By the time I got down to the kitchen the next morning, Dad had already left for work. Luckily there was still coffee, so I chugged some while toasting a bagel.
Mom had her laptop open and notes scattered all over the place. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"Katrina is thinking of writing a book about her career so far," Mom gushed, her eyes glowing with pride. "So I'm putting together a few ideas for the book launch party."
I slapped cream cheese on my bagel while trying not to laugh. "You know that her publisher will take care of that, right? Does she even have a publisher yet?"
Mom had that strange look at her eyes that I'd seen quite often. She rarely acknowledged reality when it came to Katrina.
"There are three that she is considering contacting," Mom beamed. "But you know, first she has to get a handle on the tone. That will determine which press she'll offer the book to."
Pretending to clear my throat to camouflage the snicker, I washed down my hastily-eaten bagel with the rest of my coffee.
I arrived at the dental office with five minutes to spare. We were booked solid, and it was almost noon before Dad and I had a chance to chat.
"Thanks for getting my message to Warrick last night," he said. "I appreciate it, Brooke."
"No problem," I said, trying to sound casual. "I stayed for the drumming, and we had fun."
Dad's gaze snapped up from his tablet. "Really? You didn't mind hanging out with him?"
"No – he's amazing. We got talking about robotics. I think I'm going to see his lab this afternoon."
He nodded, already walking away. "That's nice, honey."
Not the interaction I was expecting, but it was good enough for now.
My phone sang a soft flute ringtone precisely at noon.
Warrick:Hi. How about a lab tour and dinner this evening?
Me:Sure.
Warrick:What time do you get off work?
Me:Three.
Warrick:I'll pick you up then. Ow. What was that?
I stared at the phone for a few blinks, wondering what he meant.
Warrick:Sorry dash I'm using voice to text. I'll pick you up at three. Can't wait to see you, sweet beautiful girl.
Me:See you soon.
His strange behavior might be off-putting to some people. Yet I understood. Warrick was simply in his own world when he was working. I was the same way with school.
After a long study session, I sometimes couldn't remember basic words. I once asked Mom to order pizza with "extra meaty circles", because I'd forgotten the word "pepperoni".
While eating a sandwich at my desk, I looked up Cedar Industries online. It was a giant umbrella organization that held dozens of companies. Individually, they didn't seem very interesting. It was all parts for large machines. Yet there were thousands of products spanning many industries.
The afternoon flew by. I looked up at two minutes to three to see Warrick waving from the street.
I checked with Dad that I was good to leave, then went out to see that Warrick was standing in front of a stunning silver convertible.
It wasn't half as stunning as Warrick himself. His shaggy hair had been cut into a breezy, almost sporty style. His navy button down shirt was slim-fitting enough to show off his thick chest and narrow waist, clinging to his biceps. Black suit pants hugged his hips and thighs just enough to show off his incredible physique.
I thought that he was handsome last night, but now…wow. He was the sort of gorgeous that was going to make every single head turn whenever he walked down the street.