“When I invited you to lunch, you didn’t say no. Only good night. I didn’t take it as a definitive refusal.”
“Hi, I’m Brenda.” Her best friend shook his hand. “You’re exactly as she described. Big and strong and...mmm.” Brenda acted like she wanted to eat him. “She raved about you all morning.”
Isabel threw a warning look at Brenda. “I briefly mentioned how grateful I am that you’d been there.”
“Nice to meet you.” Dutch lowered his eyes like the comment embarrassed him and he shoved his hands in his pockets.
The young delivery guy zipped past them and grabbed more glasses.
“You need help with that?” Dutch asked.
“Sure, man. Thanks.” The kid pointed out some racks and Dutch took them inside.
Once the guys were out of earshot, Brenda turned to her and clutched her arm. “He is so yummy. Why didn’t you agree to lunch?”
“One-year moratorium on dating. Remember?”
With an eye roll, Brenda waved a dismissive hand. “You’re always talking about how you want your life to be normal after what—”
Isabel lifted a cautionary finger.
“After what CNO did,” Brenda finished, using the acronym for the crazy nameless one. “Every time you turn down a date or think about why you shouldn’t get back out there, you’re really thinking about him and giving CNO power. It’s great that you got a dog, but you need a man. Someone hot and sweet to put a little sizzle in your life. Someone like that.” Brenda pointed to Dutch, who was walking toward them through the gallery, chatting with the delivery guy. “His chakras are off the charts and when he was standing next to you your aura got brighter and turned fuchsia.”
Before Isabel could ask what any of that meant, the men came back outside.
“Okay. The only thing left is the fridge.” The kid pointed to the large glorified cooler that was a single-section unit with a glass door strapped to a wheeled hand truck.
“Use the elevator,” Brenda said.
Isabel winced. “You can’t. I forgot to tell you the repair guy had a personal emergency and canceled yesterday, but he’ll be out tomorrow afternoon in time for the event.”
“I can’t come back tomorrow,” the delivery guy said, rubbing the nape of his neck. “I’m going to be slammed with back-to-back drop-offs all day. Saturdays are always crazy.”
Dutch patted the kid’s shoulder. “You grab one end, I’ll take the other, and we’ll carry it up the stairs.”
“No can do, buddy. I’m not covered for that kind of thing. If I slip and get hurt, I won’t get worker’s comp. I’m sorry. I’ll have to leave it on the ground floor.”
“We need to get the beverages in today, so nobody has a warm drink tomorrow,” Brenda said. “Everyone will expect cold bubbly with the amount we hope people will spend. Maybe we have to set the bar up downstairs.”
Isabel pressed a palm to her forehead. “The whole point of having it upstairs is to encourage everyone to see the paintings on the second floor.”
“I can take it up for you,” Dutch said.
Isabel turned to him. “How? You can’t carry that up on your own.”
He was strong and it was a single unit, but everyone had limits. The fridge had to be a good two hundred pounds.
“Do you have an extra strap in the van?” Dutch asked.
The kid nodded. “Yeah.”
Dutch directed the delivery guy to wheel the fridge out of the van. Then he adjusted the two straps, removing them from the hand truck and retightening them around the cooling unit. He slipped his arms through the straps like someone would with a backpack and he had the delivery guy wrap the third one horizontally around the center of the fridge and Dutch’s torso, fastening it tight.
Bending at the knees, Dutch shifted the weight of the unit around before he stood and leaned over with the fridge balanced on his back and headed inside.
Isabel, Brenda and the delivery guy followed. They stood at the stairwell, marveling at Dutch carrying the fridge upstairs as though it were a death-defying circus act.
“Whoa,” the kid said low, amazement ringing in his voice.
Okay, Dutch was really strong. And smart.
“To hell with your moratorium. Are you seriously not going to give him a chance?” Brenda pointed at Dutch while staring at Isabel like she was crazy. “If you don’t want him, can I have him?”
“Hell, I’d date him,” the delivery guy chimed in.
Isabel sighed. “Maybe we can hang out. Baby steps. Get to know each other better without all the physical stuff.”