Hell Without You

Chapter 11

"So guess what?" Clementine settled into the booth at Ann's. Donovan sat across from her; they'd spent a little time at the shop and opted for lunch at the diner again. She'd job-hunted online while he'd spoken with Mike and gotten caught up on a little paperwork, unable to repair vehicles because of his freshly-burnt hand.

"What?"

"I've got another interview." Remembering how he'd felt about her last one, she didn't call it good news, though she couldn't repress a smile. "It's for a really good position – one I might actually have a chance at landing."

"In DC?"

She nodded. "Tomorrow morning."

His face remained impassive. "Knew it wouldn't be long. Pretty soon you'll be getting calls left and right."

She wasn't so sure, but she could hope. "I was thinking – since you can't work right now anyway, why don't you come with me tomorrow? It'd be nice to have some company on the drive, and we could do lunch in the city, maybe visit a museum or two afterward. Could be fun."

"I hate missing work. The flood has slowed down business a little, but I'm still gonna fall behind." He frowned.

"You don't have a choice, though. So why not come with me?"

"All right."

His frown faded, and it was obvious he liked the idea of going along better than the idea of her going alone – he probably would've argued harder and tried to work somehow if that hadn't been the case. A hint of uneasiness struck her despite her excitement over the interview and a day in the city with Donovan. How was he going to react when she actually got a job ... when she'd have to leave Willow Heights?

* * * * *

"How'd it go?" Donovan stood on the sidewalk with a cup of coffee in hand, steam rising from the lid as he leaned against the building's wall. In jeans and a simple black jacket unzipped to reveal the collar of his t-shirt, he looked sinfully sexy. How was it that any man could make such plain things seem remarkable? Even in her favorite pantsuit and with her hair arranged in a sleek up-do, she felt lackluster beside him ... until he met her eyes.

When he looked at her like that, she felt like the most desirable woman in the world.

She would've taken his free hand, but that was his bandaged one. Instead, she stood close beside him, eager to get an up-close view of his perfect face, full lips framed by a shadow of stubble. He'd claimed that her careful bandage change had taken too long to leave time for him to shave that morning, but she wasn't complaining – he was one of those guys whose features were enhanced by a little five o'clock shadow, sharpened and defined by the darkness.

"Much better than my last interview," she finally answered when she'd gotten an eyeful of him. "They seemed impressed by my internship, and they said I should expect to hear back from them soon. I knew bankrupting myself in New York had to be worth something."

Donovan's expression softened a little as she laughed, half-hopeful and half-nervous.

"I'm sure they were impressed by you." He mumbled something else as he took a sip from his coffee cup, and it sounded a lot like "who wouldn't be?"

"I see you found coffee," she said, eager to change the subject when she saw the half-wistful look in his eyes. "Is it any good?"

"Yeah. You want a cup?" He motioned down the sidewalk. "There's a place right down there."

She shook her head. "Let's choose a place for lunch – unless you think it's too early?" Nerves over the interview had left her ravenous, though it was barely past eleven.