It had lasted only seconds. Hardly long enough to be called a kiss. Even under the influence of the medicines, he’d been aware enough to jump back immediately, stammering apologies, flustered, his face uncharacteristically flushed. Tess had laughed it off, attempting to mask her own reactions behind indulgent humor. Despite her assurances the next day that he’d said nothing untoward, Scott had been embarrassed by his lack of control and obviously concerned that he’d crossed professional lines. They had implicitly agreed to put the incident behind them and never refer to it again. To be honest, though, there’d been times when she’d found herself reliving that almost kiss and wondering what it might have been like had it been real.
Scott cleared his throat, bringing her abruptly back to the present. “So, the thing is, I’d like to handle this conversation the same way we did that incident. Though I am completely clearheaded and unaffected by any outside influences tonight, feel free to forget anything I’m about to say, if you want, and to pretend it never happened next time we see each other. That’s why I wanted to talk here, away from the office.”
Lifting her eyebrows in confusion, she looked at the tall, thin glass in his hand. “You’ve only had a few sips of your beer, so that’s probably not the reason you aren’t making any sense.”
Setting the glass aside, he shook his head. “As I said, I’m not under the influence of anything. Just not quite sure how to begin this conversation.”
Swallowing a bit nervously, she touched her napkin to her lips, then lowered her hands to her lap to toy with the checkered tablecloth. Since when had Scott ever had trouble talking with her? This couldn’t be good. “Just say it, Scott.”
He nodded. “Your job means a lot to you, right? I mean, it matters to you that the company is successful. Reputable.”
Her chest tightened. A cold, hard knot formed in her throat, forcing her to clear it before she could ask, “Have I done something wrong? Have I messed up somehow? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
He shook his head quickly. “Of course not. Just the opposite, in fact. You’ve gone above and beyond this past year. I’m not exaggerating when I say I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Relief flooded her. Her hand felt just a little unsteady when she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Then, what...?”
“I overheard some of a phone conversation you had earlier,” he blurted. “You were talking about the upcoming holiday parties, and about problems you’ve been having with online dating.”
She felt warmth spread across her face. He’d heard her conversation with her friend Stevie? How humiliating!
“So anyway,” he continued before she could speak, “I’ve got a bunch of holiday events coming up, too, and no one to attend them with me. Which made me wonder why we couldn’t go to some of those parties together.”
Of all the things he could have said, this was the least expected. Surely he wasn’t suggesting...
“You mean...as coworkers?” she asked in a tentative attempt at clarification.
“No, nothing to do with work. I guess you could say I’m asking you out.”
She stared at him, her mind going completely blank with shock. “Oh. Ah.”
“I’ve been thinking about how you and I get along so well and always have,” he said, cutting into her stunned stammering. “About how much more comfortable it could be if we attend these things together rather than going alone or trying to deal with early-dating drama with other people during the holidays. So, what do you think?”
She moved his glass firmly to the other side of the table, symbolically out of his reach. “I think you had too much of this on an empty stomach. It must have gone straight to your head.”
He made a sound that was half amusement, half exasperation. “I’ve had maybe three sips of the beer. I’m not intoxicated. I had this inspiration at the office and I’ve been trying to figure out how to bring it up to you. I guess I’m not doing a very good job of it. I’m really bad at this sort of thing.”
“After hearing me complain about online dating, you decided we should attend holiday parties together?” She still wasn’t sure she entirely understood where he was going with this. “And you’re not just talking about business-related events?”
“No. There are several events coming up very soon that I’ll be expected to attend with a plus one. I’ll admit I’ve been putting off thinking about them until the last minute because I didn’t know who to ask, but I suddenly realized there’s no one I’d rather go with than you. And wouldn’t you rather attend your parties with me than with some guy you think is boring?”
So he’d heard her talk about Glenn. She resisted an impulse to hide her face in her hands as she understood exactly how much of her conversation he’d unintentionally overheard. She wasn’t angry with him for his eavesdropping; after all, her door had been open and she’d made no effort to speak quietly. But that was because she’d thought herself alone in the office. Remembering the way he’d announced his arrival with excessive noise, she figured he must have been uncomfortable with what he’d overheard. But that hadn’t stopped him from mulling it over afterward, had it?
After clearing her throat, she said, “The holidays can be difficult for singles. Trust me, I know. My older sister is a champ when it comes to dropping patronizing hints and comments, especially since one of my two best friends just got married and the other is in a steady relationship. Even though I’m mostly okay with going to parties and other events on my own, sometimes I think it would be nice to have someone to accompany me. Someone I like and enjoy spending time with. But—”
“You don’t feel that way about me?”
“Of course I do. But—”
“You like me. You’re certainly comfortable with me. You seem to enjoy spending time with me.”
“Well, yes, but—”
“So what’s the problem? You attend a few things with me. I’ll go to your gigs. It’ll take a lot of pressure off both of us.”
He was on a roll now, a mode she’d seen him in many times. He’d had what he considered a brilliant idea and he was running with it. True, his “aha” moments had served him well in the past, earning him a reputation as a business genius. But he’d really gone off the rails this time.
“May I speak now?”
He grimaced. “Oh. Sorry. Go ahead.”
“As I was trying to say, I understand what prompted your suggestion and it makes sense in some ways. But,” she said quickly when he started to speak again, “I don’t think you’ve considered all the ramifications. Showing up together for professional gatherings wouldn’t raise eyebrows because we’re usually together in that capacity. But in social functions, with families and friends... Everyone’s going to wonder if there’s something going on between us other than the construction business.”
“Would that be such a bad thing?”
Maybe he’d misunderstood what she was trying to say. “To have people speculating about us? It’s not that I care so much about gossip, personally—well, not too much—but I’m not sure how good it would be for the company.”
He shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about the gossip. I meant the part about our relationship being more than a professional one.”
She stared at him across the table, trying to read his face. Was he joking? It wasn’t his usual style of humor, but surely he wasn’t suggesting that they should start...dating?
“Okay, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself,” he said quickly,