“Guilty.”
Craig motioned to the pan between them. “Do you want the last slice?”
Of course she did, but she didn’t want to admit it. “No. You take it.”
He studied her for a moment, then put it onto her plate. “I insist.”
Was it better to eat the pizza, or to keep talking and making it sound like she was pathetically waiting for her ex?
Waiting for a guy didn’t seem like something Dr. Rose Woodson would do…but she couldn’t even show up for a TV interview on time. What did she know?
“I’m not going to fight you on it.” She picked up the slice. “I can only assume this is the standard treatment for your star employee.”
He nodded. “That’s right.”
Rose laughed. She wasn’t sure who she was yet – star employee, pathetic ex-girlfriend, werewolf – but it didn’t matter. All that mattered was staying focused and moving forward.
And that meantnotfinding Craig charming, or handsome, or fun…even if he was.
Especiallyif he was.
She took a bite of pizza. “Thanks, boss.”
Chapter Thirteen
They’d had no business staying at the pizza place as long as they did, but Craig had completely lost track of time. He only realized it was late when he felt something bump into his shoe, looked down, and saw a broom.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t know it was closing time,” he said, shooting out of his chair. “We’ll get out of your hair.”
The employee took it in stride. “I’m not kicking you out. Yet.” She moved his chair aside and swept some crumbs. “You’ve got fifteen minutes. After that, I willnotbe shy about making you go, and I don’t care if you leave a bad review.”
She let out a gruff laugh, and Craig smiled. He had been in her position many times, though he never handled it as gracefully.
He’d just been a kid, after all. An anxious, insecure kid, the only one of his classmates at the boarding school who’d had to keep a job.
Whenever people wouldn’t leave his old restaurant at the end of the night, he suffered in silence, tormented by their cluelessness. He was always in a rush to get back to the dormitories before anyone noticed he was gone, to shower before anyone noticed he reeked of onions and grease.
It was all part of his shame, and at first, when he went to Princeton, he hung out with a few classmates from his high school and tried to keep up the façade.
It wasn’t until he’d met Barney that his perspective changed. He made new friends, and he didn’t have to hide he was a janitor’s son. No one cared.
Though Barney came from money, he wasn’t spoiled. He introduced Craig to people from all over the country, all over theworld, from different backgrounds and cultures. For the first time in his life, Craig could be himself.
Or at least, try to be himself. He was still a work in progress.
They walked outside into the cool evening breeze, a black sky hanging above them, the gravel of the parking lot crunching beneath their footsteps.
Craig walked behind Rose and spoke when they got to her car. “I’m sorry I took up your entire evening.”
She made a face. “You’re always apologizing. Don’t be sorry. This was fun.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “We hardly had time to talk about your plans for the next clients.”
“That’s true.” Rose tapped her chin, then said, “I’m free tomorrow! We can meet up somewhere. I’ll bring my computer and my notebooks. Maybe you can show me your parents’ new house!”
Craig hadn’t shownanyonethe house yet, not even his own sister, but without thinking, he said, “Sure. That sounds good. I’ll send you the address.”
The next morning, Craig peeked through the front window, waiting for Rose to arrive. He’d had trouble sleeping, replaying the things he’d said, worrying about how she might’ve taken some of his comments.
