shoulder, is he?”
“Something like that.” Julia made a quick decision. She would tell Bernie about her experiment. “We had something of a run-in recently. Cain took my newspaper and, well, it made me so mad I complained to a friend. Cammie’s got a big, generous heart, and she suggested the best way to deal with Cain was to kill him with kindness.”
Her words hung in the air for an awkward moment before Bernie slapped his knee and laughed boisterously. “You’re killing Cain with kindness? Tell me, how’s that working for you?”
“At the moment not so well, although I got a bit of encouragement this morning.”
“Oh?” Bernie was all ears.
“Cain bought me a latte from Starbucks.” She explained the circumstances of how he’d arranged it for her.
The old man’s eyes widened. “He went to all that trouble? Seems to me you’re getting him good, girl.”
“It isn’t like that.” Julia felt she had to explain. “I believe this is about as close as Cain’s going to get to apologizing to me for the way he acted yesterday.”
Bernie’s face folded with concern. “What did he do yesterday?”
Julia told him how Cain had accused her of following him and had basically warned her off.
“Why’d he think that?”
She explained that as well, which meant at this point she’d done the majority of the talking. That wasn’t so bad, except she’d come to learn what she could about Cain. Instead of being upset, Bernie chuckled. “In other words, you’ve been in his face for the last few days. I can just imagine his reaction to that. You’ve made escaping you nearly impossible for my boy. Wonderful. I love it.”
“He doesn’t make it easy. I baked him cookies, which he refused.”
Bernie shook his head. “Bet they were chocolate chip.”
“They were.”
“Thought as much. He won’t eat them, but I’ll gladly take them. Been a month of Sundays since I tasted home-baked cookies.”
A good portion of the batch had gone into the break room at Macy’s, but she’d held back a dozen or more. Bernie was a dear, just the way the receptionist claimed. Julia decided then and there to make sure the remainder went to Bernie.
“I delivered his newspaper to his apartment, too…until he demanded that I stop.”
“Not even a thank-you?”
“No.”
Bernie grinned. “Seeing as he left you that fancy coffee drink, my guess is he’s struggling with what he feels.”
“I make sure we leave for work around the same time each morning.” It wasn’t like Cain could avoid her. “But I won’t any longer.” She’d been determined earlier, but not after this latest episode.
Bernie frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, because…he thinks I’m stalking him.”
“You listen to me, Julia. Don’t you change a single thing. If he doesn’t want to take the elevator with you, then he can always use the stairs.”
Julia liked the sound of that.
“Cain doesn’t like me much,” she confessed. “That’s fine. I didn’t really expect he would.” Although she wasn’t willing to admit it, she’d started to have feelings for Cain. Not necessarily romantic ones; she found that she wanted to know more about what made him tick.
“Think you’re wrong about that,” Bernie said with a thoughtful look. “He’s attracted to you, but knowing my grandson, he’s fighting it tooth and nail.”
“Doubt it. He said I’d be far more attractive if I wasn’t so cheerful in the mornings.”
Bernie laughed so hard, Julia was afraid he was about to fall out of his chair. “That boy hasn’t got a romantic bone in his body. He probably thought he was giving you a compliment.”
Julia wanted to clear up any misconception. “I’m not interested in Cain romantically.”
Her comment sobered Bernie in quick order. “Why not? He needs a pretty girl like you in his life.”
Rather than explain that Cain Maddox was the last person on earth that she’d date, she said, “He isn’t open to a
“Something like that.” Julia made a quick decision. She would tell Bernie about her experiment. “We had something of a run-in recently. Cain took my newspaper and, well, it made me so mad I complained to a friend. Cammie’s got a big, generous heart, and she suggested the best way to deal with Cain was to kill him with kindness.”
Her words hung in the air for an awkward moment before Bernie slapped his knee and laughed boisterously. “You’re killing Cain with kindness? Tell me, how’s that working for you?”
“At the moment not so well, although I got a bit of encouragement this morning.”
“Oh?” Bernie was all ears.
“Cain bought me a latte from Starbucks.” She explained the circumstances of how he’d arranged it for her.
The old man’s eyes widened. “He went to all that trouble? Seems to me you’re getting him good, girl.”
“It isn’t like that.” Julia felt she had to explain. “I believe this is about as close as Cain’s going to get to apologizing to me for the way he acted yesterday.”
Bernie’s face folded with concern. “What did he do yesterday?”
Julia told him how Cain had accused her of following him and had basically warned her off.
“Why’d he think that?”
She explained that as well, which meant at this point she’d done the majority of the talking. That wasn’t so bad, except she’d come to learn what she could about Cain. Instead of being upset, Bernie chuckled. “In other words, you’ve been in his face for the last few days. I can just imagine his reaction to that. You’ve made escaping you nearly impossible for my boy. Wonderful. I love it.”
“He doesn’t make it easy. I baked him cookies, which he refused.”
Bernie shook his head. “Bet they were chocolate chip.”
“They were.”
“Thought as much. He won’t eat them, but I’ll gladly take them. Been a month of Sundays since I tasted home-baked cookies.”
A good portion of the batch had gone into the break room at Macy’s, but she’d held back a dozen or more. Bernie was a dear, just the way the receptionist claimed. Julia decided then and there to make sure the remainder went to Bernie.
“I delivered his newspaper to his apartment, too…until he demanded that I stop.”
“Not even a thank-you?”
“No.”
Bernie grinned. “Seeing as he left you that fancy coffee drink, my guess is he’s struggling with what he feels.”
“I make sure we leave for work around the same time each morning.” It wasn’t like Cain could avoid her. “But I won’t any longer.” She’d been determined earlier, but not after this latest episode.
Bernie frowned. “Why not?”
“Well, because…he thinks I’m stalking him.”
“You listen to me, Julia. Don’t you change a single thing. If he doesn’t want to take the elevator with you, then he can always use the stairs.”
Julia liked the sound of that.
“Cain doesn’t like me much,” she confessed. “That’s fine. I didn’t really expect he would.” Although she wasn’t willing to admit it, she’d started to have feelings for Cain. Not necessarily romantic ones; she found that she wanted to know more about what made him tick.
“Think you’re wrong about that,” Bernie said with a thoughtful look. “He’s attracted to you, but knowing my grandson, he’s fighting it tooth and nail.”
“Doubt it. He said I’d be far more attractive if I wasn’t so cheerful in the mornings.”
Bernie laughed so hard, Julia was afraid he was about to fall out of his chair. “That boy hasn’t got a romantic bone in his body. He probably thought he was giving you a compliment.”
Julia wanted to clear up any misconception. “I’m not interested in Cain romantically.”
Her comment sobered Bernie in quick order. “Why not? He needs a pretty girl like you in his life.”
Rather than explain that Cain Maddox was the last person on earth that she’d date, she said, “He isn’t open to a
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