button, Alvin’s voice rang out. “Matthew! How are things?”
“Very good, sir. How are you?”
“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Alvin paused. “Well as much as I want to ask you how things went with the shipment, I won’t. I trust you and my little girl are handling it.”
Matthew glanced over at Cali and saw a blush rise on her cheeks as she bit her lower lip. Every time she did that, he had the overwhelming urge to kiss her.
Clamping his fists tight, he tried to concentrate on Alvin’s voice. “…wondering if someone could come up this weekend and take a look at the security system in this place. I hate to ask someone to do it on the weekend but— “
“No. No, that’s not a problem. I’ll take care of it personally. Does tomorrow work?”
“Tomorrow would be perfect. Say, why don’t you just ride up with Cali? No sense in wasting gas when you’re both coming the same direction, now is there?” Not expecting any objection to his request, he continued, “You can take a look at things while she and I do some catching up, and then we can all sit down to an early supper.”
Matthew looked at Cali, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were focused on a picture at the other end of the room. Maybe he should refuse. Obviously, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea. But before he could think of an excuse, he heard Alvin’s voice again. “Great. I’ll see you both around three. Oh and Cali…”
“Yes, Dad.” Her voice was devoid of emotion.
“Love you.”
“You too,” she answered.
The call ended, leaving the two occupants of the office in awkward silence.
Matthew spoke first, but his voice was monotone and formal. “The delivery is on its way. We had a tail, but we managed to take care of that. All appears to be good.” He paused. “I’ll inform you if something changes. The truck should arrive before the end of business today.”
“Yes,” Cali said, trying to regain her footing. “Thank you.”
Matthew nodded and turned to go but paused at the door. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow before two.”
She didn’t answer nor did he expect her to. As he shut the door behind him, Cali let her head fall back against her chair. How in the world was she going to spend an hour in a car alone with Matthew Andersen?
Chapter 14
Although she’d been able to leave work just after three Friday, the thought of spending most of her Saturday with Matthew Andersen was playing havoc with her brain. She’d gone shopping in a vain attempt to distract herself. She wasn’t a shopaholic by any means, but it was something to do, and she just couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
It had worked for a while. The shops weren’t that busy at first, but as the night wore on, the mall began to fill with both families and teens. She’d broken down and bought a new outfit for the next day; nothing special, just a new pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt. The desire to pick something a bit dressier was tempting, but this was her dad. That was all. It was just dinner at the lake house. With. Her. Dad.
The fact that Matthew Andersen was going to be there too had no bearing whatsoever.
Around six, she stopped at a pizzeria and feasted on a slice of brick oven pizza. It was heaven. Having gone so long without real pizza, her mouth was watering.
On her way out of the mall, she passed by a movie theater. There were people in line at the box office, as well as the concession stand, and she could smell the warm buttery popcorn calling to her. It wasn’t quite seven o’clock yet, and she hadn’t seen a movie in such a long time.
Changing direction, she made her way up to the ticket counter and picked the first movie that struck her fancy. Ticket in hand, she made her way to the concession stand. With a small popcorn and a large soda, Cali walked into the theater to watch her chosen flick. As the previews started, Cali got a weird feeling like she was being watched. She quickly looked around but didn’t see
“Very good, sir. How are you?”
“Not bad. Not bad at all.” Alvin paused. “Well as much as I want to ask you how things went with the shipment, I won’t. I trust you and my little girl are handling it.”
Matthew glanced over at Cali and saw a blush rise on her cheeks as she bit her lower lip. Every time she did that, he had the overwhelming urge to kiss her.
Clamping his fists tight, he tried to concentrate on Alvin’s voice. “…wondering if someone could come up this weekend and take a look at the security system in this place. I hate to ask someone to do it on the weekend but— “
“No. No, that’s not a problem. I’ll take care of it personally. Does tomorrow work?”
“Tomorrow would be perfect. Say, why don’t you just ride up with Cali? No sense in wasting gas when you’re both coming the same direction, now is there?” Not expecting any objection to his request, he continued, “You can take a look at things while she and I do some catching up, and then we can all sit down to an early supper.”
Matthew looked at Cali, but she wasn’t looking at him. Her eyes were focused on a picture at the other end of the room. Maybe he should refuse. Obviously, she wasn’t thrilled with the idea. But before he could think of an excuse, he heard Alvin’s voice again. “Great. I’ll see you both around three. Oh and Cali…”
“Yes, Dad.” Her voice was devoid of emotion.
“Love you.”
“You too,” she answered.
The call ended, leaving the two occupants of the office in awkward silence.
Matthew spoke first, but his voice was monotone and formal. “The delivery is on its way. We had a tail, but we managed to take care of that. All appears to be good.” He paused. “I’ll inform you if something changes. The truck should arrive before the end of business today.”
“Yes,” Cali said, trying to regain her footing. “Thank you.”
Matthew nodded and turned to go but paused at the door. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow before two.”
She didn’t answer nor did he expect her to. As he shut the door behind him, Cali let her head fall back against her chair. How in the world was she going to spend an hour in a car alone with Matthew Andersen?
Chapter 14
Although she’d been able to leave work just after three Friday, the thought of spending most of her Saturday with Matthew Andersen was playing havoc with her brain. She’d gone shopping in a vain attempt to distract herself. She wasn’t a shopaholic by any means, but it was something to do, and she just couldn’t sit around and do nothing.
It had worked for a while. The shops weren’t that busy at first, but as the night wore on, the mall began to fill with both families and teens. She’d broken down and bought a new outfit for the next day; nothing special, just a new pair of jeans and a fitted t-shirt. The desire to pick something a bit dressier was tempting, but this was her dad. That was all. It was just dinner at the lake house. With. Her. Dad.
The fact that Matthew Andersen was going to be there too had no bearing whatsoever.
Around six, she stopped at a pizzeria and feasted on a slice of brick oven pizza. It was heaven. Having gone so long without real pizza, her mouth was watering.
On her way out of the mall, she passed by a movie theater. There were people in line at the box office, as well as the concession stand, and she could smell the warm buttery popcorn calling to her. It wasn’t quite seven o’clock yet, and she hadn’t seen a movie in such a long time.
Changing direction, she made her way up to the ticket counter and picked the first movie that struck her fancy. Ticket in hand, she made her way to the concession stand. With a small popcorn and a large soda, Cali walked into the theater to watch her chosen flick. As the previews started, Cali got a weird feeling like she was being watched. She quickly looked around but didn’t see
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