It took a moment, but finally one side of her mouth lifted, and she met his eyes. “You still want that?”
Sitting across from her now, his choice was clear. “Yes, I do.”
She held his gaze. “Okay. I’ve been wanting to talk to you. I just…I wasn’t sure if you still…” Her eyes darted around the dining room then back to him. “I wasn’t expecting an audience.”
“No one’s paying the slightest attention to us, ba–” He caught himself before he said “babe.” How easily the endearment slipped out.
Sucking in a deep breath, she turned and reached for her purse. “I have something for you.” She unfolded a piece of paper and handed it to him.
He immediately recognized the shop’s artist query form—and her signature at the bottom. The air around him was suddenly heavy, suffocating. She’d filled out the application for placing her work in his shop.
“How did you–”
“I visited your shop this afternoon.”
Her soft voice was like velvet on his skin.
“You did?” He shook his head. “And I left early. I missed you.” He toyed with his glass a moment before looking at her again and swallowing past the lump in his throat. “Truth is, I miss you every day.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
The blood pounded in his ears. “And you really want to–”
A smile widened across her face. “It’s a great shop. I’d be proud to show my work there.”
Slowly, he folded the paper again and slipped it into his coat pocket. Swallowing hard, he looked into her deep, ocean-blue eyes. “The answer is yes.”
Kat’s skin tingled at the warmth in Nick’s voice. She wasn’t sure she could speak coherently. She dabbed her eyes with her napkin. “I sawyourwork yesterday. At my parents’ house. It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks. I’ve had several calls from the homes tour.”
“And I hear HomeBuilders offered you more episodes.”
“They did, and I accepted.”
“So, I guess everything went well with the original ones.” The ones she was supposed to see.
“Yeah.”
As usual, they slipped easily into conversation. “Will the new episodes be filmed in the same place?”
“Not sure yet.” Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. “Would you like to see some? I have a couple of clips.”
She gave a light laugh. “Yes, I want to see.” She reached out for the phone.
“Okay, hang on.”
He fiddled with the phone a minute then handed it to her. When his hand brushed hers, sparks shot through her. For a split second, she considered reaching for it.
But Nick pulled his hand back. “I turned off the volume. Just hit play.”
She swallowed hard and pushed the button. His face filled the screen. As the camera moved back, his friendly smile turned her insides to mush. She caught her breath. He looked perfectly at ease. He looked good. His career was taking a gigantic step forward into a completely different direction. Her throat clogged. He was living proof that it could happen.
“Nick, this is amazing. You look so natural.” In fact, he looked smoking hot. People who didn’t give a hoot about wood furniture or fireplace mantels were going to watch his shows. Women were going to tune in to feast their eyes and ears on him. “You’re going to be HBTV’s newest star.”
“We’ll see. It’s unexpected, that’s for sure.”
His eyes held her hostage, and Kat’s face warmed. A current of electricity suddenly charged the air around them. With nervous energy buzzing through her veins, she forced herself to say what she’d planned this afternoon. “Nick, I’m sorry I didn’t meet you for coffee after your filming. I…” She spread her hands. “Too much going on. Too many questions to sort through. And I wasn’t ready to see your point.”
