“Four years old. I know I joked about her being opinionated, but it’s very important to me that her room is exactly what shewants.”
The tone of his voice held a gravity that made Anika look up. “I promise to domybest.”
“Thanks. She’s still a little fragile. Her mother passed away ayearago.”
Anika gasped. “I’m so sorry. Whathappened?”
“Heart failure. I couldn’t believe it, really. She was so healthy. She biked, ran—was all around athletic. One minute she was here, the next she was gone.” He frowned, shakinghishead.
It came as no surprise that Reed would fall for an athletic woman. In college he’d been rumored to be in relationships with several female athletes—one on the softball team and two swimmers. He himself had the muscular body of a man who probably worked out regularly. He used to be involved in intramural sports and had once shown her a photo of him and his father in California, standing on the beach with theirsurfboards.
“How is your daughter handling the loss of hermother?”
He rubbed a hand along the back of his neck, the frown deepening on his face. Anika had the sudden urge to throw her arms around him to ease his concerns. She’d never seen Reed like this. The worry etched in his face was unusual. She was accustomed to him being playful and laid back. “Most of the time Brielle—that’s my daughter—is great. She’s funny, playful, and a curious kid. But sometimes…sometimes she hasbaddays.”
“That’s understandable. It must have been hard for her to lose her mother soyoung.”
He sighed, suddenly looking weary. “Itwas.”
And how did Reed feel about his daughter’s mother, she wondered, but didn’tdareask.
“I’ll make sure she falls in love with her room.” Anika asked a few more questions, delving deeper into his likes, dislikes, and color preferences. “I have all the information I need,” she said finally. “I’ll put together a few ideas and get back to you early next week.” She gathered her belongings and zipped the briefcaseclosed.
“So how long have you been working at thedesignfirm?”
“Quite a while. I worked as an intern for a different firm while I was in school and applied for a position at the Design Studio after graduation. Laura offered me a job right away. I’ve been there ever since. Six years now. How long have you been at Continuum?” She was interested to learn more about Reed and what he’d been up to in the intervening years but didn’t want to appear too eager because she didn’t want toencouragehim.
“I have a similar story. I had a couple of summer internships with them, and when I graduated, they offered me a position in their New York office. Entry level stuff and a tough training ground, but I learned a helluva lot. Now I’m one of theirmanagers.”
“Do you missNewYork?”
He rested a hip against the edge of the island. “Honestly, no. I enjoyed my time there, but moving here was the right decision. Recent developments have convinced me of that even more.” Unblinking, he staredather.
The temperature in the room wenthigher.
“Reed…”
“Are you seeinganyone?”
Anika clenched her fingers around the pen. “What are you doing? We agreed that what happened between us would remain there and now you want to ask me questions that are none of your business.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t even understand what happened. You cut me off. You didn’t want to keep in touch. Did I do something wrong?” She’d promised herself not to go down this road, yet here she was, wanting—no, needing—to understand what hadhappened.
“No. It wasn’t you. Itwasme.”
“The old, it’s-not-you-it’s-me argument.” She laughed softly, an empty, bittersound.
“It’s the truth. It’s not just a line. I wasn’t mentally ready to be in a relationship. That’s no excuse, but it’s thetruth.”
Anika remained silent, staring at the granitecountertop.
“Running into you has reminded me of what I left. Of what we had.” Reed came around to her side. “Are you seeinganyone?”
“I’m not answering yourquestion.”
“So you’re not seeing anyone?” hepressed.
Her gaze shot up to his. “Why doyoucare?”
“Are you?” His determined gaze lockedwithhers.
