Did they say what’s wrong?

Not really, and I didn’t want to ask. I’ll give it another hour or so and see if they need a ride home.

No problem. My other boyfriend is here entertaining me while you’re gone.

So wait, I’m your boyfriend?

No, the other one is. You’re my fling.

You’re so going to pay for that when I get back.

I’m very scared…

I’ll give you a heads-up when I’m on the way back so you can get the BF out.

That’s very sporting of you. See you soon! Be careful in that tin can you fly around in.

Sweetheart, I’m an ace in that tin can. You ought to let me show you sometime.

Slim chuckled with amusement at her witty retorts. He’d become addicted to their conversations over the last couple of months, mostly because of her delightful sense of humor. She made him laugh more than any other woman ever had, but it hadn’t escaped his notice that she didn’t seem to have any desire to take off with him to Florida or Anguilla, or anywhere else for that matter. In the time they had left together, he’d have to see if he could get her to talk to him about why she didn’t want to spend more time with him.

You ought to let me show you sometime…

Ugh. Erin stared at the text on her screen. If she let this relationship with him continue on the current path, eventually she’d have to tell him how she felt about flying. Talking about it with Jenny earlier had been hard enough. She didn’t want to consider how hard it would be to tell him.

The conversation with Jenny kept cycling through her mind as she waded through her overflowing email in-box, looking for fresh ideas for the Ask Erin column she wrote for a Philadelphia newspaper. The column was on hiatus for the holidays, but with the afternoon suddenly free, she’d decided to try to get a jump on some material for the new year.

She’d initially been hired to write high-profile obituaries and other death notices for the paper—and hadn’t that been a good time? She’d stumbled into the writing of the column, filling in for someone who was on maternity leave. The original columnist had chosen not to return to work, and Erin was offered the column full time. When she had the chance to move to Gansett, she’d arranged to continue writing the column remotely. So far it was working out well, and the change in scenery had been good for her. Not to mention the amazing new friends she’d made since moving to Gansett.