Page 12 of The Austen Escape
“How did you know?” I dashed toward it.
“You lit up like a kid at Christmas when I brought cupcakes to celebrate Craig’s birthday. I figured I’d hit upon something special.”
“You did. Cupcakes surpass Christmas.” I picked it up and held it toward him. “Share?”
At his nod, I headed to the outer doors. “Come on. We’ll even go outside, just for you.”
“How can cupcakes surpass Christmas? That’s not normal.”
I yanked several hand wipes from the dispenser and hip-checked the door open to lead him across the dried grass, the mulch walk, and the tinkling stream to the pond, one of the few with surface-nipping koi.
“It’s normal when Christmas gets mixed up with life and... Let’s just say it’s not my top holiday anymore.”
“It was nice and cool in there.” He pointed back to the building.
I sat on the bench. “But you love the heat. It ‘warms your bones.’ Wouldn’t you rather be out here?”
“You remembered that?” Nathan dropped onto the bench beside me. “I was cold for three straight years in Boston. I don’t think I’ve gotten over it.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never left Texas. Not even for a vacation.” I peeled back the wrapper and pulled the cupcake in two. I held both pieces out.
“I won’t take your notion of defecting to Boston too seriously then.” He nodded to my offering. “You take the larger.”
“They’re the same.” I studied them. One was a little larger. I offered the smaller to him and leaned back on the bench.
“Good choice.” He chuckled and examined the bright-red cake. “Benson was championing you today. He said you’ve dug into a few of his projects over the past couple years and solved problems he hadn’t anticipated.”
I shrugged away the praise and focused on my cupcake—and waited. I knew Nathan well enough to know he was leading me somewhere.
Two bites and he spoke again. “Why didn’t you ask him or Rodriguez to help you with Golightly?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. He caught it and lifted his hands, one filled with half a cupcake, in surrender. “I’m just curious.”
“We both know you are never ‘just curious.’” I dabbed some cupcake off my lip.
Changing the subject or stalling too long wouldn’t work on Nathan.
“The math worked, so the configuration should’ve worked,” I explained. “It came down to artistry. It’s one thing to get help with the objective, but the subjective? We’ve always ‘owned’ our own projects here. A design bears our creative signature and is an intrinsic part of the designer’s professional identity... The failure felt like something within me, and that got too complicated. I can’t explain other than I didn’t, and maybe couldn’t.”
Nathan didn’t comment. Instead he nodded as if I’d satisfied his curiosity and nothing more needed to be said.
I followed his cue and bit into the cupcake again.
“This makes everything better. Thank you.” Cream cheese icing hit my nose. I rubbed it away.
“Craig saw me with the cupcake. He’d forgotten you were going on vacation and got all twitchy. He’ll miss you.”
“I’m glad someone will.”
“I’ll miss you.” Nathan’s voice held no teasing. It was soft and weighted. “I’m headed to Minneapolis to check out a new third-party logistics facility with Craig tomorrow, then I’m done. I’ll submit my final recommendations and be off to a new client before you get back.”
“I didn’t realize.” I crumpled the empty wrapper. “So that was a good-bye cupcake?”
“I hope not.” He twisted to face me. “Aren’t we friends, Mary? At least that?”
I felt my lips part.At least that?An image of Moira and her Heisman imitation floated to mind. Was she right? Had I missed something?
“We’re friends. And we’ll see each other, at least I hope we will. You should come out on Friday nights with us again. Will your next client be in Austin?”
