“Hannah Christy. 4B,” she said. “Nice to meet you.”
Although the way she said it, that wasn’t quite the truth.
It didn’t matter that he was incredibly close to completely losing his patience, Gage forced himself to smile as he took off his coat and sat down beside her. “So…looks like you’re getting back from a long trip.” As much as he loathed small talk, it was an excellent distraction–which he desperately needed right now.
“Not long,” she replied pleasantly. “Just went home for a few days for Thanksgiving.”
He counted four pieces of luggage, including her purse, and frowned. He’d seen her around the building enough to know that she looked like the least high-maintenance woman he’d ever met. Most of the time she was dressed casually–although not as casually as she was right now–and didn’t seem like the kind of person who would require this much luggage for a short trip.
“Where’s home?” he asked.
“Up near Baltimore. That’s where my parents and siblings still are. I’m the only one to move away.” She shrugged. “I flew up on Tuesday and got back in this afternoon. Fortunately, I can work from almost anywhere so I was able to bring my laptop and stuff with me. I was looking forward to getting home and unwinding, but now who knows when I’ll get there.” She munched on another cookie without offering him one, and he wasn’t sure if she was being rude or was just clueless.
All he did know was that he was hungry and stressed and wouldn’t mind a cookie or two.
“And your mother sent you home with cookies?” he said with a grin. “That’s very generous of her!”
Finally taking the hint, Hannah picked up the cookie tin and offered it to him. “Would you like one? They’re very decadent.”
“Thanks.” He took one bite and almost moaned with pleasure. “Damn. These are fantastic!”
She nodded with a smile. “Yeah. My mother is an amazing baker. Dad cooks, Mom bakes. They make a great team.”
“You’re lucky. My mother likes to think she can cook, but trust me, she can’t. And her baking is even worse. She likes to joke it’s why my father left, but…” he shrugged with a small laugh. “We never starved, so there’s that.”
“Does she live close by?”
Shaking his head, he took another bite of the cookie. “Not really. I grew up just outside of Chimney Rock in a little town called Evergreen Valley. She’s still there. All of my sisters moved away after college–primarily to Charlotte and Greensboro. I lived in Greensboro for a few years, but then my job recently brought me to Raleigh. It’s an easy drive to go and visit her–and my sisters–but I get a lot of grief for moving so far away. Although…I try to go and see her at least one weekend a month.”
“She must enjoy that. I know if I still lived in the area, I’d be expected for dinner at least once a week. I love my family and I do miss them, but I enjoy having my own space and privacy.” With a soft sigh, she leaned back against the wall. “Normally I go home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, but I had to break it to them that I won’t be able to do Christmas this year.”
“How come?”
There was a small hesitation before she closed her laptop and looked at him. “Well, I’m about to be named the lead on a big project at work. It’s going to be very time-consuming and I just can’t spare the time to be away. I’ve been building up to this for months and once everything is secured, I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. I need to be hyper-focused.”
“And what is it that you do?”
“I’m an interior designer with LLH Interiors here in Raleigh. We work with a lot of architects and commercial construction companies,” she explained before taking another bite of her cookie. “This project I’m going to be starting is a massive medical complex going up just a little west of the city. I’ve busted my butt on this thing and the final presentation is in the morning.” She smiled before adding, “But it’s just a formality. My boss told me I’m a shoo-in for it so…” Another smile. “What about you? What do you do?”
“I’m a communications analyst specializing in cyber security.” When she just blinked at him, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah, it’s as boring as it sounds.”
“So you’re kind of like a tech geek?”
Gage had been called a lot of things in his life, but certainly not a geek–not in any capacity. “You know, that is really insulting. I mean…who says that to someone?”
Hannah laughed and reached out, resting her hand on his arm. “Oh my goodness, no! I was just…I don’t know. I didn’t mean it in a bad way! I swear! I guess I figured you to be a lawyer or something.”
“A lawyer? Why?”
She shrugged. “You dress like a lawyer.”
Gage looked down at himself and frowned, unsure if that was a compliment or an insult. Clearing his throat, he murmured, “I don’t know about that, but…this is just how I normally dress.”
“Oh, I know. I’ve never seen you in anything but this whole getup. It’s very nice, but kind of…lawyer-ish.”
He couldn’t help but look down at himself again and wondered what was so lawyer-ish about a good suit? “Well, we all can’t wear jeans and sweatshirts to work…”
Now it was Hannah’s turn to frown. “I spend a lot of time on construction sites so it’s pointless to dress up. My job is very hands-on so I pick clothes for functionality rather than fashion.”
“I didn’t mean to…” But his words were cut off by the sound of an incoming text. Glancing at the screen, he groaned when he saw his mother’s picture.
Mom: Hey! Did you talk to your bosses about Christmas? Your sisters all already said yes and Sarah’s planning on bringing Irene with her! Won’t that be nice? You know how she’s always had a crush on you!
Raking a hand through his hair, Gage let out a long breath.
“Everything okay?” Hannah asked.
Another groan was out before he could stop it, and he let his head loll back against the wall before answering. “Just…family stuff.”
Beside him, she nodded. “Like I said, I moved away and enjoy my privacy but I still have to deal with my share of guilt and drama, so…I get it.”
Maybe talking to her–basically a stranger–would help him figure out how to handle this particular situation. Twisting slightly, he studied her face for a moment. Even in the dim lighting he could see her gently biting her lower lip and the uncertainty in her face. It was enough to make him contemplate changing the subject, but…
“Can I ask you something?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
“What did your parents say when you told them you wouldn’t be home for Christmas?”
Turning toward him, she shrugged. “The usual guilt: how could I do this? Why do I want to ruin Christmas? It won’t be the same without you here…blah, blah, blah…”
The laugh was out before he could stop it because that was pretty much the argument his mother gave him on Saturday. “Sounds vaguely familiar.”