His lips curved. She frowned.
“So why show me?”
“I . . . don’t know. Because you asked, I guess.”
“Thanks. Your process is fascinating to me.”
She pushed up and he straightened. Drew walked along and stared at each sketch, Carolina staying right by his side as he perused each one.
He looked to her as he reached out for one. “Is it okay if I touch?”
“Yes.”
He picked it up and studied it, a penciled drawing of a man wearing casual attire. Workout pants, a henley, and tennis shoes. He looked relaxed, dressed in something Drew would wear on a weekend.
He tilted his head to look at Carolina. “I like this.”
“Really?” She worried her lower lip, which pulled Drew’s attention to her mouth.
“Yes. I’d wear it.”
“Are you just saying that so you don’t hurt my feelings?”
He laid the drawing down. “I don’t say what I don’t mean, Carolina. The reason I picked it up was that it caught my eye. It’s something I’d wear on the weekend.”
He saw the joy on her face. “Thank you. I haven’t shown my work to anyone, outside of my assistants, of course. And I pay them. It helps to get an outside opinion.”
He moved along the other sketches. Women’s clothes, of course, didn’t mean a whole lot to him. But the men’s did. She had a definite feel for men’s clothing. None of it was stuffy or buttoned up. It was all casual.
“I like all of it. I’d wear all of it.”
She laid her hand on his upper arm. “Seriously. You’re not just saying that?”
“I’m serious. I think you have an eye for what makes a man comfortable, and for what looks good. Maybe in my college days I didn’t mind looking like shit, but now when I go out I’d like to look put together.” He motioned to the sketches. “These would make me feel comfortable and fashionable. It’s a marriage of both.”
She threw her arms around him. “That’s exactly what I’m going for. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear you say that.”
When she pulled back, she wore an excited grin on her face. “And you’re not even a fashion critic. You know nothing at all about fashion.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“That’s not what I meant and you know it. Your observation was wholly without prejudice. That makes it even more wonderful. You’ve made my entire day.”
“Awesome. We should celebrate.”
“Yes. I should celebrate by getting to work.”
“Or . . . we could go get some pie. I didn’t have pumpkin pie earlier.”
She rolled her eyes. “And whose fault is that?”
“Mine. You didn’t have pie, either.”
“I had hot chocolate. And a giant plate of food at the shelter. That’s plenty of calories for me for the day.”
He gave her the once-over. “You do have to eat again today.”
“Nothing’s open.”
He laughed. “There are tons of places open today. I know the perfect place. And they have pie. Come on.”
“Drew. I have to work.”
“Not today, you don’t. It’s Thanksgiving. And I promised your mom.”
“Seriously?”
“Come on. We can go get a sandwich and pie. And by the time we get back, it’ll be late, the day will be over, and you can sneak in some work if you feel you need to. I won’t even tell your mom.”
She gave him a look, as if by glaring at him she could get him to back down.
Not likely.
“I cannot believe I’m agreeing to this,” she said.
“It’s because you’re hungry.”
“No. It’s because of my mother. She was disappointed that I wasn’t going to be with the family for Thanksgiving. And she’s worried that I’m working too much.”
He leaned against her desk and crossed his arms. “Probably because you are?”
“No, I’m really not. I’ve got some very tight deadlines. I should be working today.”
Her gaze scanned the sketches.
“One day won’t matter that much, will it?”
With one last lingering look at her desk, she lifted her gaze to his. “I suppose it won’t. Let’s go eat.”
SEVEN
THE DAY HAD NOT TURNED OUT LIKE CAROLINA expected. Then again, she should have known Drew would be a force to be reckoned with.
So was her mother. Even from afar, Loretta Preston was formidable. It didn’t surprise her at all that she’d enlisted Drew’s cooperation in getting Carolina to take a day off. Considering she’d done no work today, she could have flown down to D.C. and had Thanksgiving dinner with her family. She could have flown out tomorrow and still had the rest of the holiday weekend to dig in and work on her designs. She’d at least have had some family time, instead of spending the holiday with Drew.
Though she had to admit, instead of spending Thanksgiving alone working, this had been a great day. She’d loved giving out meals at the shelter today, and ice skating had been fun. She just wondered what it was going to take to get rid of Drew, who didn’t seem to want to take no for an answer.
Her mother would be proud of him.
They ended up at the Gotham Bar and Grill, which sur-