His eyes lit, and he drew her close. “Can I kiss you to seal it?”
She couldn’t look away. Couldn’t stop longing for his kiss.
But she made herself pause, think. “Not yet.”
Her unspoken words—not until I can trust you not to run again—hung in the air between them.
He didn’t push it, simply nodded. “In that case, how about a burrito from our favorite restaurant to seal the deal?”
She almost laughed at the absurdity of it. They were talking about their future, their child’s future. And he was thinking about food. Yet she loved that they had a favorite restaurant. It wasn’t just the big stuff that counted in the long run. The little stuff counted too. And she was starving. “Sounds perfect.”
They headed into Taqueria Bueno and placed their orders without needing to look at the menu. A chicken quesadilla for her and a carne asada burrito for him, with the unspoken understanding that they’d split the meals and each eat half of the other’s.
She could practically see the wheels turning inside his head as they munched on chips and salsa. Her wheels were working just as hard.
As always, their food was delivered quickly, and after splitting their entrees, Lyssa dove in, taking a bite of quesadilla smothered in guacamole first and then a bite of the everything-on-it burrito immediately after. She was famished.
Cal was slower getting to his food. “Gideon’s right. We’ve been working extraordinarily hard. Especially you. And the more successful the foundation becomes, the more work there’ll be. Therefore,” he said as if he were laying out a business plan, “it’s important for us to get in the habit of unplugging on a regular basis. We’ll be no good to anyone if we’re burned out. Especially while you’re still in your first trimester.”
Though she didn’t disagree with anything he’d said, lest he get pushy, she still reminded him, “Pregnancy isn’t making me tired. If anything, I have more energy than usual.”
“And I’m glad you do. But we’re coming up on the holidays. Not only will we stop actively soliciting donations right now, but contracts won’t get signed during the holidays, and big decisions won’t get made. Everyone waits until the new year.”
“Right,” she agreed, “which is why I planned to use this time to tackle some of the projects that have been sitting on my back burner.”
“Please.” He held her gaze, his gray eyes pleading. “Please give me some time with you. Away from the office. Away from real life. Just for a while.”
He was asking for a chance to spend time together outside of work, a chance for her to fall in love with him…a chance for him to fall in love with her too.
But no matter how much she told herself she had too much to do at the office, that it wasn’t practical to take time off right now, that she should be blasting through as much work as possible before the baby came, the real reason she was tempted to say no had nothing to do with work.
It was fear, plain and simple.
And she hated giving in to fear.
She’d already agreed to the “fall in love” challenge. It was only fair that she give them both room to see it through.
She wasn’t about to make things easy on him, though. There’d be no falling at his feet and telling him she couldn’t live without him based on a few pretty words, or even his delicious kisses. But she couldn’t stay completely locked down either. Somehow, she’d have to find a balance.
She finally said, “Okay. Let’s take a few days off.”
He whooped with joy, and the other diners turned their heads to see what all the fuss was about.
“But we have to be back by next weekend so we don’t miss the housewarming barbecue for Mom and Dad.”
“We can make that work,” he agreed. “What do you think about a road trip? No real plans. We’ll follow our instincts and have fun, just like we did in London with the street art tour.”
Travel with no reservations? No plans set in stone? Lyssa had always grounded herself in spreadsheets and lists. She never felt more at ease than when she knew exactly what was coming and when.
But with Cal, nothing had been planned up to now.
So a spontaneous road trip fit right in.
She raised her lemonade to his in a toast. “Let’s hit the road and find magic in whatever unexpected places we end up in and whatever unexpected things we do.”
Something told her that with Cal by her side, even if they were in the middle of nowhere, they would always find magic.
Chapter Eighteen
They worked like mad to clear the most pressing items off their desks, and at nine on Saturday morning, Cal pulled up in front of Lyssa’s four-story walk-up. After she’d buzzed him in, he jogged up the stairs. She met him outside her door with her computer bag and a roller suitcase.
He pointed at the computer bag. “We’re not working, remember?”
“I occasionally do other things on my computer besides work,” she said dryly, then smiled widely. “I might have a teeny-tiny addiction to Pinterest. Particularly pictures of puppies and fabulously delicious cakes and now baby stuff.”
“Doesn’t everyone use their phone for that?”
“Not me. I like to see it on a bigger screen.”
She bent to pick up the roller bag, but he wrapped his fingers around the handle before she could.
“I’ll get that. It’s way too heavy. I don’t want you to strain yourself.”
“I always pack too much,” she agreed. “And even though I can carry my own bag, I’ll take you up on your offer because I secretly hate lugging that thing around.”
They made their way down, and he put her bag into the trunk of his fancy Mercedes-Maybach. After she got into the passenger seat, he asked, “Did you remember the vitamins the doctor wanted you to take?”
“Of course I remembered my vitamins. I didn’t suddenly become incapable just because I’m pregnant.” Then she threw at him, “Did you remember your vitamins?”
“Honestly, in my excitement to hit the road with you, I was halfway to your apartment before I realized I forgot to bring my bag.”
Just like that, her defenses fell. It was so good to know he wasn’t with her because she’d put a figurative gun to his head, but because he actually wanted to spend time with her.
They made it through city traffic in record time and headed out to Highway 1.
“Where should we go? North or south?” he asked. They’d agreed she’d lead the first day, and he’d lead the second.
“South.”
They followed the coastal road through Pacifica and Montara and Half Moon Bay. Despite it being mid-December, it was a sunny day without a cloud in the sky. That was one of the best things about living in Northern California.
When they hit Santa Cruz, she said, “I’m hungry. I’ve heard about a great restaurant in town that specializes in bean sprouts. We’re only a couple of blocks away, so go ahead and find a parking space.” She waved her hand imperiously, enjoying herself far too much at his expense.
He shot her an incredulous look as he pulled into a spot. “How can you specialize in bean sprouts?”