Chapter 33

　　Opening the passenger door, he helped me in. 　　As he got in and pulled out, he asked, “So, how was Seattle? Was it a supplier you were meeting?” 　　I often went away to meet a new supplier for my design business, so it was a natural assumption for him to make. Other than the text I’d sent about when I was getting back, Carl and I hadn’t talked since he’d last called me last… My heart quickened as I remembered again what Carl had suggested over the phone then: it was time to get a hotel room together, time to take things to the next level in our relationship. 　　I tamped down the fluttering feeling in my stomach. I still didn’t know what I wanted to do about his suggestion. Instead, I focused on the conversation we were having now and answered as honestly as I could, “No. I went to visit my dad, actually. He lives in the city still.” 　　Carl and I hadn’t spoken much about our families. He knew I was from Seattle, while I knew he was originally from Brussels. We hadn’t gotten to the stage