chapter 4

. She was afraid of having to make small talk in such tight quarters--worried she would rip off his shirt or something. "What do you want to listen to? Here, you can play DJ," handing it over to him.

"Cool."

She looked at Matt and smiled. "Hope you like this place."

"I'm sure I will. I'm not too picky." He smiled back.

Crap, why did he have to be so adorable? Kate concentrated on driving. Fortunately, the bakery was nearby.

"Have you been to this place before?" she said as they pulled up.

"Nope, can't say that I have."

They went up to the counter, and Kate ordered two all-you-can-eat French toast platters. She looked back at Matt. "Sorry, I should have asked you first. Does that sound okay?"

"Yeah, sounds great!"

"Do you want to start with chocolate chip, cinnamon swirl, or sourdough first?" the cashier asked them.

"Wow, do I have to choose?" Matt asked.

"Well, I can do a plate with all three, if you want."

"Let's do it. Oh, and can I have some extra butter and syrup?"

"You bet!" said the cashier.

Kate was silently flipping out. She wondered how much he would eat. "I'll do the cinnamon swirl." She followed Matt to a booth and restrained herself from grabbing his butt.

They started talking as they waited for their food.

"So, tell me about yourself. Did you always want to be in advertising?" he asked.

"Hey, I thought I was going to interview you first."

"Nope. I've already been in the hot seat. Twice. It's your turn."

"Alright, alright, fair enough," she laughed. "You know, I read a lot of magazines growing up. I still read a lot of magazines. I guess I've seen so many advertisements that maybe I thought I could do a better job? I don't know. I love it, but I certainly didn't think about doing it till I was at least halfway through college. Took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do. What about you?"

"You know, I'm enjoying it! I think I could see myself coming back to advertising after I get my master's, but I'm young. I have a little time to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, right? "

"Well, I don't know. How old are you?"

"I turn 25 next month."

"Huh."

"How old did you think I was?"

"About 25, so I guess I wasn't too far off." She smiled at him.

"Well, how old are you?"

"Um, do I have to answer that?"

"Um, yes? C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"Oh, yes it can. I turned 36 in June."

He looked at her closely. "Really?"

"Yesss...how old did you think I was?"

"I thought you were maybe 27 or 28, tops."

"Well, thank you very much, sir! I'll be sure to give you a raise when we get back."

"Fantastic. My plan worked." He winked at her.

She kicked him lightly under the table. "Owww! Isn't there something in my contract about no kicking?"

"Hmmm? What?"

Just then, their food came out. "Ah, it looks amazing! You were right. I was still hungry."

"I thought so," she laughed.