When he’d first met Paula, he found her attractive but quickly dismissed the thought, given their working relationship. And at first, he wasn’t even sure if she liked him as a co-worker. She was definitely uneasy about the move into the new role and in having someone there to watch over her. When he gave her the feedback that she was too nice, he felt her retreat and regretted having to tell her that. But it was true. And to her credit, she immediately tried to do something about it. Even if she didn’t like hearing it.

But he’d enjoyed working closely with her and lately they’d been spending more time outside of work together, too, and he found himself wanting to be around her. But as much as he’d love to date her, he knew it was impossible and he didn’t want to start something he couldn’t finish. He only had a few weeks left, and then he’d be heading home to Manhattan and probably wouldn’t see Paula again. So, no sense in making things any more difficult than they needed to be.

Chapter 32

“Are you up for fishing tomorrow with Nick and Bella, and then dinner at his place? Should be a fun time.” Marco leaned against the concierge desk, waiting for Andrea’s reply. He was finishing up a shift and she was taking over for the evening.

She smiled. “I can’t tomorrow. I have plans,” she said vaguely.

“Yeah? What are you doing that’s more exciting than coming out with us?”

She laughed. “I’m heading to New York for the night. I have Sunday and Monday off. Meeting an old friend. We might see a show or something.” It wasn’t a total lie. She did have plans to meet up with a friend, but the friend was Ben. It turned out that he had to go home for a real estate closing and to see another property.

Marco looked disappointed. “Oh, okay. Well, have fun then. I’ll see you when you get back.”

Andrea took a two o’clock flight to New York on Sunday and checked into her room at a quarter to four. The hotel was as elegant as she remembered and the woman who helped her at the front desk was really lovely. She welcomed Andrea and quickly got her settled with a spacious suite. Andrea wasn’t meeting Ben until six, so she took a book into the bath and soaked in the tub until her skin felt wrinkly. It was nice to just relax and read for a while.

She was excited to go out in the city. Ben had mentioned possibly getting tickets to a Broadway show. She wore a cute new dress she found at Nantucket Threads earlier that week—it was a sleeveless, black cocktail-length dress and was very flattering on.