Chapter 57
Dinner was
was pleasant, surprisingly so. She found herself talking about her father a lot and it warmed her heart to hear how much Kylan had actually liked spending time with him. She tried to get him to admit the promise he had made to her dad, but he still refused.
By the end of her meal, she was feeling warm and more comfortable around Kylan than she had in werks. He was easy to be with when he was like
this. When he allowed himself to forget about the pretenses that came with being a CEO and her boss alike.
He wasn’t relaxed, really. But he wasn’t as tense, the normally prominent frown lines near the side of his eyes not nearly as obvious.
When he paid for her dinner and took her hand to walk outside, she felt herself lean into him a little more than was necessary.
Thank you for dinner, that was delicious,” she told him honestly,
Kylan nodded at her, opening her door when she reached his SUV
The drive home was spent in amicable silence once again and she could feel herself worrying less and less about what was on Kylan’s mind.
When be insisted on walking her to her door, she thought nothing of it
“We should take a picture tomorrow, she suggested while she walked hand in hand to her door.
“We can do that” kylan quietly agreed.
She stopped in front of her apartment, letting go of Kylan’s hand. “Thank you again for dinner. This was.. Well it was nice, Kylan.” She licked her lips nervously, pulling her key from her pocket and unlocking her door.
She looked back to Kylan, her breath caught in her throat at once because he was looking at her like.. Well, she didn’t know what,
“Thank you. Katrina “He lifted an arm as if to touch her, and then he dropped it to his side. “Have a good night.” With that, he turned around and
Ich her.
She watched him leave, blinking against the sudden fog in her mind.
He had held himself back, she realized, Well, not really. He had just respected the boundaries of the contract this time. Something he hadn’t been doing since before and during Portland.
She wasn’t sure if that made the glad, or if it upset her.
She did know it shouldn’t bother her, though
-0-0-0-
Katrina woke up early the following morning, taking advantage of the weekend and spending a few hours blaring music through the speaker on her kitchen counter and deep cleaning the expanse of her apartment,
She sang along to every song she knew, feeling lighter than she had in weeks. When Aaron reached our to confirm drinks that evening, she responded enthusiastically
When Rylan instructed her to wear warm clothing for her date, she smiled to herself,
She still didn’t understand him. She didn’t think she ever would. But he was trying to be respectful, that much was obvious. He was trying and she couldn’t fault ham for not being entirely open to her. After all, they were still boss and employee. Even if the kissing felt too real at times, or the gentle caresses of her skin were too soft
das she carefully dusted her birthday gift from Kylan. Her head cocked to the side, her eyes traveling over the snowscape curiously.
She paused as
It still confused her, why he bought it for her. But she would be lying if it wa
wasn’t her current favorite piece of artwork in her home right now,
Finally, she finished cleaning, taking a second to fluff the pillows on her couch for the bell of it
She showered and dressed quickly glancing at the clock, and finding she had less time than she thought until Kylan would be picking her up.
She chose a thick, black sweater, an equally nice pair of jeans, some wool socks, and her winter boots and jacket to wear. She added a beanie, warf, and gloves for good measure, wondering if her date would indeed be outside, based on Kylan’s instructions.
She added a bit of makeup to her face, then brushed her teeth. At two o’clock on the dot, a knock echoed from her front door.
She shoved her phone, krys, and wallet in the pocket of her jacket while she walked down the hallway. smiling at Kylan. “Right on time, as always,” she mused.
she
e unlocked and opened her front door,
“Why would I be late!” Kylan deadpanned, quirking a brow at her.
She shrugged her shoulders. “It’s human to be late sometimes, Kylan. You should try it.” She gave his arm a pat, closing her door and locking it. She
Chapter 57
looked at Kylan, taking note that he was also dressed warmly y in a sweater and jacket of his own.
“Being late is one of my greatest pet peeves, you know this” Kylan grumbled, taking hold of her hand, and leading the way down the hallway.
“I do know that. I believe it’s been the reason you’ve fired several employees over the years, yes?” She grinned up at him.
Kylan nodded his head, looking down at her with a rather serious expression. “Precisely, Katrina,” he said so sternly, she had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing at him.
Kylan drove his Bentley again, opening her door for her once more when she reached the curb near her building
“Where are we going?” she inquired once he was situated behind the wheel.
“You’ll see,” Kylan responded, pulling out into traffic.
She rolled her eyes, but she truly wasn’t that nervous about what he had in mind. The last few surprises from Kylan had been uncharacteristically thoughtful and she wondered what this one might be.
Kylan drove her to her destination, and her eyes widened when she realized where she was going. But there was no way Kylan fucking Ross would do that for a date. No way in hell.
“Rockefeller Rink?” she asked him, smiling as he parked the car.
Kylan looked most uncomfortable, cutting the engine, and shifting in his seat with a great sigh. “I may have asked Gardner what you enjoy doing for fun, during the winter,” he mumbled it softly, his gaze fixed outside, and his jaw firmly set.
Katrina gaped at him. He asked Aaron what she enjoyed doing for fun! “You. You talked to Aaron about me?” she couldn’t keep the wonder from her voice
Kylan scoffed, shaking his head, and running a hand through his hair. “Look, this is a public setting, is it not? It’s been a month since we’ve been seen anywhere like this.” He sounded almost embarrassed and all it did was amuse her.
“I’m not complaining. I just can’t believe you would actually go ice skating” She tried to imagine Kylan in a pair of ice skates, but it was next to impossible.
“Yeah, well. Here we are,” Kylan grumbled, opening his door, and walking around to hers.
Katrina took his hand when he offered it. “Here we are, she agreed happily
Kylan kept a hold of her hand while she walked to the ice skating rink, a smile never leaving her lips. Truthfully, she was a sucker for things like this, Skating, sledding, hot chocolate. Every single snowy, winter tradition was special to her, no matter how old she became.
