by Cindi Madsen
Moving on rocked.
She stood and offered him what she hoped was her most winning smile. “I prefer Dani, actually.” Something she had mentioned in the e-mails they’d exchanged, but she supposed she could let it slide. “You must be Darryl.”
“Yup.” He tipped his head toward the bar. “Let’s go get that drink.”
From there, it went pretty smoothly. Talk mixed with some pauses as she tried to figure out what to say next. It’d been a while since she’d been on a first date. Along with the breaks in conversation and not knowing what to say, though, there was that glimmer of hope for what could be.
Maybe those dating websites did know what they were doing.
Dani’s phone rang, and “SexyBack” filled the air. As nice as this date was going, her fingers still itched to answer and talk to Wes. With catching up at work and sending messages to Darryl, she’d been busy, and he must’ve been, too, because they hadn’t talked since Sunday. After several days together, five days of no communication felt like a lifetime.
She glanced at Darryl. It’d be rude to answer, and I don’t want him to get the wrong idea.
She hit the button to send the call to voice mail.
“Interesting ringtone,” he said, a smile tipping his lips.
“It’s…” She cut herself off. Wes would come up eventually if she kept dating Darryl, but it was a little too early to bring up that situation, especially considering the song, and especially since he’d be playing her fiancé again in a week. She took a sip of her drink. “So you were saying you played ball in college, too. Which one?”
Her phone chimed to tell her she had a message, and she had to force herself to pay attention to Darryl’s answer.
It can wait. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she decided Wes should have to wait. He’d used her to make Sophie jealous—even get back with her, as it turned out—and then he’d played with her emotions, sending her mixed signals and a flirty text. She wasn’t just a fill-in replacement until he got back together with his ex. She had a life—was working on getting one, anyway.
After another hour of talking, Darryl walked her to her car. “Good night,” he said with a nod.
“Night.”
He turned away, took a couple of steps, and abruptly turned back. “I was going to play it cool, but I’m just gonna go ahead and ask you to dinner. And I’m hoping we can do it soon.”
She waited for the excitement, a flutter—something. Maybe she just needed to get to know him better. “I’d like that.”
He grinned and she noticed a dimple in one of his cheeks. He was totally good looking and wasn’t playing games. The potential for a relationship was definitely there.
Her phone vibrated in her purse, “SexyBack” filling the air again. This time she didn’t waste a moment before silencing it. Darryl asked her if Sunday was too soon for dinner, and she told him it was perfect.
She got into her car, dug out her phone, and listened to the voice mail Wes had left.
“Just bored and wanted to say hi. Got a show in a little bit. Same venue. The crowd will probably request the sexy female singer we had last time we played.”
Dani was about to call him back—she could tell him about her date and ask if he’d booked his flight for the retreat yet—but she hesitated, wanting to hold on to this hopeful moment, where Darryl had potential and the evening held promise of more nights getting to know him. If she heard Wes’s voice, she’d start questioning everything between them, like she had been all week. She didn’t even know what to do about the “sexy female singer” comment he’d made. He’d never called her sexy before.
Her stomach twisted. All the walls she’d thrown up to keep herself from overanalyzing everything with Wes were crumbling down. She was thinking of that kiss at the wedding and how a simple brush of his fingers had set her skin on fire.
Maybe the key to moving on was distancing herself from Wes. Not all the way. Just a little bit.
Enough to let someone else in.
…
Wes slid his phone back in his pocket, wondering if Dani were avoiding him. She hadn’t called all week, and now she wasn’t answering his calls. He sat down and ran a hand through his hair.
“You okay, man?” Paul asked, busying himself with his guitar.
Not sure. “Yep.”
Paul leaned his guitar against the wall, then came over and sat next to him. “You talk to Dani recently?”
Tension coiled through his muscles, from his neck to the tips of his fingers.
Paul nodded. “I figured that was it. If I would’ve known, I wouldn’t have hit on her the other night.”
“I’ve told you before, I don’t… She’s just…” He slumped forward and ran a hand over his face. No use hiding it now. “It doesn’t matter. She lives in Arkansas.”
“Yeah, that part blows.” When Wes shot him a No shit look, Paul shrugged. “Just saying.” He picked up his guitar and started strumming it.
Wes sat back in the ratty recliner. It looked more and more like he should call Sophie and see if there were still something there. He just wasn’t sure he was ready to completely give up on Dani yet. He kept telling himself he’d wait and see what happened when he flew out there. That everything would become clear. But it was getting muddier and he was feeling pathetic.
She’s just busy with work so she can land that promotion. A promotion I’ll help her get so she can live far, far away from me.
It did blow, but that didn’t change the facts. Time to let this—whatever it was—go.
And there was one way to ensure he followed through… Wes took out his phone and finally made the call he’d kept chickening out of all week.
Her voice held a note of surprise when she answered.
“Sophie? I need to talk to you. Can we meet?”
Wes tossed back the disgusting, warmed-over-way-too-many-times coffee and put the chipped mug in the office sink. His boss had called him in early, and after last night’s concert, he was hovering in that half-awake/half-asleep stage.
As disgusting as it was, the coffee worked its magic, bringing his muscles and brain cells back to life. Unfortunately, the thinking started right away. Dani never called last night, and he’d made a plan to meet up with Sophie right after work today.
It gave him plenty of time to cancel, which was good, because now he was thinking it was a stupid idea. His footsteps echoed across the room as he paced. Where was Gerald? He needed to get this meeting over with and get up in the air. He was booked for helicopter tours all day, which was good because it meant getting paid, but bad because it meant no trick flying, instead giving all the facts about the city he’d recited a hundred times.
He shouldn’t complain, though. It was still better than any other job, and he’d feel better once he was airborne. Thoughts were easier a couple thousand feet in the air.
Gerald walked into the office, smoothing his comb-over with one hand. “Hey, Wes. Let me just grab a cup of coffee and we’ll go into my office.”
Minutes later, Wes was seated across from his boss, a sinking feeling in his gut.
What if he’s not happy with me? I really do love this job. It’s no adventure tours, but—
“I’ll get right down to business. I’ve been thinking about retiring for a while, but I wanted my business to keep on going, and now I think I’ve found someone who could be successful at it.” Gerald leaned forward, elbows propped on his desk. “You’re a great pilot, and you’ve got a good head on your shoulders.”
Realization sounded bells in Wes’s head, and he straightened. “Are you saying you want me to…?” He couldn’t even bring himself to finish, in case he’d misunderstood.
Gerald nodded. “We’d work out a transition. You’d get a bump in pay as you took over some of my responsibilities, I’d show you the ropes, and in a year, it’d be yours. Somewhere along the way we can try some of those adventure tours you were asking about. See how they do.”
For a
moment, Wes could only stare, his body buzzing as the idea sunk in. His own company. More exciting tours. A pay increase. Basically, it was his dream on a silver platter. He scratched his head. “What about Ed? He’s been here longer than I have.”
Gerald jutted out his chin and nodded. “True. But his social skills are shit and I don’t think he’s got a lick of business sense in his head. He’s a good pilot, but not fit for running my company. You’d rather work for Ed?”
“No. Not at all… It sounds great. And I’ve been looking at the other routes we can fly. We could do a stopover with water skiing. Or rock climbing—I’ve got lots of ideas. But what about the loans? I’m not sure I can afford to buy you out, even in a year.”
Gerald tossed a folder at him. “That’s what the year plan looks like. Take some time and see what you think, then let me know.”
Wes lifted the file. He opened it, but the words and figures swam together. He needed to talk to someone about this, and Dani was the first person who popped into his head. He wanted to tell her the news. Ask her what she thought. Maybe even see if she could help him out with the marketing if he did follow through. Especially if he were going to add some exciting tours to his schedule.
“We can discuss more details later, but I wanted to put it out there as soon as possible,” Gerald added.
“Thanks. I’ll look it over and let you know.” Wes reached across the desk and shook Gerald’s hand. He had to refrain from skipping out of the office.
Praying she picked up this time, Wes dialed Dani. He swore when it went to voice mail. “Hey, I’ve got some big news, and I really need to talk to you. Call me back ASAP.”
By the time Wes sat at the restaurant, waiting to meet Sophie, Dani still hadn’t called him back. He fought the urge to be the crazy possessive boyfriend who left her dozens of texts and messages—especially since he wasn’t even her boyfriend. But damn, she was just going to ignore him from now on? If that were the case, he should’ve gone for it the night before she left—at least he would’ve had one unbelievable night with her that he could hold on to, even if they could never be like that again. Why hadn’t he told her how amazing he thought she was, taken her into his bedroom, peeled off that purple dress, and kissed every inch of her skin like he’d wanted to?
Heat wound through his body and his breaths grew shallow. He took a large drink from the glass of cold water in front of him and exhaled. Those thoughts weren’t ones he should be entertaining while waiting for his ex-fiancée to show up.
What the hell was I thinking?
“Wes?”
His stomach clenched. He took another deep breath and stood. “Sophie. Hey.”
Her hair was pulled back, her features as pretty as ever. Months of awkwardness were crammed into the space between them. He almost went for a hug but ended up simply pulling out the chair opposite him. She settled into it, and he pushed it forward.
He sat back down and rubbed his palms on his jeans. He hadn’t expected his nerves to be bouncing all over the place. “How’ve you been?”
Sophie ran her fingers along the edge of the table. “All right.”
Silence.
Wes took a couple of gulps of water, wishing it were something stronger.
“I talked to Audrey yesterday,” Sophie continued. “She joked that she’s decided to move to Hawaii, so I guess that means she’s enjoying her honeymoon.”
Wes didn’t want to think about his sister on her honeymoon. How could conversation be so hard when he and Sophie used to spend more time together than not, talking about everything and nothing? Hell, they’d been planning a life together.
He leaned forward, crossing his forearms on the table. Dani wasn’t answering the phone and he was dying to tell someone his news. “I might be getting a promotion at my job. More than a promotion, really—I might be running my own business in about a year.”
“That’s great, Wes.”
He told her his plan to add a few adventure tours. She listened politely but kept her mouth clamped, her expression not giving away anything. “So, what do you think?” he asked.
“Are you sure you want to fly helicopters for the rest of your life?”
“Who’s ever sure about anything?”
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them, they were glossy. “I’m sure I made a mistake, and now I’m too late. I thought maybe if I could make you jealous… If I could just get you to fight for me at all, then I could accept everything else…” She lifted the napkin and dabbed at her eyes, the white fabric coming away with black smudges. “Did you call me here to talk about business? Is that why you wanted to see me?”
He picked up his fork and tapped it against the table to give his hands something to do. “No. Not really.” But he should be able to talk about the business if their lives were going to be intertwined again. The question was, did he really want that? Time to think logically. He lived here. He’d just gotten offered his dream job. Dani lived almost a thousand miles away. What chance did he have of being with her the way he wanted to when she didn’t even answer his calls?
And the girl he’d once loved so much he’d asked her to marry him—for real, not just for pretend—was sitting across from him and possibly still loved him. She said she’d made a mistake. He’d never heard her admit that before. And if he were reading her right, she was saying that showing up at the bar with that guy was to get a reaction from him instead of trying to hurt him. Was everything that happened today fate? Was it telling him to give things with Sophie another chance?
Or was he settling?
He plunked the fork back down. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something else. I wanted to talk about us.”
“Us?” she squeaked.
Now was the time to admit his and Dani’s engagement was nothing more than a sham.
If he wanted to give it another go…
Sophie placed her hand over his. Their eyes met and he thought, What do I have to lose?
…
Dani stared at the e-mail with the agenda for the retreat and room assignments.
Newly engaged couple Dani and Wes are in the Rose Cabin.
After reading that, she’d clicked on the link to the website of the place where they were staying. The mini cabins were joined all in a row, doors facing out, each one decorated in different themes. And there was another theme going on—no couches. Just a big bed in the middle of the room and a dresser off to the side. She didn’t want Wes to have to stay on the floor, but she didn’t think she could handle sleeping in the same bed.
Wes had called earlier, too. A knot formed in her gut. She felt guilty for ignoring him all week, and she supposed it was time to call him back. She’d had her space and had gone on two more dates with Darryl. They had a lot in common, and he was a total gentleman. There was real potential there. So she should be totally fine talking to Wes now.
Just friends.
She listened to his voice mail, the guilt increasing when he asked her to call him back ASAP, then hit the button to call him. For something she’d done a hundred times, it was crazy how foreign it suddenly felt. Her heart was in her throat and her mouth had gone dry.
By the fourth ring she didn’t think she’d even be able to talk.
His recorded voice played, telling her to leave a message. She was about to tell him she couldn’t wait to hear his news. Then it hit her that his big news was probably about Sophie. What if they were re-engaged?
Her heart stopped as that thought took hold.
Engaged or not, though, he wouldn’t back out of the retreat, because he felt obligated to help her like he said he would.
Sophie’ll hate that.
Good, she thought, a thrill going through her. But then she remembered how hurt Wes was when Sophie dumped him. How he’d asked Dani to help make his ex jealous at the wedding.
It was probably even why he’d kissed her like that onstage. Her lips burned with the memory. She could smell his cologne, feel his arms wrapped
so tightly around her, the residual heat traveling through her body.
For show. It was all fake, Dani. Why didn’t her heart get it? Stupid confused heart.
She opened and closed her mouth, trying to figure out if she should leave a message, but then Linda from sales stepped into her cubicle. Dani hung up and twisted to face her.
“So excited to hear you’re engaged now!” Linda leaned against the gray wall. “And Norah says he’s a helicopter pilot.”
Dani figured it was too late to get herself out of the lie, so she nodded. “Yep.”
“I can’t wait to meet him at the retreat. I just knew you’d find someone. So, show me the ring!”
Dani lifted her bare hand. “I, uh, forgot to wear it today.”
Linda’s brow furrowed. “Forgot?”
“It’s all so new and I was in a hurry this morning, so…” The truth was she’d shoved the ring away, not wanting to look at it. Not to mention she’d been on a couple of dates this week. Dani kept the fake smile plastered on her face until Linda left, then dropped her head on her desk. What a mess. Admittedly it was nice that all the women in the office were beaming at her instead of giving her you-poor-spinster-you looks.
Bet those looks would be even more pity-filled when she told everyone her engagement had fallen through. She lifted her head and looked at her phone, wondering if she should call Wes back and tell him to just forget about the retreat altogether.
Chapter Thirteen
Wes headed straight to his bedroom. He was so exhausted his eyelids were drooping, and he had to be at work early again tomorrow. He shucked off his clothes and stumbled into bed, trying to figure out if he’d made a mistake tonight.
Maybe he was an idiot. But he had to believe it was the way to go right now, even if it ended up screwing him over later.
Now he needed to figure out what to do about the offer to take over the company.