Page 14 of It Had To Be You

His office door was closed when I reached it so I gave a soft knock. A moment later it opened and Conor beamed at me. “Yvonne!” he said, eyes going to the bag over my arm that held the containers of soup and then to the other bag with his champagne. His attention trailed over my face and hair, then my mouth. Though we’d been communicating by text we hadn’t seen each other in weeks and it was like he couldn’t help taking me in. I was doing the same, running my eyes over his stubble and tight cut hair, his broad shoulders and tailored suit.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes,” he said, reaching up to loosen his tie. “Here, let me take those.”

“Hello Conor,” I greeted, allowing him to relieve me of my bags as I stepped inside his corner office and unbuttoned my coat. It was a decent sized space with a view of Midtown. I walked over to the window to take in the full view, settling my coat and scarf over my arm, while he put the soup on his desk. He retrieved the champagne from the tote bag I’d carried it in and scanned the label.

“This is perfect,” he said. “How much do I owe you?”

“Ah, yes, the painful part. It wasn’t cheap, I’m afraid.” I dug around in my bag to find the invoice before handing it to Conor. He let out a low whistle at the price. “My parents better tell me I’m their favourite after I give them this,” he said with a grin. He set aside the invoice and placed the champagne in a drawer before grabbing his phone. “I’ll Paypal you. What’s your email?”

I rattled it off as I settled my coat and scarf over the seat in front of his desk and sat down. Eagerly, I opened my soup, too starved to wait. A ping sounded as I pulled off the lid on one container before sliding the other across to Conor. Pulling out my phone, I saw the money had already come through, then frowned because he sent too much.

“Oh. You’ve paid me two hundred dollars extra. Let me send you a refund.”

“Keep it,” he replied. “Consider it a finder’s fee.”

“Conor, that’s too generous,” I protested but he held up a hand.

“It’s Christmas. If I can’t be generous at this time of year then what’s the point?”

At this I relented. Who was I to refuse two hundred dollars? I had spent a good deal of time locating the bottle for him, then negotiating a price, after all. Sliding my phone back in my bag, I said, “I guess Ev and I will be adding some extra fancy cheeses to our cheese board selection this year.”

“Didn’t she mention it to you yet?” Conor said as he opened his soup and inhaled the steam.

“Mention what?”

“Dylan invited you both to come stay at the townhouse with us for Christmas. He’s been planning the food for weeks. Fairly sure he’s spent more time procuring an organic free range turkey than you did finding that bottle of champagne.”

“Oh,” I replied, taken off guard. “No, Ev hasn’t mentioned it, but we’ve both been so busy. It must’ve slipped her mind.” I paused, chewing my lip. My heart filled at the idea of spending Christmas in that glorious townhouse surrounded by friends, by people I’d known back in Dublin. I’d spent far too many years on my own for Christmas when I couldn’t afford to fly home, which was why I was a little overwhelmed at the invitation. I wanted to accept it, but I also knew that spending time under the same roof as Conor might not be wise. I was, after all, allowing myself fanciful daydreams about being married to the man. And all because he’d made a silly joke in a text.

“So,” he hedged, eyeing me speculatively. “Are you going to come?”

Want flared in my chest and I found that I couldn’t say no, even if I knew I should. I wanted a big family Christmas too much to turn it down. “Yes, sure. If Ev’s going then I’ll come, too.”

His expression warmed then, and we spent the next few minutes quietly eating our soup. The dumplings were deliciously filling, the mild broth a salve against the cold weather outside. My feet ached in my heels so I discreetly slipped them off. It didn’t escape Conor’s notice though, as his eyes wandered down my legs to my feet. I wore flesh coloured tights, not a particularly sexy item, and yet there was something in his eyes that made me feel truly, utterly desired. I realised that Conor still wanted me, despite me knocking him back last month, and that knowledge was both anxiety inducing and thrilling.

“Sorry. I can put my shoes back on if it bothers you,” I said quietly. “I underestimated the walk here and my feet are killing me.”

Conor cleared his throat. He looked like he was struggling with something before he replied, “No. Please make yourself comfortable. I insist.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, tucking my legs under me and realising too late that the move caused my skirt to rise. Conor’s gaze flicked momentarily to my legs before making a concerted effort to look away. I tugged at the hem to cover more of my exposed thighs but it was no use.

“This is a very nice office,” I said to make conversation. “Much nicer than mine.”

“If you think this is nice, you should see Dylan’s. Though saying that he tends to spend most of his time in the tiny office at the new store.”

“Oh, well, he probably just wants to make sure everything runs smoothly since the place hasn’t been open long.”

“True,” Conor agreed and a silence fell between us. He was the one to break it when he said, “I’ve really enjoyed texting with you these last few weeks, Yvonne.”

“Oh, yeah, me too,” I replied, glancing at the floor a moment. There was something in his gaze that made my voice come out all airy. His look told me he was still interested in me, even if he’d agreed to be friends. I wondered why he liked me, why the crush he’d developed as a teen had such longevity. Lifting my gaze, I blurted, “Conor, why do you like me?”

His lips twitched in a way that said my question both surprised and amused him. “Why do I like you?” A pause as he rubbed his chin. “Well, for a start you’re a nice person.”

“Yes, but not so long ago you wanted to date me, and when you were a teenager you had a crush on me. I’d like to know what it is about me that, um, well, interests you so much.”

Conor smiled and tilted his head, his eyes trailing over my body. “Shall I draw you up a list?”

My stomach tensed at the low note in his voice while he perused me and I bit my lip. His eyes seemed to zero in on that and goosebumps rose on my arms. I ploughed ahead. “No need for a list, just give me one reason, because honestly, it doesn’t make sense. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think I’m unattractive or anything, but surely it’s more than just looks for you to have liked me for such a long time.” I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and shifted a little in my seat. I knew this was an awkward subject to bring up, but perhaps if I knew what it was about me that captured Conor’s interest then maybe I could understand him better.

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