A/N: I apologize for the delay in posting. Life got weird for a minute.

Happy reading!

19

"I found the perfect desk for the new office." Angela announces as she walks to the back of the store where I'm working on Edward's painting. It's been a week since we told Irina that we wanted the building, and Angela has been searching for the perfect desk ever since. "What do you think?"

I look at her phone that she's holding out in my direction as I wipe off my paintbrush. On the screen is an L-shaped desk in a light sage color. It's in an old farmhouse style, which is so Angela.

"I think it's perfect." I tell her as I dip my brush into a dark emerald green to add some dimension. "But aren't you jumping the gun a little? We haven't even signed the lease yet." We had a meeting with Irina tomorrow to sign everything.

Angela rolled her eyes. "You've been doing so well the last few days. Don't start being a Debbie Downer on me now." She was right; I had been doing better. I'd been focusing on that feeling in my gut that told me everything happening was right. I was still having those feelings of nervousness, but I was choosing to ignore them.

"I'm not being a Debbie Downer." I defend myself, setting my paintbrush down on my easel so I can give her my undivided attention. "Call me superstitious, but picking out furniture before we've made everything official feels like we could jinx it."

She gives me a small smile, silently telling me she gets it. "I guess you're right. It's kind of hard to get a desk for an office we don't have yet."

I examine her face closely because she's suddenly not looking me in the eye. "You already bought it, didn't you?"

Her face scrunches up, telling me that she's guilty as charged. "It was on sale!" she says with a sheepish look on her face. "And even you said it was perfect!"

I sigh loudly, but I couldn't be angry. Either way, she needed a new desk, and she couldn't have found one that was more perfect for her. "That's the only thing, right?"

"Yeah," she replied in a high-pitched voice. "And a matching chair." She says quickly as she starts to back away toward the direction she'd come from. "And maybe a new easel for you."

"Ang!" I fuss playfully at her. Everything she'd gotten was practical. My easel was in rough shape, being held together with duct tape and sheer will at this point. I just wish she'd waited until after tomorrow.

"Only things, I swear." She raises her hands in surrender as she turns on her heel to leave.

"I hate you!" I call after her.

"Love you, too!" She calls back, making me smile.

As I'm turning to get back to work, my phone rings on the table next to me. My heart skips a beat, then restarts going double-time when I see it's the man in question.

"Hey." I greet him, smiling like an idiot to the point my cheeks hurt. "What's up? I thought you were in meetings all day."

His chuckle rumbles over the line, making warmth flood my veins. "I was, but my last one ended earlier than expected. And I was wanting to see if you wanted to meet me for lunch."

"Well, it has been so long since we last saw each other. I might forget what you look like." I joke, making him laugh. We'd just seen each other the night before. He'd brought dinner over to my apartment after my mom's weekly physical therapy appointment, and I'd never been more grateful. The days she had PT were rough, and I didn't usually have time to make dinner. So, when he'd shown up with Chinese food and a bottle of wine at my door last night, I'd fallen a little more deeply for him than I had been before.

"We wouldn't want that to happen now, would we?" He replied, and I could practically hear the smile on his face.

"No, I don't think so." I replied in a teasing tone, enjoying our banter.

"So, is that a yes?" He asks, and I could hear him sitting back in his office chair.

"Well, I do have a commission I need to finish, and the client its for is kind of a hard ass. If I don't get it finished today, he might fire me."

"Hmmm," he hums in my ear, giving me goosebumps. "If you ask me, I don't think he'll let you go. You're too good to fire."

"He might be a bit biased." I tell him.

"He's absolutely biased." He replies, and I can hear the meaning in his voice that makes my heart sing. "So, will you meet for lunch?"

"Yes. Yes, I'll meet you for lunch." Like I had any other choice.

"Is Amici's okay?" Amici's was a small hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant halfway between his office and my store. They had the best Italian food in the city, in my opinion.

"It's perfect. I'll meet you there, say in fifteen."

"I'll see you there, beautiful."

A/N: I cut this chapter off here so I could get it up sooner since it's been a while. The next one will be longer and have more of a certain someone.

See you next time!