“Honestly, I think we should talk. About us,” she said. “I promised that we’d talk, and I meant it. I know we probably can’t talk right now, but the sooner the better.”
“I agree,” he said with a nod. “We have to talk things out and make some decisions.”
“Probably tough decisions.” Things were so complicated between them, but when she had spent the night at his place over the weekend everything had felt so right. Figuring out where they stood was going to be difficult, but she was finally ready to try. To at least see where their relationship could go if they took it to the next level. The problem was that there were so many obstacles to them getting together.
“How about we talk today after work?” he suggested. “We can go somewhere private and figure things out.”
“I usually pick up Finn from my parents’ house after work,” she said. “But maybe I can ask them to watch him for a few extra hours while we talk.”
“I understand if you can’t talk today while you take care of Finn.”
She waved her hand. “I’ll call my parents and sort things out. I can spare a few hours.”
“I know how tough it must be for you to make time to talk things out, so I appreciate it, Heather,” he said.
“No problem.” She got to her feet. “I’m going to start getting some work done in my office and call my parents to make arrangements for this evening.”
“Great,” he said.
When she opened the office door, she stole one last glance at Simon. He was staring at his computer screen, already hard at work despite the chaos that was building around them.
Knowing there might be a chance for them now made her heart swell. She just hoped that Simon didn’t pull away from her now that she was ready to give them a chance.
Chapter 15
She let him take her hand as he helped her walk up the steps to the art gallery.
“I can’t believe you own this place,” Heather said as he held the door open for her.
“Why not?” Simon stepped inside after her.
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I guess I never saw you as a guy who appreciated pretentious modern art.”
There were inside one of Seattle’s most prestigious art galleries. The place was closed at this hour, which is why Simon had suggested they meet here to talk after work. It was probably one of the few private places they would have away from the press, since few people seemed to know Simon owned the place.
Heather wasn’t very knowledgeable about things like art, but she liked learning about another facet of Simon’s life that seemed hidden from everyone else. Being here made her feel oddly special. Like he was sharing a secret with her and only her.
He laughed. “I bought the gallery because I liked the type of art they display. Most of the art installations are a combination of design and technology.” Simon pointed to one of the installations on their left, a giant oblong-shaped chrome monstrosity that lit up with neon blue lights.
“What is that thing?” She tilted her head, trying to figure out what on earth she was looking at.
“I’m not sure.” His brow furrowed as he thought for a second. “Some kind of giant magnet?”
“It looks like a space ship,” she said.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s worth a quarter of a million dollars,” he said.
Her mouth fell open. “Wow.”
“Hey, Dover’s technology helped make that thing,” he pointed out. “It’s only fair that it’s on sale for such a hefty price.”
The gallery curator suddenly appeared to greet them and offer them small cups of coffee. With the coffee in their hands the curator disappeared back into her office, leaving them alone in the gallery.
Cradling the cup in her hand, Heather followed Simon to a seating area in one of the gallery rooms. She took a seat beside him and took a sip of the strong brew.
“Guess we should talk now,” she said softly, staring at the dark liquid in her cup.
“We have a lot to talk about,” he said.
“This might be the first real talk we’ve ever had.” Her heart squeezed. Even though she was here beside him, she was still getting pulled back into the past. Back to when they were kids and she had no idea how easy it was going to be to lose him for so long.