Sure enough, when I turned around, my eyes connected with Paul’s sapphire blues. A jolt of electricity zapped through me. “You’re here.”
“I told you I would be.” He smiled, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Shall I give you my phone number now or later?”
Beside me, Brian stiffened.
So much for losing my floozy rep.
My cheeks heated. “I, er . . .”
Brian squeezed my waist, then he turned to me accusingly. “Do you know this guy, Kaitlin? Why is he offering you his phone number?”
“Brian, this is Paul.” I stepped out of my date’s grasp and gestured toward Paul who looked drool-worthy in a black and white tuxedo. Huh. The other waiters were in vests. . . Paul must be the head waiter tonight or something. “My friends asked me to get his number, actually. He’s helping out with a . . . tub caulking project.”
Brian’s scowl immediately dissipated, and he thrust his hand out. “Nice to meet you, Paul. I’m an architect and work with a lot of contractors. I’d be happy to give your number out if you’re looking for work.”
Paul shook his hand then eyed him as if sizing him up. “Nice of you to offer, but I’m only doing this project as a favor for Kaitlin. Not looking for anything else.”
Brian’s brows drew together as if he were insulted that his offer had been declined. “My firm designed this hotel, as a matter of fact.”
Uh, okay. Where had that come from? And hadn’t he just said he was an independent contractor?
Paul’s eyes narrowed, then they flicked to me. “Geoffries Martini for you, Kaitlin?”
A rush of pleasure vibrated through me that he remembered my favorite drink. “Yes, that sounds perfect.”
“I’ll take a dirty martini.” Brian’s voice rose a bit too loud for a drink order.
Paul’s mouth formed a straight line. “Coming right up.”
Instead of dashing off, Paul scribbled on a napkin, handed it to me, then smiled at me in a way that had my stomach doing flip-flops.
“Thanks.” I watched him walk away, then glanced down at the square paper napkin in my hand. Ten digits guaranteeing my bathtub a little TLC from Kristen (or her boyfriend, depending on how she worked it). My brows drew together at the unfamiliar area code. Not Sacramento, so I wondered where he was from.
“Kaitlin?”
My head jerked up at Brian’s voice. “Huh?”
“I said it’s time for our interview.”
“But our drinks . . .”
He slipped his arm around me, leading me in the opposite direction where Paul had gone. “I’m sure the waiter can find us.”
I bit my lip, hoping that was true.
****
During our interview with the radio talk show hosts, I let Brian do most of the talking, which seemed to suit him fine. He’d spoken at length about his independent contracting business but no word on his firm or how they’d designed this hotel. Weird.
When it was my turn, I kept my sentences short and sweet, thanking the Geoffries and the other sponsors for their hefty donations toward diabetes research and finding a cure. Then I gave a shout-out of love to my cousin and all those who suffer from diabetes.
While we were suiting up to rappel down the hotel—hard to believe I was really doing this—and being given instructions, camera flashes went off. I could only hope the pictures would be burned (or deleted, as the digital case may be) since my silky black dress was folded around me like a diaper under my harness. A photo I wanted frozen forever? Not so much.
As Brian scooted off to find a glass of water, I wandered to the edge of the terrace and watched the last of the sun go down. Tightening my wrap around myself, I inhaled, then peeked over the wrought-iron railing. The steep drop made my stomach lurch. A gasp escaped. Squeezing my eyes shut, I covered my heart with my hand.
Was I really going to jump off a freaking skyscraper in downtown Sacramento? Okay, we were only on the fifth floor, but how dire was the situation for me to say only the fifth floor?
My chest flickered with fear, but at the same time another part of me fluttered with excitement. I was so tired of being the safe good girl. Where had that gotten me, really? Single at twenty-eight, dating for a free paint job, that’s where.
For once in my life, I wanted to take a chance. Do something risky.
“There you are.” Brian’s voice invaded my thoughts. “I was looking all over for you.”
“You found me.” I peered over the railing again, chills prickling across my chest. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this, Brian.”
He held his arms out while the extreme sports person adjusted his harness. “What’s the big deal? We’re attached to a rope.”
Turning away from my (very unempathetic) date, who was being carted off for a reason I couldn’t hear and didn’t care about, I gripped the rail and looked down again. The people walking on the garden terrace below looked so small from this high up. A cold chill trickled down my spine.
Suddenly, I felt someone come up beside me. “Having second thoughts?”
Upon hearing that husky, sexy voice, my skin immediately warmed.
Lifting my lashes, I peered up at Paul. “No. I haven’t gotten past my first thought, which is that I’m about to become pavement splatter.”
He chuckled. “That would be some bad publicity for the hotel. You think we’d risk that?”
Okay, probably not. “Accidents do happen.”
His electric blue eyes peered into mine. “But you want to do it. Don’t you?”
My mouth dropped open. “Have you not heard a word I said?”
“I hear everything you say.” He turned so his body was facing me. “I also see what you’re not saying. You want to do this, but you’re scared. Scared you’ll get hurt.”
Suddenly I wondered if we were talking about rappelling down a building or asking him on a date—a real one. I wasn’t sure which option scared me more.
The second one. Definitely.
My shoulders raised as I looked up at him. “I’m not the kind of girl who rappels down buildings.”
The wind blew a few strands of my hair across my face and he reached out and tucked them behind my ear, his eyes holding mine the entire time. “You’re whatever kind of girl you want to be.”
Yeah, he could say that because he’d never met my mom. She’d raised me to be poised and proper twenty-four seven, marry a financially successful man—I’d slightly botched that one—join a country club, pop out two children, and never let anyone see me sweat.
None of her plans included rappelling down a skyscraper in downtown Sac. Although she had told Brian I was adventurous. Maybe she figured, at this point in my life, I was that desperate. As if.
Paul tucked another stray strand behind my ear. “What’s going through that pretty head of yours?”
“Rappelling.” Living. Taking chances.
The entire thought sounded crazy, totally dangerous, and actually kind of . . . exciting.
My insides warmed and energy pulsed through me. Suddenly, the chatter in the background disappeared and there was just Paul and me, standing on the dark-lit terrace high above the city and staring into each other’s eyes. . . waiting. Waiting for me to decide what my life was going to be.
My lashes lifted to where his blue eyes were studying me. I swallowed, building up the nerve to say the words. “I want to jump,” I whispered, when I really should have said I wanted to jump with him, not Brian.
The corners of his mouth turned upward. “Then what are you waiting for?”
With the decision made, my mouth spread into a smile and I shrugged. “Hook me up.”
****
“Who’s in charge of lowering the rope again?” I said, figuring it would be nice to say hello to the person who would (hopefully) keep me from plummeting to my death.
“Tony and I will be taking care of you,” the extreme sports guy named Dave said. “We’ll control your speed from that rig over there.”
I stared at the giant metal spool of rope he’d pointed to, which had a crank on the side. “I won’t be controlling my own pace?”
“Not at this event.” Dave reached into his pocket, pulled out a card, then held it out. “But if you’d like to give it another go a different time then we can hook you up with that.”
“Thanks.” I accepted the card, but didn’t exactly have any pockets in my harness or silky tank dress (they were holding my purse and wrap for safekeeping). When I saw Dave look over his shoulder at his co-worker, I glanced around to make sure nobody was watching then slipped the card into my bra just as Dave turned back around. My cheeks heated. “Uh, how will you be lowering us?”
“We’ll clamp your rope onto this metal hook here.” He touched the metal piece on my harness located just under my chest. “I’ll be talking to you through your earpiece and Tony will be lowering you both at a slow but steady pace.”
I nodded. “Slow and steady. I like the sound of that.”
“No big deal.” Brian came up and stood beside me with his legs spread wide. “Don’t feel like you have to go easy on us.”
“Speak for yourself.” I tossed my date an annoyed look. Five floors and date number two would be over. Forget dinner, I was so ready to be done with him.
“Don’t worry. You’re not the first person to go down today. We’ve had over a hundred participants.” Dave gestured toward the edge of the terrace. “Go ahead and stand on the platform.”
I wondered if Paul had rappelled down the building. Probably not since it cost a thousand dollars to participate and I couldn’t imagine a bartender’s salary afforded that kind of luxury. Plus, he might have been working all day. Although, I didn’t know when his shift had started or when it ended either for that matter. My eyes flicked to where he was talking to some of the hotel staff. They were watching him with attention so he must be the head bartender tonight or at least in charge of the event.
Brian and I stepped onto the platform, and he put his arm around me. I suppose this was technically a date, but I didn’t feel even remotely attracted to him and the feel of his arm made me cringe. Then I thought of Kristen’s advice that I give him a chance. I was about to jump off a perfectly good platform, after all. I supposed I could give my date one more chance.
“What the . . .” Brian’s voice trailed off as he looked below us, then he suddenly gasped. “This is insane.”
“Are you okay?” My eyes widened as I watched him grip the railing then lower himself down on his knees.
Beneath his white knuckled grasp, his eyes were wide with terror. “Can we lower ourselves in the platform? We don’t h-have to go down with j-just a rope, do we?”
Wasn’t that the whole part of rappelling? “You said earlier it was no big deal.”
Oh, sure. Now he gets all freaky about the drop. Where were his sympathies when I’d looked off the terrace?
I clicked my earpiece on. “Dave? Are you there, Dave? We have a situation.”
Dave must not have turned on his headset yet, because he continued talking to Tony but Paul caught my eye and strode over immediately. “Are you all right?”
“Me? I’m fine.” The intensity of his look made my heart skip. “But I’m not so sure about Brian.”
A look of relief crossed his face, then he stared down at my date, who was crawling across the platform and onto the terrace. Instead of helping Brian, Paul raised his arm and a woman in an evening gown hurried over.
My jaw nearly dropped as she strode toward us with strong meaningful steps. Besides being gorgeous, she didn’t look nervous at all. She’d probably rappel off the top of the building without a second thought. Fingers of jealousy crawled through me. Was she Paul’s co-worker? Or were they more? Why else would she be looking at him so intently?
“May I help you with something?”
“Yes. Would you mind getting Dave? Mr. Burnside seems to be having second thoughts.”
I opened my mouth to ask Paul how he knew Brian’s last name, but then shock rolled through me as I realized what Brian’s second thoughts meant . . . I’d be rappelling down the building by myself!
I hurried over to Brian and knelt. “You can’t desert me, Brian. I need to do this.”
He looked queasy. “Not happening.”
“What about what you said to me earlier? About it being no big deal? That we’re attached to rope and all that garbage?”
He held his arm up in a weak gesture. “Can you not talk to me right now? I’m trying to keep my lunch from coming back up . . .”
I stood and marched back to the platform—alone. I was doing this freaking thing. For my cousin. For everyone with diabetes. For me, too. I scanned around for Paul but he’d disappeared. Disappointment flooded through me. It’s not like Paul owed me anything, but I really thought he’d wish me luck. He was at work, though. Maybe they needed him at the bar or in the restaurant. Still, he could’ve at least said good-bye.
This was exactly why I was sticking to my home remodel. Men just disappointed me and—
“You ready to go?” Paul’s husky voice came from behind me.
Surprised, I swiveled around and faced him. He’d ditched his tuxedo jacket and tie, and was wearing the same black harness I had on.
My mouth dropped open. “You’re . . . descending with me? Why?”
The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. “To keep you company. You didn’t want to go it alone, did you?”
“Not in the slightest.” I let out a tentative laugh. “But, you’re working. Is it all right for you to do this? I don’t want you to get in trouble for me . . .”
“Don’t worry.” He winked. “I cleared it with the boss.”
The beautiful woman returned. “You’re not rappelling are you, Paul? I thought you—”
“Alice, can you get Dave’s attention for me? We’re ready to go.”
The woman looked baffled. Like she didn’t know how to respond. “Yes, of course.”
I leaned toward Paul. “What was that about? I’m not causing a problem for you, am I? Tell me if I am because—”
“I promise, it’s fine.” His fingers began firmly tracing the harness at my shoulders, then he followed the nylon strap down over my chest—gulp!—and across my waist, then he pulled at the clip in front as if to make sure it was secured tightly.
“Dave already checked me.” My body tingled at every place his hands had run and I so wanted to check his harness. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He brushed both sides of my hair back from my face, secured it with a ponytail holder he’d seemed to pull out of nowhere, then left his arms around me as he leaned forward. “Yes, I did.”
“You ready, Paul?” Dave appeared, then turned Paul away from me to check his harness as he spoke. “Your friend tossed his cookies by the plant inside the door. I called housekeeping.”
“Kaitlin’s friend, not mine.”
Loved how quickly he pointed that out. “He’s more of an acquaintance, actually.”
Paul raised his brows. “Date number two?”
“It was for the remodel,” I reminded him, then held my arms up as Dave triple-checked my harness—which wasn’t nearly as enticing as when Paul had done it.
“You guys are all set.” Dave clipped the ropes onto our harnesses, double-checked them, then gestured to his co-worker giving him the thumbs-up sign. He handed Paul an earpiece. “Facing the platform, you’re going to climb down the three steps, then ease off and the rope will hold you. Remember, straight legs are strong legs so just lean back and walk your way down the building. We’ll lower the rope slowly, so you’ll have time to enjoy the view. Give us a shout in the earpiece if you want us to increase or decrease the speed. Sound good?”
“Yes,” Paul said.
I swallowed when Dave turned to me. “Yes.”
“Who wants to go first?” Dave looked at each of us.
Paul turned to me. “You have a preference?”
“Second,” I said
, without hesitation.
With one last tug on my rope, Paul moved to the staircase. Dave tested the sound in our earpieces once more, then with a final smirk Paul descended, and disappeared from sight.
My heart dropped and I scooted to the edge, holding my breath as I peered over while trying not to look all the way down. “Paul?”
My voice came out louder than anticipated and could’ve been considered strained. With the platform in the way, I couldn’t see him. What if he’d fallen? Pulse pounding, I started to panic. . . .
“I’m here, Kaitlin.” His voice was calm and quiet, which soothed me immensely. “Your turn.”
“Don’t look down,” I reminded myself as I dangled my first leg over the edge until it rested firmly on the step below me. Three steps. Dave had said there were three steps.
My top teeth ground against my bottom lip as I lowered my right foot to the second step. My legs were shaky and I knew I was crazy for doing this. Freaking Ginger and Kristen, and their dating deal. Still, at the same time, that tingle of excitement bubbled up and I only hoped it wouldn’t be the end of me.
Somehow my left foot found the third step and I braced myself knowing there weren’t anymore beneath.
“Looking good.” Paul’s voice came through my earpiece and I had to remind myself that he was right below me even though I couldn’t see him because I refused to look down. “Ease your right foot to the bottom step then bend your knees to lower yourself.”
I did as instructed, my death-grip tight on the hand rail as I sat hunched on the last stair.
“Good. Now ease your legs off, then once you feel comfortable, let go.”
“Really, Paul? Who is comfortable hanging off the side of a skyscraper?” I said, then heard him chuckle in response.
I’d never been so freaked out in my life.
Or as exhilarated.
I was five freaking floors above the earth. Then I’d let go and there’d be nothing holding me to the building except for a yellow rope that, I’m sorry, didn’t look all that much thicker than a shoestring.
Pretending I was easing into a pool, I lowered my legs . . . then became very aware there was no water to hold me up. My feet dangled in the air and a breeze blew by, tickling my feet through my strappy heels, and reminding me there was nothing below me.
License to Date (Better Date than Never) Page 4