“Addie?” a voice called from the other side of the office, drawing me from my humbling daydreaming.
Gloria, our property manager, smiled over at me and glanced down at her watch. “You said you needed to leave by three, right?”
“Yeah, around then,” I said, straightening and plastering on a smile in return.
“Well, you better get going, then. It’s three-oh-four.”
“Crap,” I muttered. I rushed over to my desk and shut down my computer, gathering my bag and throwing my notebook and laptop inside. “Oh, I’m almost done with the holiday party planning, but a couple of the residents were asking about alcohol options?”
Gloria shook her head and slumped down in her chair. She was hesitant to allow alcohol at events when many of our residents were already a little unsteady on their feet, and we didn’t want to cause any injuries. But I understood their desire to have a glass of wine while celebrating.
“Fine, fine,” she sighed. “But we’re sticking with beer and wine. Andonlyas much as we absolutely need.”
“Got it,” I said as I slung my bag over my shoulder. “You are going to have some very,veryhappy people.”
I rushed out the door, waving to Mr. Peterson and Mr. Rogers as I unlocked my car. I had to meet Caroline and Natalie across town at one of the hotels they wanted to tour for the anniversary party.
At least one thing wound up going right that day, and I ended up pulling in five minutes early.
It was a beautiful, historical hotel with detailed architecture.There were arches over the windows and carved columns just beyond the valet area. Which I drove past, gambling instead on street parking.
I found a spot a block down and paid the parking meter from the app on my phone as I jogged up the street. The cold, December wind made me pull my coat tighter. I couldn’t get inside quick enough, and I smiled at the hotel employee who held the door open for me.
The inside was just as ornate and intricate as the outside but so much warmer. Caroline and Natalie were standing next to double doors down a hallway to the left, which I guessed was the ballroom.
Caroline waved as I strode toward them. “Hi, Addie. Thanks so much for coming.”
“Nice to see you again,” Natalie added.
“Nice to see you, too. Have they started yet?”
They both shook their heads and glanced at the closed doors. “We’re waiting on their event planner. Shouldn’t be more than a minute or two.”
“Were you coming from Lake Hills?” Caroline asked, and I nodded.
“Oh, yeah, Care was telling me that you have two jobs?” Natalie asked, and I cringed in response. “That’s so much. How do you manage that?”
“With lots of caffeine,” I offered, and they both laughed as an older man approached us from the other end of the hallway. “I think this is our guy.” I pointed to the man, and they both turned.
He introduced himself to us as Tom, the head of event planning at the hotel, and ushered us through the double doors to our right to begin the tour. Fifteen minutes later, Natalie and Caroline were discussing a few details with Tom while I was organizing the paperwork he’d provided us and jotting down a few other pieces of information I knew would come in handy.
They were on the opposite side of the moderately sizedballroom—a room just big enough for the two-hundred-person party—so when I felt someone walk up behind me, I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“It’s just me, baby girl,” Beckett’s warm voice drawled as he sat down next to me.
“What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting?”
He leaned his elbows on the table and peered around the room. “Not happy to see me?”
I waved him off and shut the folder in front of me. He looked so put together—as always—in a dark blue suit, white shirt, and light blue tie. In the warm ballroom light, I could see a little more gray in his dark stubble and along his hairline. And it only made him more attractive.
Glancing down, I caught movement out of the corner of my eye just before Beckett’s ankle wrapped out the leg of my chair and tugged me closer to him. I let out a small gasp of surprise, and every ounce of air I breathed in was filled with him.
“I’m always happy to see you,” I said with a coy smile.
Beckett glanced at where Caroline, Natalie, and Tom stood, then back at me.
“My meeting finished early, and this is only a quick walk from my office, so I wanted to come by, see the space for myself…and I couldn’t pass up a chance to spend at least a few minutes with my girl.”
