Page 9 of The Pop-Up Cake Shop

‘That’s fine.’ I reached up to kiss him. ‘It gives me time to enjoy a nice long soak in that gorgeous bath before getting ready.’

He smiled. ‘Good. I’ve said I’ll pop in to work briefly at some point, but it’ll just be for an hour or so and I’ve stipulated that. Not tomorrow, though.’

‘Hey, you do what you have to do. I mean, it’s not as if there aren’t plenty of things to do and gawp at around here. Honestly, I feel like I’ve landed right in the middle of a movie set.’ I was determined to ignore the twinge of disappointment I was feelingat his mention of work. That’s why Richard was here in New York. To do a job. And I needed to support him in that, not provide distractions. So I smiled at him. ‘You’d better make your phone call.’

‘You sure you don’t mind?’

‘No.’ I laughed at his hang-dog expression. ‘Go, go, go!’

He was true to his word and an hour later, we headed out into the city and enjoyed a lovely evening together. We’d always had different tastes in dining out. Richard adored fine dining and on special occasions, he’d think nothing of splashing out on a twelve-course ‘taster menu’. As for me, I preferred simple food cooked well with plenty of herbs and spices.

I’d been secretly hoping we weren’t going to be spending hours over a posh taster menu, which usually meant tiny portions and numerous courses. But the Italian restaurant he took me to served delicious the most delicious pasta dishes, which suited me perfectly. And even though I was dropping with tiredness by the time we left the restaurant, I was enjoying myself so much I didn’t want the evening to end.

So when we got off at the subway station close to Richard’s apartment, I suggested we call in for a nightcap at a cute bar I’d spotted on the corner of the street.

Richard frowned at his watch. ‘It’s getting late.’

‘It’s only ten-thirty.’

‘Yes... but I have lots of lovely things planned for you tomorrow so we should really get an early night. It’ll be a packed schedule tomorrow.’

‘Oh. Great.’

‘You don’t sound exactly thrilled.’ He grinned at me as he took my hand and hurried me along the windy street towards the apartment.

‘I suppose I was hoping we could have a lazy morning.’ I smiled up at him with a suggestive wiggle of my eyebrows.

He chuckled. ‘Tempting. But do you really want to come all the way to New York to see the inside of an apartment? We need to make the most of every minute, surely?’

‘I guess so.’ I squeezed his hand. He’d obviously put a lot of thought into planning what we’d do, which was lovely. So I was going to let Richard take charge while I relaxed and enjoyed myself...

CHAPTER FOUR

The next morning, I woke to the sound of workmen drilling the floor by my bedside. That’s what it sounded like, anyway.

Through a sleepy haze, I finally realised it was the coffee grinder doing its thing. And several minutes later, Richard appeared, fully dressed.

‘Hey, you. You were so tired last night, I thought I’d let you sleep on.’ He placed a large bowl-shaped mug on the bedside table and I inhaled the delicious smell of freshly ground coffee. ‘Cappuccino for Madame?’

‘Thank you.’ I struggled into a sitting position and Richard plumped a couple of pillows for me. ‘I think I fell asleep before you came to bed last night.’ I grinned up at him. ‘Sorry about that. I was just so exhausted.’

‘Hey, no problem.’ He shrugged amiably. ‘Drink your coffee and we’ll get going.’

‘Wow, that mug is more like a bucket. I’ll be bouncing off the walls if I drink the whole thing.’

He grinned. ‘You’ll need plenty of energy for what I’ve got planned for you today.’

‘Oh, really?’ I flashed him my best sideways flirty look. ‘Well, maybe you should bring your own coffee in here and join me?’

He chuckled, sitting down on the bed and taking my hand. ‘Tempting as that sounds, it’s already nearly ten and you haven’t even been out of the apartment yet.’

‘Well, Ihave. We went out last night.’

‘I know. But you need to see the sights in daylight. Seriously, Katja, there’s so much to experience in New York and you’ve only got a couple of days, so come on.’ He stood up, grinning down at me. ‘I thought we could get breakfast at a diner?’

‘Lovely.’

‘Now, there’s just one thing.’ He took my hand in both of his. ‘The cleaners will be in this morning while we’re out and they never dust properly unless the surfaces are clear. So I always put everything away before I leave.’

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