Page 16 of Catch Him
Chapter 5
They were backin the tiny bungalow in Mill Valley. A single-level two-bedroom ranch, it wasn’t very big, but probably more than enough for a single man. Sinead thought it felt cozy. The kitchen too was tiny, but David didn’t seem to have a problem making his way around it.
They had left the game in the bottom of the seventh with the Giants up by six runs. They stopped at a Whole Foods, and Sinead followed David around with a small cart as he seemed to have a menu in mind for tonight’s dinner.
Organic filet mignons, fresh spinach and garlic, cheese that she nearly gasped when she saw how expensive it was. He asked a few questions about what she liked, which was mostly everything. About what she hated, which was really only olives.
He thought she was foolish for not liking olives. Olives were delicious. She questioned his taste when he said he couldn’t stomach artichokes.
They had brought it all back to the house, where he opened a chilled sauvignon blanc that to Sinead tasted like a tart, crisp apple. He opened the cheese and made her try some on a fancy wafer cracker, even as he started preparing their dinner.
“The cracker,” he explained, “is simply a vehicle to get the cheese to your mouth.”
“Hoo-kay,” she said, and bit into the creamy lusciousness of it. “Yum.”
“The best cheese France has to offer, and she says yum.”
Sinead shrugged. “It’s good cheese.”
His lips quirked. “It is indeed.”
“You know with you cooking, you’re sort of a triple threat.”
“Triple threat?”
“Hot, rich and you can cook.” She wiggled her eyebrows.
“For which of these threats did you decide to join me this evening?”
“Hellooo… your money. When could I ever afford French cheese like that?”
He laughed. “I like you, Sinead who spells her name correctly.”
“You say that like it’s not a very common thing. To like people, I mean.”
His expression grew serious. “It isn’t, I suppose, for me. I told you about that tight circle.”
“Yes, the billionaire club.”
“Not quite, but that circle… well, sometimes it can be suffocating. Like a ring around your neck and shoulders that keeps getting tighter. I can’t tell you the last time I met someone so… innocent.”
Sinead blushed a little and then stammered. “Uh… you do know I’m not a virgin right?”
“You are virginal. It’s nearly the same thing.”
“After everything I told you about my dad, you have to know I’m not innocent about… life. I’ve seen the good and the bad and the shades in between. I think you might be a little jaded and just looking at me through a different lens.”
He dropped the kitchen tool he was using to shave the garlic into thin slices. “Perhaps you’re right.”
“You said your last relationship was toxic. Was she an addict?”
“In a manner of speaking. I kept wanting to save her and she didn’t want to be saved.”
“Sometimes we need to be our own heroes. You know? I’m not talking about feminist stuff or anything. I mean every man and every woman wants to feel like they have control over their destiny. When they get into trouble, and they find their own way to dig out, it means something.”
He looked at her intently. “Innocent and wise. That’s an interesting combination.”
Sinead smiled as she sipped her wine. “I like the way you see me. I’m this completely ordinary person. Everyone who knows me would say the same thing. Yet you keep saying all this nice stuff. I’m not going to lie, there are times I feel like I’m being played and then I think I don’t care, because I like it.”
