This time, though, the woman I just ran into outside the coffee shop flashes through my mind. I push the thought away.
“No,” I say firmly. “Ayden’s happily married, and I’m happily single.”
“Hmmm.” Lynn studies me.
I squirm under her assessing gaze like I’m still twelve years old, and she’s looking at me like she did on the Maine docks after we learned the boat was never going to dock again.
“You may be single, but you’re not happy about it.” She pats my arm again. “It’s okay to let someone in, you know. It doesn’t make you selfish.”
Except it does. I take one look at her face that can’t maskthe loneliness and pain she’s gone through, and I know I’m doing the right thing.
Lynn’s blessed that she grew up in Montana and could pick herself up off the Lucky Bay dock in Maine and move back here after she lost her husband at sea. Most of the wives I know, like my mom, weren’t able to get that fresh start.
They still have to walk by the docks every day and remember the moment their whole world changed. I won’t ever do that to a loved one.
Still, as I step out of Cowboy Aromas into the crisp morning air, the memory of the woman falling into my arms hits me.
And I crack a smile.
I rarely smile.
But I did today.
CHAPTER TWO
Emery
I hustle along the sidewalk until I reach Mountain Air Advertising. I nearly skip along as I go through the revolving doors, pull out my ID card, and slide it through the grooved bar so I can push through the turnstile and head for the elevator bank.
When the elevator doors open, I step in and press floor eleven.
I could do this route in my sleep. I’ve been working at MAA since I graduated college. I started as an intern and worked my way up the ladder as far as I could go.
No one loves this company more than I do. It’s a part of me, my identity. I love the company slogan “We do it best” and I love the company logo—a snow-capped mountain with a happy sun behind it. I want to take this company forward with fresh, new clients and a genuine focus on telling their stories. That’s where I excel and how I’ve made my reputation in the industry.
And today I’m finally going to get the promotion I want and deserve—I’m finally going to be in charge of the entireadvertising department. That means more responsibility, sure, but it also means way more influence over the creative positioning of the company.
“Hey, Emery.”
“Good morning, Emery.”
“Morning.”
I smile and wave at various colleagues as I walk down the hall toward my boss’s office.
Fred Smith.
His personality is as bland as his name.
With thinning gray hair, blue eyes, and skin that looks like it’s never seen the sun, Fred’s been in charge of MAA for thirty years.
Fred doesn’t take easily to change. I’ve had to work tirelessly to convince him of any new ideas our team has had. But I’ve gained his trust, and now I’m about to be rewarded for it.
I knock on his half-open door, waiting until he waves me inside.
I step in with a bright smile and shut the door behind me.
“Good morning, Fred. Lovely day, isn’t it?” I take a seat in the chair across from his desk.
