“Are you sure? I brought pizza and beer. Enough for all of us.” Not that he really wanted or needed her there, he just didn’t want Vickie to feel as though she wasn’t wanted. Whatever was going on between him and Gia was only a moment in time. She and Vickie had been friends for ages. Sometimes friends can be closer than family. A bond that shouldn’t be interfered with. That reminded him of Caydan and hating that he was working for Brice behind Caydan’s back. It was as stupid as being here at Gia’s apartment now. What the hell was wrong with him?
“You look like you have a lot on your mind. Hopefully it’s Gia. Enjoy your lunch. I’m sure we’ll bump into each other again.” Vickie gave him a slight wave of the hand as she headed down the street.
He stood there until she drove away in her baby blue Jetta. Even down the street, he could hear Vickie’s music blaring. Never would he have put those two together as friends. Yet somehow, they complemented each other. Gia probably is what keeps Vickie out of trouble.
He grabbed the pizza and beer out of his Jeep and headed upstairs. He hoped Gia wasn’t going to be disappointed that they weren’t going out, but he was done with restaurants and crowds. He wanted a place they could talk freely.
When she opened the door, he almost dropped the pizza box on the floor. When he saw her last her hair was covered in foils and wet with some type of cream. Seeing her as a blonde, it was like looking at a different woman.
“What is this?” Gia asked as she grabbed the boxes of pizza from him.
“I thought it might be nice to stay in. Do you mind?” Roger asked, trying not to stare and failing miserably.
Gia wrinkled her nose. “You don’t think it smells like a hair salon in here?”
“Right now all I smell is lunch,” he said as he stepped into her kitchen. That wasn’t entirely true. Even her hair that normally smelled sweet, had a chemical odor. But the end result was . . . wow.
“What do you have in the bag?”
Roger smiled. “Since I struck out with wine last night, I thought beer might be better.”
“You thought right. Vickie is an amazing stylist, but cleanup is not her strong suit. If you give me a few minutes, I’ll get this place in order.”
She put the pizza on the counter, and he watched as she began clearing the table and throwing things in the trash. He normally wouldn’t go into someone’s refrigerator without asking, but his sole thought was to help her. Quickly putting the beer inside to stay cold, he started helping her.
Gia stopped and said, “You don’t need to do this. Just sit and relax.”
“That’s not my style. Besides, I don’t want the pizza getting cold.” He gave her a playful wink, and she handed him a paper towel and pointed to the kitchen table.
Unfortunately, he was like Vickie when it came to cleaning. He was usually in hotels and didn’t need to worry about it, or home where he ate out most of the time. From what he could see, the only things out of place were somehow linked to having her hair done. Besides that, Gia seemed to like everything in order. That was in alignment with her career choice as well.
Gia wasn’t her normal chatty self. It was as though when she set her mind to it, nothing stopped her. She is a woman on a mission. He knew better than to get in her way. In no time at all, everything was put away. When she turned her attention back to him, she was all smiles.
“Now about that beer,” Gia said as she opened the fridge, took two out, and tossed him one. “Do you need a glass?”
“Definitely not,” he replied, twisting off the cap. Gia had already set the table and pulled a pizza from the box. “I wasn’t sure what you like, so I got a meat lover and a veggie lover.”
Gia walked over and put the second pizza on the table as well. “I’ve never met a pizza I didn’t like. It’s one of my favorite foods. Guess I’m a cheap date.”
Her eyes widened as though she wanted to take back her words. But it was too late; he heard her call it a date. Was that what these meetings were? Roger had been intentionally avoiding putting a label on them. That didn’t mean it wasn’t what they were. He replied, “Although I enjoyed our date last night, this is nice too.”
Roger noticed the slight curl of her lips. She didn’t want to acknowledge their changing relationship any more than he had. That was funny, because in his experience, women were always trying to put a label, or hell a ring, on a simple date or two. He’d mastered derailing all attempts. Yet here he was feeding into what he knew couldn’t be. It wasn’t just stupid, it was cruel too.
But somehow with Gia things were easier, which in a way made things a hell of a lot more complicated. How the hell was he going to be able to walk away from her without being an asshole? Really how she viewed him wasn’t the most important thing. He wanted to know she would be okay. And why wouldn’t she? Once she was working at Henderson Towers, she was going to be so busy she wouldn’t have time to date anyway. The Hendersons demanded so much from their staff. At least that’s how it was when he’d first started his research on them a few years back. Caydan said they’d changed. Roger wanted to believe that since he was asking them to hire Gia. He had a feeling she could handle herself, but the Hendersons weren’t as easy to understand or deal with as most thought.
But he wasn’t just going to up and walk out of her life. They had a connection of some sort and, even if they weren’t seeing each other, he was sure they’d stay in contact if only through text messages. That is if she wanted to.
“I think New York holds the answers, and we go there to see what we can find out. Are you free tomorrow?” Gia asked.
While he was pondering whatever this was developing between them, Gia must have been thinking about work.
“I can be. What exactly do you think we’ll accomplish there that can’t be done from Boston?” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to go, but he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be a day trip.
“I want to utilize their libraries. If I’m correct, there will be old census documents I might be able to use. But I can ask Vickie to go with me if you don’t want to.”
“Did I say no?” She shook her head. “And you think you can find this information that quickly?”
“I’m hoping. But I don’t know. I went to college with a guy who is meeting me there.”