She took his hand and shook it firmly. If he just wanted to be friends, friends it would be.
At least for now.
Chapter Eight
When Christy woke up, David was gone. A note on the bedside stand said he’d moved his clothes down the hall to the guest bedroom. Obviously he hadn’t wanted to presume on their “friendship.” Christy crumpled the paper into a little ball with one hand and tossed it into the trash, shrugging aside her disappointment.
Today she would take Agnes’s advice and be happy. She had a lot to be thankful for and there was no need to focus on the negative. She had a whole list of things to do, and right now keeping busy would be her salvation.
Hours later, Christy sat at the desk in the den staring at the computer screen. She’d spent the morning paring a four-hour presentation down to two, but now she worried that she’d cut too much of the “meat” and left too much “fluff.”
Putting on a quality seminar was something Christy took seriously. Though the people in the audience might have registered for different reasons, they’d given up their time and money to attend and she wanted to make sure it was a worthwhile experience.
She rearranged the opening for the third time and read through it again. Frowning, she leaned forward and stared at the first few sentences. Something still wasn’t right. She liked to grab the audience right from the beginning, and her opening gambit had all the pizzazz of a chemistry textbook.
A twinge in her back reminded her why her mother had always insisted she sit up straight. Christy shoved back the chair, rose and stretched, her eyes straying to the bright sunny day outside her window.
She glanced down at the running pants and T-shirt she had pulled on after her morning shower. When she’d lived in Chicago she’d run outside every day it didn’t snow. Since moving to St. Louis, she could count on one hand the number of times she’d been out. And she suddenly realized how much she’d missed it.
She was tempted to pull on her running shoes and just head out the door, but there was no way she could leave the room in such a mess.
With a resigned sigh, Christy turned back to the cluttered desk. In a matter of minutes she’d stowed the computer out of sight in the bottom desk drawer and turned her attention to the mounds of papers on the desktop. She’d barely finished putting them neatly in the leather briefcase her parents had given her for college graduation when she heard the front door open.
Her head jerked up. The cleaning woman wasn’t scheduled until the afternoon. Christy moved silently to the door, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Anybody home?” David’s voice rang out from the foyer.
“I’m in the den,” she answered, relief coursing through her veins.
But instead of going to greet him as she would have yesterday, Christy grabbed a magazine from the end table and took a seat on the couch.
It wasn’t long before David stood in the doorway, looking way too handsome for eleven o’clock in the morning.
“What are you doing home?” she said, forcing her gaze back to the bright deodorant advertisement.
“That’s what I call a warm welcome.”
“I’m just surprised to see you,” she said casually. “You’ve never stopped home during the day before.”
“It’s too nice a day to spend inside.” He paused, and she looked up to find his gaze fixed on her. “Want to go to lunch? My treat.”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I was just getting ready to go for a run.” She gestured to the briefcase next to the desk. “I’m having trouble concentrating, and I’m hoping it will clear my head.”
David’s face fell. “I should have texted.”
“You could come with me?” she said impulsively.
“Me?” He lifted a brow. “Run with you?”
She smiled. The idea was growing on her. “If you remember, we used to run together.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said with a chuckle. “You were always faster than I was.”
She smiled, knowing it was true. “C’mon, it’ll be fun.”
Fun, David decided, was relative. He enjoyed being outdoors, but matching Christy stride for stride really took it out of him. Obviously, playing golf twice a week didn’t translate into physical fitness.
Up ahead, he caught a glimpse of a trailside café he’d eaten at once or twice. Though the food had never been particularly good, after three miles of running he thought it looked mighty appealing.
“Let’s stop and grab some lunch.” He cast a sideways glance at Christy and slowed his pace. “I skipped breakfast and I’m starved.”
“I had a big breakfast, so I’m really not hungry.” Her pace edged down a notch to match his. “But an iced tea does sound good.”
But once they were seated at a table next to a tall oak tree, Christy changed her mind and ordered a club sandwich.
“I probably should have told the waitress to hold the mayo,” she confided as the woman left to put in their order. “I certainly don’t need the extra calories.”
“You don’t have an ounce of fat on your body,” David said, his gaze lingering on her slender form. “I can testify to that.”
Her cheeks turned pink. “Well, I will if I don’t stop eating so much. For some reason, since I moved to St. Louis I’m always hungry.”
“It’s all this fresh air.” David smiled.
“St. Louis is so beautiful.” Christy’s gaze scanned the wooded area next to the trail. “I’d forgotten how many trees there are here.”
“Do you miss Chicago?” He suddenly realized they’d never talked about the sacrifice she’d made in moving back to Missouri.
“Parts of it,” she admitted. She pushed back a strand of hair that had pulled loose from her ponytail. “I really miss my friends. The girls I knew here in high school have long since moved away and there really isn’t anyone left.”
David thought about pointing out that Lauren was still in town, but decided against it. “What about Sara? You two seemed to hit it off. Why don’t you call her up? Set up a time to get together?”
Christy shrugged. “I don’t know her well enough to feel comfortable doing that. She’s busy recording a new album and she has tons of friends. Not to mention a new husband.”
“How about—”
“David.” She covered his hand with hers. “Don’t worry about it. I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.”
The waitress brought their food and Christy smiled her thanks and changed the subject. He listened with half an ear as she chattered on, thinking how pretty she was and how she always looked on the bright side. She’d been like that even at eighteen. It had been one of the things he’d loved about her. That, and her passion for life.
He wondered what would have happened if they had stayed together. Would they have ended up married? Or would they have eventually split up and gone their separate ways?
It was odd that they’d bumped into each other after all these years. They certainly hadn’t parted on the best of terms. He hoped this time they could part more amicably and remain friends. Because he was just beginning to realize how nice it was to have Christy back in his life.