“You guys, I know it’s early, but I think I need to head home. This was a long day and it’s caught up to me.”

Andrea had just been about to order another glass of wine. She wasn’t ready to go home yet.

“It’s so early. Are you sure you don’t want to stay for one more?”

Hallie tried to prevent a yawn and failed. She laughed. “Yes, I’m sure. You and Marco should stay, though.”

“I’ll gladly stay,” Marco said.

Hallie smiled. “Great! Andrea, I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight, Marco.”

Marco was good company. Andrea was glad to be out and, for the first time since losing her job, she wasn’t stressing so much about her job search. She realized that she didn’t know much about him, though, other than that he was from Brazil.

“Tell me about your brother. Is it just you and him here?”

“My sister Alana is here, too. We all rent a house together.”

“Your parents are still in Brazil?”

He smiled. “Just my mother. We lost my father four years ago. We’ve been trying to get her to come here, at least for a visit. They both came a year before he passed. She said maybe this summer. We’re going to hold her to it.”

“I hope she comes. What do your brother and sister do here?”

“Sergio is the oldest. He works for a roofing company. He likes to be outside. Alana is the baby of the family. She works as a server at a restaurant downtown, Mimi’s Place. She loves it there. Nice people.”

Andrea nodded. “They are. I met the girls that took it over, Mandy, Emma and Jill. They had an open house a year or so ago when they reopened.”

Marco grinned. “I send a lot of guests there.” One of the most common questions for the concierge desk was what restaurants they would recommend.

“What do you like to do on your time off? Do you like to fish?” Andrea was curious to learn more about Marco. He was so easy to talk to, and she loved his accent. She’d never really noticed before how dark his eyes were—a deep, warm brown that lit up when he talked. They were almost as dark as his hair, which was thick and wavy, and she liked that it wasn’t too short. She’d always had a preference for hair that was on the longish side. Not that she was thinking of Marco that way. She never had before and given that she was going to be his boss, it was not a good time for any thoughts like that.

“I’m not much on fishing. I’ve tried it a few times. I prefer surfing.”

“You know how to surf?” Andrea was impressed. “I’ve always wanted to try that.”