Page 64 of Dreaming of You

Chapter Thirteen

It was a little too quiet in the car, Kate thought, as Barrett drove her home.

After dinner, they'd taken a walk around the harbor, looking at Sausalito's famous floating homes, that were as rebellious and vibrant as ever. While they'd both agreed they liked the idea of living a free-spirited life on a boat in the harbor, it would probably stress them both out to be in such a small space. And while rocking back and forth might be soothing for a while, it didn't seem like a long-term proposition. They both had too much energy, too much drive.

They'd also done a little window-shopping. Barrett found her fascination with boots quite amusing, and she'd been surprised at how much time he'd spent looking at houses for sale on the window of a real-estate office. For a man who seemed to have no interest in commitment, he seemed incredibly interested in owning a home one day.

Barrett had given her his coat as they strolled, since she hadn't really dressed for being outside, and with his hand in hers, she felt warm and toasty despite the cold, clear night.

She still had the coat on now, even though Barrett had fired up the heater once they'd gotten in the car. But she wasn't ready to give it up just yet.

In some ways, the coat felt like a metaphor for their relationship—something that she wanted to hold on to, but she knew she couldn't. It was just for now, not forever.

She didn't know what Barrett was thinking about, but while the conversation had been easy and fun all evening, once they had gotten into the car, it seemed to evaporate.

She was starting to feel tense, expectant, and unsure. The night had started out as a favor to Barrett, but it had turned into more than that. Since leaving his mom's house, she'd seen yet another side of Barrett, one that felt younger, more relaxed, more fun.

She could hardly correlate this man with the one who'd been so angry and uptight the first night they'd met. "What changed?" she asked, not realizing she'd spoken aloud until Barrett glanced in her direction.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"I was just thinking how different you seem tonight versus the man who knocked over my statues and yelled at me two weeks ago."

"I didn't yell."

"You were really angry. But now that I know you better, I have to say I don't understand why you got so mad. You seem able to take a joke. What changed?"

His jaw tightened as he came to a stop at a traffic light. "I was having a bad week when we first met, and I was not in the mood for romantic cupid statues."

His words made her curious. "What had happened?"

He hesitated, then said, "The day before I ran into you, my father's fourth wife, Tanya, had asked me to meet with her at a house she and my dad were looking to buy. I didn't know why she wanted my opinion; we're not close. But I agreed to check it out. When I arrived, I found out she was less interested in my real-estate advice and more interested in what my father had been doing while he worked late in his office the night before."

"That doesn't sound good."

"It wasn't good. After the water pipe broke in my office, I spent a couple of days in the tower where Fox Management is located. I had been in the office the previous night when my dad told Tanya he had to work late. I had seen him leave five minutes later, and he had not been on his way home."

"Where did he go?"

"I have no idea."

"What did you tell Tanya?"

"I said I didn't keep track of my father, and she should ask him if she had concerns."

"How did she take that?"

"She started crying."

"Oh, damn."

He frowned as he gave a nod. "It was not fun. I finally calmed her down, offered her some probably worthless reassurances and took off."

"Would your father cheat on his wife?"

He sighed. "I don't know. We don't talk about things like that. In my experience, he usually just gets a divorce when he's done with a relationship. After that conversation, I sped up my timetable to get out of the tower. The next day, I looked at our list of unoccupied spaces and decided the old Victorian on Union Street was perfect. It just needed a little remodeling, but that didn't worry me, because we have crews ready to go. Our company manages a lot of buildings." He paused, as he took a moment to concentrate on the narrowing lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge. Once they were through the toll plaza, he said, "Anyway, you know what happened next. I ran into your cupids, and I wasn't in the mood for your romantic joke."

"That Cupid shot his arrow at you?"

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