“Who doesn’t like Cinderella?”

He just looked at me thoughtfully, then changed the subject. “So are you ready for New York?”

“I haven’t finished packing, but I’m very excited.” I looked at him. “May I ask you a delicate question?”

“Of course.”

“Are we sharing a room in New York?”

For a moment he just looked at me, and I had no idea how he was taking the question. Had I embarrassed him by implying that I didn’t want to be with him, or had I embarrassed myself by presuming that he would? “I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t know.”

“No, we’re not,” he said. “I booked you a separate room. It’s in the contract.” The moment settled into silence. Then he said, “It’s late. I better get you home.”

We were mostly quiet on the drive back to my apartment. He pulled up front and walked me to my door.

“Thank you for coming with me tonight,” he said. “I’ve never enjoyed the partners’ party more.”

“Best partners’ party I’ve ever been to,” I said, smiling. “Thank you for letting me into your world.”

We just stood there looking at each other. I suppose that I was still afraid I had offended him with my question about rooms in New York. But even greater than my fear was my desire that he would kiss me—not just on the cheek as he did in public, but really kiss me, passionately. Finally he leaned forward and kissed me on the cheek. “Good night, Elise.”

“Good night, Nicholas,” I said softly, hiding my disappointment. “I’ll see you Monday morning.”

He turned and walked away. I walked alone into my dark apartment. The night had been magical. Why didn’t he kiss me? Was I reading this all wrong?

Chapter Twenty-Three

CHAPTER

Twenty-three

I’m a long way from Montezuma Creek.

Elise Dutton’s Diary

Monday morning, Nicholas arrived at my apartment a little after eight-thirty. I came to the door dragging my suitcase, which he looked at in wonder. “That’s what you’re bringing?”

“Yes.”

“Did I tell you we’d be gone for five days or five weeks?”

“A woman needs more things.”

“Playing the gender card,” he said, smiling. “Let me get that.” He lugged my massive bag down the stairs, opened his car trunk by remote, and dropped it inside while I climbed into the passenger seat.

He turned to me and said, “Ready for an adventure?”

“I’m always ready for an adventure,” I said.

On the way to the airport Nicholas asked, “When was the last time you flew?”

“It’s been a while.”

“How long’s a while?”

“About eleven years. It was my honeymoon.”

“Where did you go?”

“Orange County. We went to Disneyland.”

The airport was thick with travelers. I didn’t know if it was busier than usual since I hadn’t flown for so long.