traced an X over his heart. âIf youâd like, I can make out a list of things to be done.â He knew that would appeal to her bookkeeper soul. âIâll prioritize it.â
She picked up her spoon. âGood.â
They ate in silence for a minute.
âWhy wine?â
He looked up. âYou mean, as a career?â
She nodded. âIs your family in the industry?â Her tone was casual, but she didnât fool him.
Sheâs digging
.
She doesnât trust you.
âHardly.â He wiped his lips with the napkin. âMy father is a federal appeals-court judge, and my mother is the headmistress of a girlsâ prep school in Georgetown. My brother is a Wall Street trader, and my sister is a partner in a big CPA firm in Seattle.â
âWow.â
âYeah, no pressure being the youngest swimming in that gene pool.â Seeing she was done, he lifted both their plates.
She started to rise.
âIâll get the dishes and cleanup. Itâs my apartment now, after all.â He carried the dishes to the sink. âI didnât like school much as a kid. Didnât get why I had to know about ancient Greece and quadratic equations.â He located the dish soap under the sink. âBut I always loved growing things. My mom says I drove the gardeners nuts, digging up the daffodils as a toddler.â He ran the water until it was hot, then plugged the sink, squirted in some detergent. âThe wine bug hit in high school. My parents appreciated a nice red and it turned out I was lucky to be born with a sensitive palate.â He started with their dinner plates. âI was subscribed to
Wine Enthusiast
by tenth grade and couldnât wait until I could legally attend wine tastings.â
âIâll dry.â Indigo walked up, a kitchen towel in her hand. âIâve heard high school drinking stories, but they didnât sound like that.â
He rinsed a plate and handed it to her. âYou âheard.â Does that mean you didnât drink in high school?â
âI mean I didnât attend high school. I grew up on a commune in northern California. I was homeschooled. Nothing but natural, healthy living.â
He started on the soup pot. âSomehow that doesnât surprise me. You have a natural look about you. Sounds like an idyllic childhood.â
âIt was.â Her smile was happy and sad all at the same time. âBut, trust me, I made up for it later.â
âIn Hollywood?â He wondered what was behind that bittersweet smile, but it winked out.
âOh, I almost forgot the financials.â Her words came out snipped off at the ends. She wiped her hands on the towel and dropped it on the counter. âIâll go get them.â
Then she was gone, the door swinging shut behind her.
Well, thereâs a no-fly zone if I ever saw one.
He finished the dishes and rummaged in the cabinets until he found where they all belonged.
She rapped on the door, pushed it open, but didnât step in. She reached across the small space to hand him a slim file folder. âHere you go. Iâve got to get back to the cabin and feed Barney. Iâll see you in the morning.â She turned away.
âHang on. Itâs pitch black out there. Iâll walk you home.â He reached for his jacket.
âNo, Iâve got it covered.â She waved a flashlight.
âItâs no bother. I donât feel good aboutââ
âLook.â She put a hand on her hip. âIâm not helpless, or incompetent. Iâm capable of walking a hundred yards in the dark by myself.â
He raised his hands. âYes, maâam.â
She turned and marched down the hall.
He closed the door. Better this way. He didnât need to know what shaped the soft and hard edges of Indigo Blue in order to work for her.
But he wondered, just the same.
CHAPTER FIVE
âU NHHH .â I NDIGO COLLAPSED in a heap on