Emily shook her head. “You definitely do not.
And you’ve got
to be even more exhausted than me. I’ve only been sitting here all day.”
“Right. Sitting vigil when no one else did.”
Derian held out a hand. “I owe you for that. I owe you for more than that too.
You took care of all the paperwork, didn’t you?”
Emily stood, avoiding Derian’s hand. She
couldn’t keep touching her. It wasn’t appropriate, and besides that, it was
upsetting. She wasn’t used to all the feelings Derian kindled without the least
bit of effort and, undoubtedly, unintentionally. “No, Vonnie helped. I don’t
deserve all the credit.”
Derian nodded. “I’ll call her and thank her
too. But first, food.”
“You’re very stubborn, aren’t you?” The words
were out before she could pull them back. She was usually so much more cautious
when she first met someone, and here she was saying everything that came into
her head. “I didn’t mean—”
Derian laughed. “That’s a mild way of putting
it. Most people might phrase it differently. But yes, once I set my mind on
something, I’m kind of hard to dissuade. What’s your favorite food?”
“Cookies,” Emily said instantly.
Derian laughed again, a deep sound that
rumbled in her chest and seemed to enclose Emily like a warm cloak wrapped
around her shoulders. The image struck her as belonging to someone else. When
had she ever been so frivolous? All the same, she couldn’t help but smile.
“Besides
dessert,” Derian said.
“Who said it was dessert?” Emily said.
“All right, I’ll admit to an occasional meal
of ice cream myself, but not tonight. What would you like?”
“Almost anything—you choose.”
Derian looked down at herself. “I could use a
shower and a change of clothes. Would it be asking too much for you to stop by
my apartment with me for a quick pit stop? I promise, it won’t be more than
fifteen minutes, and that will give me a chance to call and get reservations.
I’ll have you seated at a table in less than forty-five minutes.”
“You can do that in New York City?”
“Trust me.” Derian grinned and Emily suspected
that grin took her a long way in the world—part charm, part devil, part sex.
And now she had the perfect opportunity to
beg off dinner. She could simply say she was too tired to wait, and too
disheveled herself. But she wasn’t, really. She’d often gone all day at work
and then out to an event in the same clothes, and she really had only been
sitting most of the day. Derian wouldn’t know that, though. Faced with the
perfect opportunity to escape, she had to admit she didn’t want to. She wanted
to go to dinner with Derian Winfield. She wanted to hear her laugh again. She
wanted to do something different, something out of her ordinary routine, and
wasn’t that odd. She could think about all of that later. “I don’t mind a
little wait at all. And you don’t have to rush.”
“I won’t be rushing. I’m used to quick
changes.” Derian picked up Emily’s coat from where she had laid it on the chair
beside her and held it out for her. “Anyone you need to call? Change plans or
anything?”
“No,” Emily said casually as she let Derian
help her on with her coat, something she couldn’t ever remember anyone doing
before. The gesture was unexpected and unexpectedly delightful. “They’ll call
us, right? If there’s any…problem?”
Derian rested her hands for an instant on
Emily’s shoulders after the coat settled onto them. “They have my number. But
it’s going to be all right. It has to be, right?”
Emily leaned against her for the briefest of
seconds. They shared the same affection for Henrietta, and Derian had to be
even more worried. “Of course. Henrietta is probably even more stubborn than
you.”
“You’re absolutely right.” Derian slipped her
hand down to Emily’s elbow, leading her out into the hall. She liked the
contact, the intimacy of that passing touch. “I’m sure I inherited all my bad
traits from her.”
“I actually think it might be catching—the
stubbornness, at least. I’ve gotten a lot more persistent myself, since coming
to work with her.”
Derian reached out to press the button to the
elevator, but the doors opened and she halted abruptly. “Aud!”
