Kirstin pushes out of her leather desk chair and approaches me, resting her hands on my shoulders. “Marlowe, there’s always going to be a reason why it’s not the right time. It’s never going to be the right time. But chances like these only come once in a lifetime. If you don’t take it now, you’re going to wish you had. Don’t let something that could be so beautiful disappear.”
“But Claire isn’t ready for something like this. I haven’t even told her what’s happening with her father because I don’t know myself. I can’t just bring another man into her life.”
“And you shouldn’t.” Kirstin releases my shoulders and perches on her desk. “You need to make sure you’re serious about someone and them about you before ever getting around to introducing them to her. This is about you, Mar. What are you so afraid of?”
That has me stopping short. I swallow the lump in my throat and glance out the glass walls of her office, staring at my desk. I take a deep breath before I utter what has been buried somewhere deep inside of me.
“I have been through so much with Travis for so long,” I whisper, tears springing to my eyes. “I always used to think he was it for me. That he and I would grow old together and have more kids. But those aren’t the cards I was dealt. I spent so long fighting for something that wasn’t good for me because I thought it was the right thing to do. Wasted so much of my time and lost part of myself in the process. I really, really don’t want to go through that again.”
Kirstin is suddenly standing in front of me with a tissue in her hand, which I gratefully accept, wiping the tears off my cheeks.
“You broke the cycle, Marlowe,” she reminds me, a sad smile on her red lipstick covered lips. “You know the warning signs, and you know what you want. I know it’s scary getting back out there again, trust me. But honey, you can’t live your life in fear of getting hurt. You deserve the world, the moon, and all the stars, and God, do I wish you could see that. You deserve to give your heart a chance.”
I start to tear up again as she pulls me into a hug, resting her chin on my shoulder as she whispers in my ear, “Allow yourself to be happy and take this leap.”
Releasing a shaky breath, I whisper back, “Okay.”
CHAPTER NINE
A THURSDAY IN MAY
“Here’s what I was thinking,” I say, fanning out the stack of papers I had brought into the conference room. “We rent out the rooftop of Stanley’s and hire Letters From Rosie to perform again. They’ve been a big hit at past events.”
“Have you thought of hiring someone new?” Leanne, one of our new event planners, asks, leaning forward to sift through the papers. “What about them?”
She points to a song list that a country band had provided. “I love the idea, and you know I love country music, but I’m just not sure if that’s the vibe our matches would enjoy.”
“We still have a week.” She turns to flip open her laptop. “Maybe we send out a survey?”
“Not a bad idea.” I reach for a couple more setlists and extend them in her direction. “We’d need it by the end of the day so we can contact the band we want, but getting input is brilliant. Send out an email, request feedback, and I’ll contact the caterers and get in touch with Nico over at Stanley’s to build out a specialty cocktail list.”
Leanne nods and smiles as I clean up everything we had laid out. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thanks, Leanne.”
Once I have all the papers back in their folders, I slip out of the conference room and make my way down the hall to our storage closet. Taking the pen from behind my ear, I jot down the inventory in my notepad when my phone goes off in my bag.
Squatting down to reach for it, I see Kirstin’s name lighting up my screen, requesting me in her office. Standing back on my heels, I hike my bag back on my shoulder before heading towards my desk.
Tossing my bag on my chair, I turn toward Kirstin’s office and notice a man with brown hair in a suit sitting in one of the chairs in her office, his back to me.
I smooth down my pencil skirt and readjust my lavender dress shirt before running a hand through my hair, trying to make sure it isn’t completely wild before entering her office.
“Sorry if I made you wait,” I say as I walk in, closing the door behind me. “I was just chatting with Leanne about our upcoming event and had to go do some inventory.”
“Oh, no worries at all,” Kirstin says with a dismissive wave of her hand. She gestures to the man who had been sitting in the chair as he stands, and I can’t help it as I stare at Levi. “Levi, this is my assistant, the one I was telling you about. The one that you’ve been fortunate enough to be matched with.”
I roll my eyes at that but smile, extending my hand in his direction. He smiles back, drawing my attention to his scruffy beard and the dimple that rests in his left cheek. His hand envelopes mine in a firm but warm shake.
His dark brown hair is short on the sides and slightly longer on top, a few pieces falling over his forehead as if he had run his hands through it. His blue eyes are piercing into mine and his perfect smile sends butterflies erupting in my belly, not missing his chiseled jawline.
He stands at about six feet, maybe slightly taller, and in my heels, I just reach his shoulder. He is dressed in a navy blue suit coat, white dress shirt, red tie and navy blue dress pants. Even though the suit hugs him in all the right places, I still briefly wonder what lays underneath.
“Marlowe,” I tell him, and his smile intensifies as his blue eyes bore into me.
“Marlowe,” he repeats, and I swear my heart skips a beat. “It’s nice to finally know your name after all this time.”
Kirstin makes a small noise, and I drop his hand, turning my attention to her. “You two know each other?”
