LITMIR.BIZ

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He needed to hear her confirm that. It shouldn’t be too hard for her to do, not after what they’d done in the car.

      “I’m not, am I?” she asked, her tone teasing, her expression assessing.

      “You are not.” He was nothing but serious.

      The little tease laughed.

      He felt his temper rise and opened his mouth to remind her just who she had been showing interest in, in the not-so-distant past, but her expression shifted, went thoughtful and soft.

      She placed her fingertip on his lips. “No, Andreas, I’m not interested in Jacob.”

      “I knew you were not.” That was not relief he felt, more likely heartburn from something they’d eaten at lunch.

      They wouldn’t be eating at that restaurant again, no matter how beautiful the view.

      “Are you going to take our selfie now?”

      He put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her body tight into his and did just that. He kept his arm around her after.

      * * *

      Kayla followed Andreas down the steps off the bridge, still reeling from what had happened earlier. His touchy-feely, all-possessive boyfriend-like behavior as they walked across the Manhattan-to-Brooklyn landmark hadn’t helped her sense of unreality either.

      The texts from a near stranger, who felt like a new friend, seemed like her only link to planet Earth.

      “Where to now?”

      “You assume I have a plan?”

      “You always have a plan.”

      “We’re going to DUMBO.”

      “Like the elephant?” Andreas was not a cartoon-movie guy.

      He made a scoffing sound. “Like Down Under Manhattan Bridge Overpass. There’s shopping.” He said it like he knew that would be a selling point with her.

      Of course, he was right. Even when she didn’t buy anything, she loved to window-shop. “But it’s the Brooklyn Bridge.”

      “I did not name the neighborhood.”

      She laughed, delighted by the tinge of annoyance in his voice, even as his hand held tightly to her own.

      DUMBO turned out to be an amazing district with old converted brick warehouses now filled with living space, shops and restaurants. Some of the streets were cobbled, old freight-train tracks interspersed amid the stones.

      They were browsing in a bookshop, Andreas lost in the DIY section, his guilty pleasure. He read them like Kayla read romance novels, with intense fascination and no hope of experiencing the culmination of what was between the pages.

      Andreas Kostas was too busy conquering the world to build his own coffee table out of pallets, much less enjoy having such a thing in his living room. Kayla didn’t foresee herself ever getting her happily-ever-after with the man of her dreams either.

      Her phone buzzed with another text.

      OnBroadway: You never answered my last text.

      Codergirl: Andreas wasn’t keen.

      More like no way, no how, but she figured Jacob would get the subtext. He’d met Andreas, after all.

      OnBroadway: He wouldn’t be.

      Codergirl: He wants to work on our friendship.

      OnBroadway: Looks like he’s working on more than friendship.

      Kayla sighed and sat down in one of the chairs provided for book browsers before replying.

      Codergirl: He doesn’t know what he wants.

      Except she was pretty sure Andreas wanted sex. Hot, extremely satisfying sex.

      It took a few seconds longer than she expected for the next reply.

      OnBroadway: I think he does. Do you?

      Now it was Kayla’s turn to stop and think. Did she know what she wanted? In broad strokes, sure. She wanted security for her place at KJ Software; she wanted Andreas in her life. She could admit that.

      But could she afford to want him? Specifically, sex with him.

      Her phone buzzed. Another text.

      OnBroadway: That silence? Maybe that’s your answer.

      Codergirl: ?

      OnBroadway: Those words you can’t make yourself say.

      Codergirl: You’re kind of smart.

      OnBroadway: Just kind of?

      Codergirl: Egotistical.

      OnBroadway: Hey, my ego’s taken a big enough hit because of a certain beautiful geek.

      Codergirl: I’m sorry.

      OnBroadway: Don’t be. We’re going to be good friends.

      She smiled. She kind of thought they were already on their way there.

      Codergirl: Andreas won’t like that.

      OnBroadway: Even better.

      Codergirl: You’re a troublemaker.

      OnBroadway: I can be.

      She let out a small laugh, only a little embarrassed when she realized someone might have heard. She looked around and realized Andreas was watching her, his expression brooding.

      Her phone buzzed with another text and she looked at it.

      OnBroadway: Just don’t make the same mistake I did.

      Codergirl: What’s that?

      OnBroadway: Being afraid to take a chance on a friend.

      People said that emails and texts didn’t convey emotions, but there was a wealth of feeling behind Jacob’s last string of words.

      Codergirl: What happened?

      OnBroadway: I lost my friend and the chance at more.

      “More texts from Jacob?” Andreas asked, his voice surprisingly mild, considering the tightness around his eyes and the tension filling his posture as he stood towering over her chair.

      “Yes, give me a second.” She wasn’t leaving her new friend hanging after that kind of admission.

      Codergirl: I’m sorry. You’re a good guy.

      OnBroadway: I have my career.

      It wasn’t enough, though, or Jacob wouldn’t have advised her to go for Andreas. Kayla understood loneliness.

      “Tell Jacob hello, but it’s not safe to text and walk.”

      Meaning they were going to be walking again very soon.

      She looked up at Andreas. “Are you bored, boss?”

      His jaw went rigid. “Not your boss. We have more sightseeing to do.”

      “You are being rude.”

      “In what way?” He leaned against the wall by her chair, and he might have looked relaxed but for the jaw hewn from granite, crossed arms and muscles bunched with tension.

      She waved her phone at him. “I am in the middle of a conversation.”

      “During our date,” Andreas bit out.

      What? They were on a date? How had she not realized that?

      He was talking again before she could get her whirling mind to formulate an answer. “Do you see me talking on my cell? Have I sent a single text?”

      “No.”

      “Because my attention is entirely on you.”

      Wow. Okay. This day was so not what she thought it had been. Nothing had been

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