hastened to reassure her although she didn’t look like “his” Julia anymore.
In some weird way, seeing her dressed up in her business attire reminded him of the gulf between them, so maybe it was for the best. She seemed to have taken their parting of ways and return to the real world in her stride, and he wasn’t going to spoil it for her.
“Thank you.” She’d tied her hair up at the back of her head and carried a navy jacket over her arm. “Are you still okay to come with me?” She paused. “I know it was kind of presumptuous of me to ask, and probably came out of left field, but—”
He held up his hand. “It’s okay, I get it. The sooner we get back to normal the better, right?”
“Yes.” She nodded so hard her ponytail bobbed along. “That’s what I was hoping.” She took a quick breath. “I still want us to be friends.”
He had nothing constructive to say to that so he changed the subject.
“We should go in my truck.”
“Why?”
“Because yours is almost out of gas and you need to get that tire changed out again. When you get a moment, take it down to Ted Baker’s place, and he’ll set you right. I can pick up my spare from him when he’s finished.”
“Oh, yes, Dad wanted to know how much he owes you,” Julia said as he opened the passenger door for her.
“Nothing. Like I said, I’ll get the tire back.” He waited for her to get in and frowned as she hopped around like a demented frog. “What’s wrong?”
“I can’t reach the running board in this skirt,” Julia admitted.
As he reached for her, he pretended to sigh. “Women and their stupid fashions.”
“So, you’d rather we dressed in jeans and boots all the time instead?”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” He picked her up and deposited her easily in her seat. The scent of her, up close and personal, made him never want to let her go. “Do you want me to do your seat belt up for you too, honey?”
She raised her eyebrows. “Do you want me to kick you in the nuts?”
“Wow, harsh.” Kaiden shook his head. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”
* * *
Julia plugged the coordinates Melanie had given her into the navigation system and sat back to review the case notes while Kaiden drove. There wasn’t much to go on, yet. Melanie wanted a visual of the potential land to assess its proximity to the town, the major services, and the highway system. Sometimes potential sellers weren’t quite accurate in their descriptions.
MZB always tried to make sure that at least one of their associates actually went and viewed each potential site. It meant that future negotiations between clients and sellers were less likely to fall apart over something basic. Normally, it was the kind of job Julia would give to a new hire, but as Melanie had asked her personally, and she needed a few allies at the firm right now, Julia was more than willing to help out.
“So what are you doing today in Bridgeport?” Kaiden asked as he turned off the county road.
“Assessing a land parcel for a potential client.”
“For a new home?”
“I’m not sure yet.” Julia wasn’t about to spill any office secrets. “This is only a preliminary assessment of one of several possible sites.”
“Do you do this a lot?”
“Go out and see places? Not much anymore. I need more billable hours.” She half smiled. “Got to pay for that remodel.”
“I wish I’d never suggested it now.” He glanced over at her and then back at the road, which was getting bumpier. “Thanks to me, you’re stuck in that place.”
“I think you’re taking on way too much responsibility for something that is definitely not your fault,” Julia said evenly. “I’m ‘stuck’ at that place because I love the work. The money isn’t really the issue. I have enough saved to cover all your bills, so please don’t worry.”
“I wasn’t actually thinking about myself,” he said abruptly. “I was thinking about you.”
“Oh.” Julia stared out the window. “That’s . . . very sweet of you.” She checked the navigation, which seemed to have disappeared. “Are we close now?”
He pointed toward a roofline at the end of the road. “I’m going to take a guess and say we’re supposed to end up there. I can’t see anything else that looks like a structure, can you?”
“No.”
She collected her paperwork in a tidy pile and replaced it in the folder. There was