and cheered.
“You certainly know your audience,” Steve told her in an aside.
“I was a kid once,” she said by way of an explanation. “Weren’t you?”
“I can’t remember,” he answered, tongue in cheek.
He noticed that the valise she had brought with her seemed to be bulging excessively despite the fact that she had brought samples of the toys her company put out and those were now safely in the hands of her audience. The valise appeared almost too bulky for her to handle.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Steve offered as he pushed open the classroom door so that she could walk out first.
“That’s okay,” Erin demurred, crossing the threshold. She switched hands, taking the valise into her left one in order not to bang it into him. “I’ve been lugging around Tex and his friends since before they had a toy factory to call home.”
Steve wasn’t about to take no for an answer. He closed the classroom door behind him and caught up to her in less than two strides. “Still, it would make me feel like a Neanderthal if I watched you struggle to your car with that.”
“You could try closing your eyes,” she suggested.
“This works better,” he countered, slipping his fingers deftly into the small space on the handle that she wasn’t currently holding.
Erin was about to pull the valise a little closer to her, telling him that she was fine and it was no big deal, but then she shrugged, deciding to surrender the suitcase rather than play tug-of-war with it.
She had to stop constantly trying to prove to the world that she wasn’t the sickly little girl anymore, she silently lectured herself. The voice in her head sounded oddly like her mother.
“Wouldn’t want you to feel like a Neanderthal,” Erin said as she let him take the valise. “I’m parked right out front.”
And then she remembered. “No, you’re not.”
The voice actually did seem as if it came out of the valise. Steve paused, looking from it to her. “Your suitcase is arguing with you?”
“Sorry, I do that sometimes when I’m nervous. Tex puts me on a more even keel,” she explained.
“You’re nervous?” he asked, amazed, thinking she was referring to having to speak in front of Jason’s class. “You certainly didn’t act like it.”
“That’s why I have Tex.” Actually, she’d been fine talking to the class. She related to children. Her problem was talking to adults. That made her nervous. But he did seem like a nice man. At least he hadn’t said anything about her behaving strangely.
“I just remembered that I’m not parked right out front—I had to park by the curb. The school parking lot was full when I arrived. They really should have more parking spaces,” she said as they walked out of the building.
Steve looked around. She was right. All the parking spaces in front of the school were filled with vehicles.
“I guess when they built the parking lot, they didn’t count on so many of the sixth graders driving,” Steve quipped.
He had a sense of humor. She liked that. “They must not be automatically promoting them to the next grade unless they can pass their tests.”
He pretended they were having a serious conversation and deadpanned, “I guess not.”
“My car’s right over there,” Erin said, pointing to a small, economical-looking white Civic that had seen its share of miles. She unlocked the driver’s-side door, then flipped a lever to unlock the other three.
She noted that Steve was still holding her valise. “You can put the suitcase right there,” she prompted, and then smiled when she caught the surprised look on his face. She could almost see what he was thinking. “You think my car should be fancier, don’t you?”
By the looks of it, the car was about seven years old or so and while it wasn’t dented, it did appear weathered.
“I just thought you looked more like the sports-car type.”
“Nope, not me. Besides, Jeffy runs very well,” she said, patting the car’s hood. “He was there for me when I needed him and I tend to be very faithful if something comes through for me.”
Was she just talking about her car, or did she mean that in general? he wondered. The women he’d encountered lately all seemed to be interested in “newer, fancier, better.” Sticking with something reliable didn’t seem to be in their game plans. He was drawn to this woman with the funny voices.
“Do you name everything?” he asked.
“Mostly,” she answered seriously. “But only if their personality comes through—or the name fits.”
He had to admit he was intrigued. “And just how does Jeffy fit a Civic?”
“The letters in the license plate.” To prove her point, Erin rounded the car and pointed to the rear plate, a combination of numbers and letters. The letters read JFF. “JFF is very close to Jeff, which is close to—”
“Jeffy. I get it,” he concluded, then nodded, amused. “Interesting thought process.” Not to mention that she was a very interesting woman.
He realized that if they went their separate ways right now, chances were that he would never see her again. He didn’t find that acceptable.
Outside of his law practice, he was a fairly low-key, easygoing man who definitely wasn’t pushy, which was why he hesitated now.
Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained, and he’d heard Jason laugh earlier. That definitely deserved further investigation.
Steve caught the driver’s-side door as she was about to get into her car. She looked up at him quizzically.
“Listen, I cleared my morning because I wasn’t sure how long this Career Day thing was going to last, so I don’t have to be back in the office until after lunch. Would you like to go somewhere and grab a cup of coffee or tea or something?” Because she wasn’t saying no, he added, “There’s a great little French bakery/café not too far from here.”
Catching her bottom lip between her teeth, Erin glanced at her watch. There were things she had on her agenda for this afternoon and ordinarily, she didn’t just go off with a man she’d met less than an hour ago. As gregarious as she seemed around the children, around adults she was an extremely shy person who struggled to sound as outgoing as she knew she was perceived.
For heaven’s sakes, it’s a café, not a sleazy bar in some rough neighborhood, a little voice in her head coaxed. Your mother’s always after you to get out more. This qualifies as “more” since you’re already out of the office. Go for it!
Steve saw her looking at her watch and hesitating. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I guess I thought that since I didn’t have to be back until after lunch that you were free, too. You probably have to be somewhere right after your talk.”
He’s giving you a way out. Take it, she told herself. Take it!
Still...
“Well, not right after,” she allowed.
“Great,” he responded with a wide smile that she found instantly appealing. “Why don’t I just get my car and you can follow me to the café—unless you’d rather I drove you there.”
She liked the fact that he didn’t immediately try to dominate the situation. “I always loved multiple choice—I’ll follow you,” she decided, feeling better about having her car with her—just in case things didn’t go well. It was hard making a quick getaway if her car was two miles down the road.
“Stay right there,” he told her as he began heading toward his own car.
“Can’t