shoulder. Her heart melted at the thought that the concern in his eyes was over whether she would hold the paparazzi incident against him. “It’s not your fault. You’ve done everything you can to avoid that.”
“Okay.” He seemed to breathe a little easier. They got off at the eleventh floor and went into the apartment. The Kellers were gone for the afternoon — headed to Jersey to see Betty’s sister. They might not be home until nine or ten, according to Betty. She knew that Brandon might come back with her, and though she and Bob had a house rule that their tenants couldn’t have visitors in their bedrooms, they’d assured Bailey that Brandon was welcome to hang out in the living room with her. Bailey checked the clock on the microwave. It was a little after three in the afternoon, and they hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
“Let’s see what’s in the fridge.” She checked and found very little she could make into a meal. She gave Brandon one of the yogurts she kept at the back of the top shelf, and she took one too. But that wouldn’t work for dinner. And now that the paparazzi knew where she was staying, they’d be waiting downstairs.
“We can order in.” Brandon took a seat at the dining room table. “How about I beat you at Scrabble and then we get Chinese food?”
Bailey felt the night become magical once again. “Perfect.” Suddenly the idea sounded better than any place they might go out in the city tonight.
They played Scrabble for an hour, and Bailey lost both games. Then they called for sweet and sour chicken, broccoli beef, and an assortment of other vegetable and noodle dishes. The time alone was wonderful, and Bailey loved that they didn’t have to worry about paparazzi here. It was dark outside by then, and the lights from the city twinkled from both walls of glass windows that bordered the living room. Bailey took a spot on the sofa, and Brandon sat beside her. But she noticed he left room between them — something she appreciated, even if she would’ve liked him to sit closer. They were alone, after all, and Brandon knew the same as she did that the Kellers wouldn’t be home until much later. The distance told her he didn’t want to put either of them in a situation they couldn’t escape from.
Bailey flicked on the TV and they found a special on Broadway shows. This one was titled, Wicked — Making of a Broadway Musical. Halfway through, the camera caught a ten-second shot of the ensemble dancers practicing. “Hey … that’s Tim!”
“Tim?” Brandon glanced at her, his expression mildly confused. “Do I know him?”
“No.” She giggled. “I used to date him.”
“Oh.” Brandon leveled his gaze at the screen. “So you’re saying I should know him.”
“No, silly.” She angled her head, loving how he could make her laugh. “He’s dating someone else. We were never really more than friends, anyway.”
“I see.” Brandon nodded, absently. “I like him better now.”
The special ended just as the Chinese food arrived. Bailey paid — mostly so the delivery guy wouldn’t catch a glimpse of Brandon. She wondered if the paparazzi would follow the man up, hiding behind the bags of Chinese food. But the doorman downstairs wouldn’t have allowed that.
When the man was gone, Bailey handed the food to Brandon and followed him to the table. He sat at the head of the table and she took the spot beside him, so they shared a corner.
But before he sat down, Brandon held up his finger. “Hold on.” He hurried into the kitchen and rummaged through a couple drawers before he found what he was looking for. “Here.” He returned to the table and held up a book of matches. Then he lit the candle at the center of the Kellers’ table, and before he sat down he dimmed the lights. “Most romantic Chinese restaurant in all of New York.”
Bailey tried to focus on her dinner — which was truly delicious. But she kept wondering about the question … and whether this was when he’d finally ask it, or if maybe he’d been teasing or possibly forgotten altogether. She didn’t bring it up, and the dinner hour breezed by — the two of them laughing and talking about his funniest movie moments and her brothers’ greatest sports victories.
When the meal was over, Brandon cleared their plates and the two of them washed the few dishes and put away the leftovers.