keyboard.”
“I have a better idea.”
“Look, I appreciate your concern but I have to stay here. I’m determined to have something I can show the guys by Monday morning.”
“Forgive me for saying this, but holing up by yourself doesn’t seem to be working.”
His jaw tightened. “It will.”
“Maybe, but I think you’d be better off if you leave the office for a while and get a different perspective.”
A spark of curiosity flared in his eyes. “By doing what?”
“Going grocery shopping with me.”
The spark died. “Thanks, I’ll pass.”
“But –”
“On my list of necessary but unpleasant activities, grocery shopping ranks right up there with changing a flat on a busy freeway.”
“But you’ve never gone grocery shopping with me.”
“Let’s just keep it that way, shall we? Our friendship will be better for it.”
She’d figured he’d be a challenge but he was way more stubborn than she’d anticipated. “What if I throw in dinner? First we’ll shop and then I’ll cook.”
“Oh, I see where this is going. You’re gonna cook up a mess of veggies, probably some parsnips and turnips. Then you’ll show me how yummy they can be. Am I right?”
“Yes.” She’d never realized he had long lashes. And a sensual mouth, although anyone who dared to kiss him would pay the price in massive whisker burn. Or maybe not. His beard had grown enough that it could be silky.
“You’d be wasting your time and mine.”
She pulled her thoughts away from kissing and back to the topic at hand. “That’s entirely possible. But I think the reason you’re not inspired to create a great app is that you don’t like the subject matter.”
“I’m a professional. The subject matter is irrelevant.”
“Let’s say that’s true and you’ll have a breakthrough this weekend. You have to eat sometime.”
“I’ll order pizza like I always do.” His eyes twinkled. “Pepperoni.”
She swallowed a groan of frustration. “How about this? I promise not to fix either parsnips or turnips and you can bring a laptop along so you can work on the app while I’m cooking. Think of it as an experiment, one that will only take a couple of hours. If it turns out to make no difference to your process, you’ll still have the rest of the weekend to yourself.”
“Do I have to go grocery shopping?”
“Yes. That’s part of the experiment.”
“Okay, I’ll do it, but only to prove to you that my feelings about veggies have nothing to do with whether I can build a great app.”
Somehow she managed to accept her victory graciously instead of grinning in triumph. “You may be right.”
She didn’t think so for a minute, but then he had no idea how skilled she was in the kitchen. Even Frazer didn’t know. She used to be a good cook but now she was an amazing one. Rylan would gobble up her food and beg for more. Hmm. She liked that image.
Once they’d agreed on the plan it didn’t take them long to pick up the rest of the glass. They separated long enough to wash the stickiness from their hands before riding the elevator to the parking garage. Rather than take two cars into Friday night traffic, she offered to drive and then bring him back after dinner.
Rylan followed her suggestion and brought his laptop. He stashed the case at his feet before glancing over at her. “Even if this is all for nothing, I appreciate the effort you’re making.”
“Thanks.” She flashed him a smile before backing out of the parking spot. “It’s been hard watching you and knowing there wasn’t anything I could do to help except give you data.”
“It’s good data. I’m sorry about that crummy remark I made about it. I’m usually not this grouchy.”
“I know. I’ve seen you plenty of times when you weren’t grouchy. Like the time we all went to ComicCon and you got to meet Leonard Nimoy. You were the happiest guy in the world.”
“That was a great day. You wore a yellow sundress.”
“Yep. Bright
“I have a better idea.”
“Look, I appreciate your concern but I have to stay here. I’m determined to have something I can show the guys by Monday morning.”
“Forgive me for saying this, but holing up by yourself doesn’t seem to be working.”
His jaw tightened. “It will.”
“Maybe, but I think you’d be better off if you leave the office for a while and get a different perspective.”
A spark of curiosity flared in his eyes. “By doing what?”
“Going grocery shopping with me.”
The spark died. “Thanks, I’ll pass.”
“But –”
“On my list of necessary but unpleasant activities, grocery shopping ranks right up there with changing a flat on a busy freeway.”
“But you’ve never gone grocery shopping with me.”
“Let’s just keep it that way, shall we? Our friendship will be better for it.”
She’d figured he’d be a challenge but he was way more stubborn than she’d anticipated. “What if I throw in dinner? First we’ll shop and then I’ll cook.”
“Oh, I see where this is going. You’re gonna cook up a mess of veggies, probably some parsnips and turnips. Then you’ll show me how yummy they can be. Am I right?”
“Yes.” She’d never realized he had long lashes. And a sensual mouth, although anyone who dared to kiss him would pay the price in massive whisker burn. Or maybe not. His beard had grown enough that it could be silky.
“You’d be wasting your time and mine.”
She pulled her thoughts away from kissing and back to the topic at hand. “That’s entirely possible. But I think the reason you’re not inspired to create a great app is that you don’t like the subject matter.”
“I’m a professional. The subject matter is irrelevant.”
“Let’s say that’s true and you’ll have a breakthrough this weekend. You have to eat sometime.”
“I’ll order pizza like I always do.” His eyes twinkled. “Pepperoni.”
She swallowed a groan of frustration. “How about this? I promise not to fix either parsnips or turnips and you can bring a laptop along so you can work on the app while I’m cooking. Think of it as an experiment, one that will only take a couple of hours. If it turns out to make no difference to your process, you’ll still have the rest of the weekend to yourself.”
“Do I have to go grocery shopping?”
“Yes. That’s part of the experiment.”
“Okay, I’ll do it, but only to prove to you that my feelings about veggies have nothing to do with whether I can build a great app.”
Somehow she managed to accept her victory graciously instead of grinning in triumph. “You may be right.”
She didn’t think so for a minute, but then he had no idea how skilled she was in the kitchen. Even Frazer didn’t know. She used to be a good cook but now she was an amazing one. Rylan would gobble up her food and beg for more. Hmm. She liked that image.
Once they’d agreed on the plan it didn’t take them long to pick up the rest of the glass. They separated long enough to wash the stickiness from their hands before riding the elevator to the parking garage. Rather than take two cars into Friday night traffic, she offered to drive and then bring him back after dinner.
Rylan followed her suggestion and brought his laptop. He stashed the case at his feet before glancing over at her. “Even if this is all for nothing, I appreciate the effort you’re making.”
“Thanks.” She flashed him a smile before backing out of the parking spot. “It’s been hard watching you and knowing there wasn’t anything I could do to help except give you data.”
“It’s good data. I’m sorry about that crummy remark I made about it. I’m usually not this grouchy.”
“I know. I’ve seen you plenty of times when you weren’t grouchy. Like the time we all went to ComicCon and you got to meet Leonard Nimoy. You were the happiest guy in the world.”
“That was a great day. You wore a yellow sundress.”
“Yep. Bright
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