That irritated him. “You don’t know Paula. I’m not surprised at all. She’s doing a great job. She’s smart and a hard worker.” And she never would have talked about someone the way that Missy was. Paula was a kind person. She was easy to be around and he realized he was going to miss working with her.

“That’s all well and good, but I’m just saying it makes sense that you’re not dating her. She’s not your type at all.”

“Oh, and what is my type?”

She smiled and lightly ran her hand along his arm.

“Well, at one point, I was.”

He pulled his arm away. “We’re not kids anymore.”

“No, we’re adults.” She grinned. “It could be much more fun now!”

He thought for a moment of how to nicely get it across that this wasn’t going to happen. “Missy, I’m only here for a few more weeks. I’ll be heading back to New York soon.”

“Well, you have weekends off, right? Plenty of people fly back here on the weekends.”

She was right. They did. But he’d never been one of those people. He tried a different tactic.

“Honestly, I’m not really looking for a relationship right now. It’s too hard with all the traveling I do.”

But she brushed that off, too. “Everyone wants a relationship. It just has to be the right one.” She smiled and tried again. “Why don’t you come with me to a charity thing at my country club? It’s a fundraiser for the library and there’s a silent auction with some great items up for bid. Philippe Gaston, the bestselling thriller writer, lives here on the island, and he’s donated tickets to a private screening of his new film and a dinner at his house catered by his private chef. It should be amazing.”

“When is it?” Hopefully on a date he was unavailable.

“It’s the first Saturday in August.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. “I won’t be here then. My assignment ends in mid-July, right after the Taste of the Town event.”

But Missy wasn’t ready to give up. “Well, that’s no problem. You can just fly back for it. It’s on a weekend, after all.”

“We’ll see. That’s a ways off.”

“Just think about it.”

Missy wanted a second drink, so David ordered another round and they chatted for another forty-five minutes or so until he said he had to get going.

“I have an early day tomorrow. It’s been great seeing you, though. I’m glad we caught up.”

“Me, too. And if you want to do anything, give me a shout.”

He hugged her goodbye and promised to keep that in mind.

Chapter 27