“Wow. Thanks for doing all that,” Kat told him.
“Had to do some guessing on what goes where. Hope you can find everything.”
“The price of free labor,” she said with a smile. “Shower’s all yours.”
She raised her brows when he hesitated.
He took a slow sip from his cup before speaking. “This is probably a good time to ask… should I…pack up my things?”
Heat flashed through Kat. The question caught her off-guard, but she appreciated that he asked, didn’t assume. Last night had been incredible, and just the thought of waking up snuggled against him again took her breath away. Swallowing hard, she shook her head. “No,” she whispered. “No need for that.”
A lazy smile spread across his face before he pulled her close and planted a kiss on her lips.
While Nick was getting ready, Kat took the opportunity to check her cell phone and found a new text from Mia.
—You’re not bailing on us today, are you?—
And deprive them of the opportunity to get Nick’s help? No way. Kat had the feeling Nick wasn’t just tagging along, that he actually wanted to pitch in today.
—No. In fact, I’m bringing a guest helper.—
Should she keep her friend in suspense or answer Mia’s silent question and mention the sleepover? Somehow it seemed like gossiping about herself. And last night was more than that— the memory of some very private moments sent a flush to her face. With a catch in her breath, Kat tucked the phone back into her purse.
Ten minutes later, she took Nick’s arm, and they walked the short distance to Bebe’s Cafe.
“We dining in or carrying out?” Nick asked inside.
Kat surveyed the line. “Let’s eat here. I hate it when I get stuck beside someone who’s eating on the subway.”
“Good point. Hadn’t considered the subway etiquette.”
“Haha. Manners, even on the subway. Imagine that.” Kat ordered a large chai tea and an almond pastry for herself as well as two dozen cinnamon sticks to take for the kids. They usually had twelve to fifteen kids show up for the art class. It was cheap babysitting in an area that wasn’t exactly poor, but where parents might struggle to pay the bills—or expose their kids to art outside of school.
Food in hand, they slid into a small booth, and Kat leaned forward. “Okay, now I want to hear all the details of the HomeBuilder’s deal.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Nick lifted his steaming breakfast croissant. “You mean I don’t get to eat this?”
Rolling her eyes, Kat flopped back against the padded booth. “Oh, all right. Go for it. Jeez, you haven’t told me anything. Are you not the least bit excited?” He was so easy-going that she sometimes wondered if he ever had any highs or lows.
“Sure.” He swallowed and then took a drink of orange juice. “But I’m pretty excited about eating this, too.”
Kat shook her head and picked up her fork then popped a piece of pastry into her mouth.
“Here’s the short version,” Nick said between bites. “Three spots, filmed back-to-back starting in April. Probably air late summer. They flew me in at the last minute Thursday night so I could be here for a planning meeting yesterday.”
“But…” He hadn’t mentioned the most important part. “Did they say where they’d film the segments?”
A slow grin spread across his face. “As a matter of fact, they did. About an hour away in Connecticut.”
Kat let out a choked laugh. “Seriously? Why didn’t you tell me that already?”
“Sorry. Haven’t had a good opportunity until now.”
“So they film all three segments at once?”
“Looks that way.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking Connecticut would be a nice place to visit.”
