Page 29 of Through the Snow Globe
“Stop right there. We can’t make up yet.” He finally began to unwrap his own sandwich.
Diana didn’t pick hers back up just yet. “Why not?”
“Because we need to save that for tonight.” He picked up his sandwich, braced it between his hands, and took a healthy bite.
Diana watched as he chewed. “You want to talk things out some more?”
He picked up his napkin and swiped it below his mouth. “No, I don’t want to talk. I mean I do, but . . .” There was a twinkle in his blue-gray eyes as he looked at her.
“Oh,” Diana said, understanding. “You want to make up, make up?”
“They say it’s better after an argument. Not that we argued much, but maybe we could try again. I could call you Elsa and you could call me a beast.”
Diana shoved his shoulder in jest. “You’re mixing your Disney movies.”
“We can argue about that as well.” Linus leaned over to kiss her. “And then we can make up even more.”
She kissed him back, hoping there weren’t any child eyes watching in the toy store. “I like the sound of that, Mr. Grant. It’s a date.”
He straightened on his stool and steadied his sandwich, preparing to take another bite. “Are you nervous about your meeting with Mr. Powell?” he asked before doing so.
Diana sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I guess so. I really want this promotion.” Even more so after losing it to William last time.
“Well, you’re a shoo-in for it, aren’t you?”
“I thought I was.” Diana picked up her sandwich and nibbled off a tiny bite. “I’ve been at Powell Rehabilitation the longest. I pull the longest hours.”
“See? The promotion’s in the bag.”
“I don’t know. Maybe Mr. Powell is looking for more than just a steady employee. Maybe he wants someone with charisma.”
“You have charisma,” Linus said. She loved that he would say so.
Diana nibbled another bite from her sandwich, barely tasting her food. “Maybe Mr. Powell wants someone who patients rave about.”
“Your patients love you,” Linus said.
“They like me, and I do a good job with helping them in their recovery. But maybe I’m not someone my patients feel like they can talk to. Maybe I’m too curt,” she finally said.
Linus set his sandwich down and looked at her. “Youaresomeone that others can talk to. You just need to go in and show that to Mr. Powell. Leave him with no doubt that you are the perfect woman for the job.”
Diana sucked in a tiny breath that didn’t seem to fill up her lungs. She gave a small nod and then looked at her watch. “Oh, geez. Mr. Powell won’t think I’m a worthy candidate if I show up late.”
Linus glanced at her sandwich. “But you haven’t even eaten your lunch yet.”
“I’ll eat it afterward. I need to go.” She didn’t move to leave, though. “Let me pick you up after work. Don’t ride your bike home.”
Linus reached for his soda and took a swallow. “Why is that?”
“Because it’ll be cold and icy this evening. It’s not safe.”
“It’s perfectly safe. The exercise will be good for me.”
“Please.” She clutched her sandwich bag, silently pleading with her eyes.
“Don’t worry about me. Just go to that interview and knock Mr. Powell’s socks off. Just his socks, though. And no kissing. That’s where I draw the line.”
Diana laughed despite her nerves. “Thanks for the pep talk.”
