Crash Into Me(51)

He waited a long time before he finally spoke. With a smile, he finally said, "Very impressive, Nina. Your talents were sorely underutilized at the Anderson Gallery. That's more than clear. Do you have anything else you'd like to present in your proposal?"

I knew he was trying to unnerve me, but I wasn't going to be shaken. I believed in my choice and stood by it. Shaking my head, I tilted my chin upward slightly. "No. That's all."

That sexy, slow grin I loved spread across his lips. "It's perfect. I knew you'd be wonderful at this. Give Rogers the details tomorrow and he'll see that it finds its way to that blank spot on the wall."

I couldn't help but beam my satisfaction. My first assignment was a smashing success, and even more, I'd shown him that I understood the kind of man he was. In some ways, that meant more to me than his approval of my choice.

"Are you hungry?" he asked as he stood from behind his desk. "I've got a craving for pizza."

"I'm always in the mood for pizza! Is there a good place around here?"

"There is. It looks like it's straight out of a movie with checkered tablecloths and placemats with pictures of the map of Italy on them, but the people who own it know how to make good pizza."

This felt like a real date! Excited, I said, "I can be ready in minutes, if you can."

Before he answered, I was off like a shot to grab my bag and make sure I looked presentable. A few minutes later I returned to find him standing there in his suit and tie looking particularly unready for slices at a little pizza place. Likely, dressed like that, he'd stick out as badly as he did at The Last Drop. Stepping toward him, I ran my finger down his tie and smiled up at him. "Maybe you could loosen this tie and look like it's not your first time eating pizza."

Tristan arched one dark eyebrow. "Are you insinuating that I look uptight?"

"You've gone to this place before, right? I'm going to guess that nobody spoke a word to you the whole time you were there."

I saw by the slight downturn of his mouth that I was right. They'd probably thought he was some FBI agent coming to town to track down some serial killer. He had that icy, government official vibe sometimes.

As I slid the tie from around his collar, I explained, "They probably got the wrong idea about you. Small town pizza places don't likely get too many customers who look like you do."

"You make it seem like I'm some sultan. It's a suit and tie, Nina."

I stepped back and looked him up and down. "It's a suit that costs more than many people make in a month and a tie that likely cost more than most teenagers pay for a pair of sneakers, Tristan. Ordinary people don't wear that to get a slice of pizza."

He took the tie out of my hands and brought my fingers to his lips for a kiss. Settling his gaze on me, he said quietly, "Neither of us are ordinary, no matter how much you want to be."

His stubborn belief that I was anything but the regular person I'd always been made me smile. "Well, we don't have to flaunt our extraordinariness all the time. Sometimes it's just nice to appear like ordinary people, so off with the tie and jacket."

Tristan narrowed his eyes slightly for a moment, surprised by my order, but the jacket followed the tie and he was ready to go. "Better?"

"The top button can be undone too, if you really want to look relaxed," I teased.

He opened his collar and motioned toward the door. "I hope the car is going to be okay," he said in a mocking tone. "Or do we have to walk or buy some used car?"