“There’s not room,” Cecilia said. “You know we downsized when we moved here. We have only one bedroom. The hotel will be more comfortable.”
Tessa cleared her throat. “Paul can stay at the apartment.”
Paul’s blue eyes found hers, and he smirked. “Made an impression on you, huh?”
Tessa huffed. “I didn’t meanstay with meat the apartment. I’ll call Lily. I can stay at her place.”
“Tessa, I don’t want to put you out,” Cecilia said. “You’ve only just moved in.”
Tessa saw the conflict in Cecilia’s eyes. Having Paul upstairs from the diner would be the closest he’d been to them in years.
“I don’t mind.” Tessa forced a smile because she absolutely hated the feeling of not having a home.
“That’s sweet of you, Tessa,” Harry said. “It’ll be nice to have Paul using the space we made for him.”
“I don’t mind sharing the apartment,” Paul said playfully.
“It has one bedroom,” Tessa argued.
“And your point?”
Tessa blushed again and tucked her hair behind her ears. Paul laughed at her unease. Even though she knew he was teasing her, part of her thrilled at the idea of spending more time with him.
“It was nice to meet youagain. I better get going. Got a busy day,” she said. “I’ll stop by after work and clear out my things.”
Cecilia pulled Tessa into another hug. “Thank you.”
Tessa waved good-bye and weaved her way through the crowded diner. Outside, the sunshine beamed across her face, and she was finally able to inhale a full breath. She hadn’treallysettled into the apartment. It would be easy to gather her belongings and stay with Lily.
She climbed into the Great Pumpkin and pulled the papers out of her work bag. She cranked the engine and turned on the radio. While flipping through the listings and her to-do list, she sang along with Taylor Swift. A knock at her passenger-side window startled her.
Paul gazed at her through the glass. She pushed the power button for the window, and her stomach flip-flopped at the sight of him resting his tanned arms on the door and leaning inside. She had a flashback of high school, when most guys had snickered at the Great Pumpkin and she’d wanted to melt into the driver’s seat.
“I’ve never seen a car quite this orange.”
“Paul, meet the Great Pumpkin. Great Pumpkin, meet Paul. Myrealcar drowned in the flood. Totaled. Kaput.”
“So you stole your grandpa’s car?”
Tessa snorted. “Hardly. My parents have been housing it for the past forty years. Probably for moments of desperation like this. This baby took me to high school and back.” She patted the steering wheel.
“And destroyed all your possibilities of being cool?”
Tessa rolled her eyes. “Something like that.” When he continued smiling at her through the window, she asked, “Did you need something?”
“What are you doing today?”
“Working.”
“And what does Ms. Tessa do for work?”
“Real estate.”
“Interesting,” he said. “And what’s on today’s agenda?”
Is he serious?“Phone calls. Meeting with a couple of clients. I also have a few listings to look at for myself, and I’m working on acquiring approval to rehab a historical home.”
His blue eyes widened. “Nowthatsounds interesting. I know a thing or two about architecture. Perhaps I should come along.”
