When I’m With You (Indigo) Read Online Free PDF

have the money to purchase it, and if we don’t buy it, we’re out the door.” Caitlyn’s voice was strained. “This center means the world to this community. I’ve got to find a way to keep it here.”
    She’d wanted to tell somebody about her frustrations with the building all morning, and getting it off her chest was a relief. She waved her hand in mid-air. “Come on, let’s do lunch. I’m starved.” She started to move, but stopped. “Oh, wait.” She grabbed a small gift-wrapped box from the opposite side.
    She’d brought it for Marcel a couple of days after he helped her with her car. Since then, she hadn’t had a chance to drop it in the mail, and since he was here, it was a good time to give it to him. “For you. It’s not much, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciated everything you did to help me out with my car.”
    Marcel opened the box and lifted out a small, car-shaped gold charm and smiled. “Thank you.”
    * * *
     
    They had a quick lunch at a nearby Chinese restaurant and afterward, Caitlyn accepted Marcel’s offer for an afternoon stroll around Lake Merritt in downtown Oakland. The summer afternoon was perfect; not a cloud marred the sky. Traffic breezed along the street surrounding the lake, and the footpath around the lake’s perimeter was filled with bicyclists and joggers.
    It seemed that it had been forever since she’d felt a sense of peace and tranquility, and Caitlyn inwardly marveled at how comfortable she was in Marcel’s presence. They communicated without words and slowly began their stroll around the two-mile lake. She didn’t feel the slightest bit of awkwardness when halfway around, he slipped his hand around hers.
    “I’ve enjoyed the afternoon.” Marcel stood next to a bench and swept his hand in front of him.
    Caitlyn sat down. “Me, too.” She bunched her brows together. “You said earlier you drove over from San Francisco.”
    “I did.” Marcel propped one foot on the bench and rested an elbow on his knee.
    “But I thought you worked in Oakland.”
    “My office is in San Francisco. I work for BF Automotive, and they have eleven dealerships in the Bay Area. The Oakland dealership is one of them.”
    “Oh, I see.” She was silent for a few moments. “So what do you do for them?”
    He shrugged. “A little bit of everything.”
    She tilted her head. “Meaning?”
    He chuckled. “Pretty much run all the dealerships.”
    “So, you’re the general manager then?”
    “Well, not exactly.”
    “Okay, then exactly what are you?”
    “CEO.”
    “Oh.”
    Finally, Marcel sat next to Caitlyn and stretched his arm along the back of the bench. “You never told me how you ended up in Oakland.”
    “Long story. Trust me.”
    “I’ve got time. Trust me.”
    Her eyes bore into his before shifting to a group of joggers in the distance. She took a deep breath and slowly released it. “I ended up here six months ago after I left Dallas. My best friend, Vic, lives here, and at the time I needed to be around a friend.”
    Marcel tensed and a frown etched across his forehead. “Uh…this friend, Vic. Are you and he close?”
    The comment actually made her laugh out loud. “Yes and no. Yes, we’re extremely close. But he is a she . Vic is short for Victoria.”
    He smiled and relaxed.
    “Vic and I met at Columbia University during our freshman year, and we’ve been friends ever since.” Caitlyn held up her hand. “Let me forewarn you: If you ever meet her and call her Victoria, you’ll be minus a head.”
    He chuckled even though he was confused. “Why?”
    “Vic’s the youngest of three children, and the only girl. She felt her brothers got to do things she couldn’t do simply because she was a girl. So, by the time she was four, she demanded everyone call her Vic. I think the name made her feel like she was one of the boys.”
    “Got it.” He scooted on the bench until he was next to her. “So, how did you end up at the youth center?”
    “A