Page 39 of Painted Dreams
But the encounter stuck with him the rest of the day as he struggled to make sense of it. Was she trying to scare him away? Why would she do that? He thought of his own mom’s response when he told her about seeing Kat. She’d been delighted, encouraging. Rebecca Andrews had been standoffish from day one but had never given him any indication that she disliked him. And so what if Katwastaking meds for something? Lots of people were. She hadn’t mentioned it, but also gave no indication that there were any issues. And living alone in New York City and holding a demanding job, she seemed anything but fragile.
Nick tried to clear his head and concentrate as he browsed the specialty woods at his favorite Denver lumber company, inspecting the pieces with a critical eye. He had a six-week window to finish the Andrews project, but he wanted to shave down that time so other decisions would be made around the bookcases and mantel. The fireplace would be the focal point of the room.
He loaded the wood for the mantel into the truck he shared with his dad and got on the highway midday, eager to avoid the rush-hour traffic that seemed to get worse by the week. With a little luck, he wouldn’t be trekking back to Denver for a while.
* * *
Kat pulled her hair into a messy bun and adjusted the screen on her computer, waiting for Nick to connect. Moments later, his face appeared on the screen with that lazy grin of his, and her pulse went crazy. The man looked flat-out sexy in a black turtleneck sweater.
She gave a little wave. “Hi! How’d it go today?”
“Got a signed contract and a check.”
With a clap of her hands, Kat let out a squeal. “Oh, my gosh, I kept thinking about that meeting all day.”
“Nice to know I was on your mind.”
The warm timbre of his voice sent tingles up Kat’s spine. He’d definitely been on her mind—more than he should’ve been considering the work she had to do. And surely would’ve been even without the meeting with her mother. But maybe his ego didn’t need to know that.
“Glad it worked out. Did you tell her about the HomeBuilders interview?”
He hesitated a beat before answering, making her wonder if it hadn’t gone completely smoothly.
“I mentioned it, but she didn’t seem impressed. The thing is, it brought the conversation around to New York.”
Kat frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean I screwed up and mentioned I’d seen you in the city.”
“Oh.”
“She went a little frosty.”
Kat’s face burned as indignation mixed with embarrassment. Her mother was such a snob. The shame of having her daughter meet up with acarpenterin public. Hopefully she hadn’t said anything rude or demeaning. “Hmm. You probably just caught her off guard,” Kat tried to cover. “My mother is not a fan of surprises.”
“Maybe just protective. Hey, do your parents visit a lot?”
“Not at all.” Kat scoffed. “My dad’s been here a couple of times, but my mother’s only been once. She took about ten seconds to look at my apartment then spent three days shopping and going to Broadway shows.”
“Oh. Huh.”
“Huh, what?”
“She made it sound like they keep in pretty close touch, that it’s stressful to have you in the city.”
Kat sputtered a laugh. “Seriously? She must be losing her mind.”
“I don’t know. Something was off. I’m not sure the HomeBuilders thing even registered when I mentioned it. Oh, well. Not a big deal.”
“They’re supposed to come for my show. And they’re bringing Nana. I can’t wait. It’ll be so nice to have her here.”
“That’s great.”
“At least I’ll have one person here who’s genuinely interested.”
“Make that two. And I’m sure you underestimate,” Nick assured her.
Kat caught her breath. “You…you think you’ll be in New York around the time of my show?” She didn’t want to assume.
