work. He preferred to be an anonymous part of a team, not a figurehead. ‘Don’t lessen my load,’ he warned her. ‘I’d have to offer my services elsewhere.’
‘All right,’ she sighed. ‘But I’m not going to stop trying to change your mind.’
‘Try all you like, but keep the field assignments coming.’ He turned back towards the condo.
‘There’s no end to them,’ she snorted. ‘But you need at least a fortnight off.’
A fortnight? He halted in horror, earning a muffled curse from the pedestrian behind him who’d swerved to avoid smacking into him. James waved a vague apology and then frowned at the pavement.
No way could he share a bed with Caitlin for a fortnight. Not without asking for the improper. ‘I don’t need that long,’ he quickly said to Lisbet. ‘I’m ready to ship out again tomorrow.’
‘No. I’m not letting you burn out,’ she answered.
‘Never going to happen.’
‘That’s what they all say, right before they crash,’ she said briskly. ‘Go spend some time with your family. You’ve been overseas for months.’
‘I like being overseas.’ He liked his family too, but he liked being away and busy more.
He heard her sigh. ‘If you insist on doing something, you can come to the charity gala on Thursday night. I’ll put your name down now.’
Oh, hell, that was even worse. ‘Lisbet, I don’t—’
‘It’s only one night,’ she wheedled. ‘You can show me how refreshed you are so I’ll send you back into the fray sooner.’
‘Fine,’ he snapped, letting her manipulate him—mainly because he knew rolling up to the event was part of his duty. He turned his phone off and shoved it into his back pocket.
Two weeks? What was he supposed to do with all that time? He hadn’t had more than a few days off in years and that was the way he liked it. If he stayed in town more, his parents would put the pressure on about other—more personal—things. But they were going to have to save that for his brothers. James would never settle down. He’d seen how tragedy tore a family apart. He wasn’t doing that to anyone else again. Definitely not having a wife or children of his own. He’d work for other people’s families. That was how he got satisfaction and some semblance of peace. So he’d even help his unexpected roommate. His pain in the neck roommate. Pretty roommate. Sassy, sexy roommate...
Two weeks?
He yanked his wayward thoughts to a halt, frowning again. But he couldn’t toss her out. There was a code—written by his own family in fact. You welcomed, opened up, let the weary traveller rest. How many times had he stayed at places where it must have been uncomfortable or awkward for the people who were hosting him? But they never said no. The basic kindness of people never failed to touch him. Yeah, the least he could do was offer the same in return. Kindness without strings. Certainly not sexual strings. He’d ice this edge he had for her. It was only reaction to circumstance anyway. He’d been working back-to-back projects, had hardly seen a woman in any sexual sense—only broken people in need of practical help. The idea of sex hadn’t entered his head in recent weeks. So of course it had roared in on flaming wheels now he was in the clear and confronted with a woman wearing little and already in his bed.
The urge to cut loose sneakily called. He could charm a little, couldn’t he? Not everything in his life needed to be that intense life-and-death stuff. He could coast along with his lovely roommate for a few days until his boss let him out on assignment again. A slight flirt wasn’t going to harm. And the amusement, the thrill he felt when Caitlin hit back? He couldn’t resist stirring that. He couldn’t resist the challenge of making her blush, smile, spark.
He walked back to the condo and spent the rest of the afternoon talking through the refit plans with the design team—tweaking here and there while he had the chance. After they left he glanced at his watch. Where was Caitlin? Hours had passed since she’d left him outside the diner. What tourist stuff had she soaked up? Had she eaten dinner? He waited, in case she hadn’t. The evening progressed. Nine o’clock came and went. So did ten.
Still no Caitlin.
Adrenalin tightened his muscles. Unable to ignore the pleas from his stomach, or the urge to move in some way, James headed out and picked up a pizza. He wandered round the cold, empty floor of his lounge, eating and distracting himself by imagining what it was going to look like once the changes had been made.
The second hand on his watch ticked on. Still she didn’t return. Concern pressed. Had he scared her off? Had she gone to stay somewhere else? Where? But she’d left her small toiletries bag in the bathroom. So did that mean she was lost—or something worse?
Hell. He tossed the uneaten crusts in the pizza box. Why was he so worried? She was grown-up. He wasn’t her damn guardian. He forced himself to take a shower and go to bed. If he didn’t get some sleep he’d look a wreck at the bloody gala and Lisbet would keep him chained to some desk for ever. But he didn’t bother trying to sleep. He tried to read.