“Nadja, can you do me a favor?” Nate asks. I try to focus on my glass, but I’m too close not to overhear.
“Sure.”
“Can you take Ms. Everly to Alcatraz on Saturday? I’ll pay for all your expenses and have a car and a private boat ready for you in the morning. She said she and her husband used to go there each time they celebrated another decade.”
“Oh, the poor woman. Of course I can. Very generous of you.”
“Here is my number. Let me know the schedule.”
Yep, I’m not swooning or anything. As I watch him return to Ms. Everly, I sigh. This is what always called me to him. Not just his sinfully hot looks, though those also contribute.
But none of this matters. We’ve lived separate lives until now, and that won’t change. I won’t do anything to risk the friendship we have while he’s here. Undressing him with my eyes doesn’t count, right? Such a fine specimen of a male must be admired, often and with gusto. I volunteer for the task.
Chapter Five
Nate
“Earth to Nate. What’s going on? You’ve been like a zombie the entire morning,” Clara says the next day during the lunch break, tapping her foot against the hardwood floor of the studio while holding out two sandwiches. “Turkey or cheese?”
I grab the one with the turkey label. “Thanks.”
It was four o’ clock by the time I got into bed, waking up two hours later feeling almost hungover. Now it’s lunchtime, and my head still throbs. Clara and I go out to the balcony overlooking the inner patio. It’s become our designated lunch spot. Everyone else heads to the nearby restaurant, enjoying the hour off, but Clara and I typically only take half the allotted time.
“So? Any particular reason why you could barely keep your eyes open today?” She’s practically bouncing up and down on her toes. I sit on the bench, unwrapping the foil from the sandwich.
“It’s called a private life, Clara. Weren’t you nagging me about having one?”
“Yes, but it interferes with your work. I’ve had to cover for you, saying you stayed up late to edit the last segment, and that’s why you can’t focus.”
I stop midchew, standing straighter. “Who complained?” I pride myself on being able to do my job better than ninety-nine percent of my peers, even with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. I don’t want to give anyone reason to think I’m not giving my best just because I’ll be leaving in two weeks.
Clara stares at me intently, right before bursting into laughter.
“You didn’t have to cover, did you?” I ask, feeling sucker-punched.
When she eventually stops laughing, she shakes her head. “No one complained. Your work is great, as usual, but I just wanted to have leverage against you. To make you talk.”
I don’t have any siblings, but I always imagined if I had a little sister she’d be just like Clara, nosy and annoying.
“I went with Alice to a senior center last night. We were there until three o’clock in the morning.”
Watching Clara’s reaction is downright comical. I’ve talked to her about the Bennett family often, and she knows I’m pulling strings for Alice. When I mentioned Alice, her eyes went wide with surprise, but they narrowed to thin lines at the words senior center.
“Odd choice of a place for a date.”
“It wasn’t a date.”
“Oh. So you were out until the early hours of the morning… why?”
While we eat our sandwiches, I explain everything, and Clara listens quietly, which is very unlike her. After I’m done, she remains quiet, which makes me nervous. A fact I’ve learned over the years: when a chatty woman is quiet, some major shit will go down.
; “So, you have the hots for Alice.”
“Well—”
“It wasn’t a question. It’s a fact.” She holds her palm up, and all I can do is chuckle. “Why don’t you ask her out?”