He shook his head. “I’ll stay. I’ll make sure the people get everything they need.”
It was a Saturday, after all, and Eloise was at a play date. He hadn’t even really been certain what to do with himself before he’d come in here. It had been ages since he’d had a free day all to himself.
Diana looked doubtful, but alsoverytempted.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
He took advantage of this moment of uncertainty in her and ushered her to her feet, urging her toward the back room.
“I am sure,” he said. “It will be like when you have a career shadowing day as a kid, and you get to go in to somebody’s parent’s office and see how they get stuff done. Besides, it’s definitely not going to make meworseas your accountant to see how your business runs beyond the numbers. It’s basically a win-win.”
“But what if you don’t know how to do something?” she asked. Her resolve was weakening with every step toward the promised rest, Anthony could tell.
“Well,” he reasoned, feeling a bit like the past version of himself that had been forced to negotiate bedtime with his toddler daughter every day, “I will remind you that Ididgo through all your books, so I can probably figure it out. Plus, I know you’re organized, so I suspect I can keep the ship afloat for one afternoon.” When her steps toward the back paused, like she was not at all convinced by this argument, he added, “Andyou’llbe right in the back. So if something really stumps me, I’ll just come get you.”
He saw the flicker of acceptance as this point landed.
“You promise?” she asked.
“I promise.”
After that, she went straight to the back of the store, no cajoling needed. A sweet, touched smile crossed her face when she saw the makeshift bed he’d made for her, but she didn’t say anything, so neither did he.
Maybe it was better that way, after all. It just let the nice moment hang there.
“Okay,” she said at last, the word coming out of her in a happy sigh. “Okay. Thank you, Anthony.”
Her understated appreciation made him feel sogood. He loved his daughter, and he loved his job, but the last few years had beenhard. Ever since he’d lost his wife, it had been hard to feel like he wasn’t constantly fighting against a tide of potential mistakes. He wanted Eloise to be happy and well adjusted, but he didn’t want her to feel like she had to suppress her grief. He didn’t want to forget Shannon, but he couldn’t live feeling as though he was surrounded by the memories of what he’d lost either.
Moving here had been good. Trying something new had been good.
And this little thing he’d done today, making something easier on a friend going through a hard time? That wasgood. And it felt amazing to be able to do that, after so long spent being the friend who needed the help. It reminded him that he was, slowly but steadily, starting to look forward to a bright future instead of only trying to respond to the actions of the past.
“You’re welcome, Diana. Anytime.”
And he meant it. With all of his heart.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Diana was not a habitual napper, and she was reminded of the reason for this when she woke in the dressing room of her boutique and found herself uncertain if she had been asleep for a few minutes, a few hours, or, say, a hundred years, à la Rip Van Winkle.
She glanced around for her phone, planning to check the time, when her gaze landed on the small side table that normally lived out in the hallway area that connected the dressing room to the main part of the store. Atop the table sat a Honey Bee Bakery bag, its top neatly folded over, and an iced coffee, also from Honey Bee, sitting next to it. This, at least, gave her a little sense of time; the ice in the coffee had melted, leaving a small pool of condensation around the sides of the plastic cup.
She’d had quite the nap, then, it seemed.
She sat up, stretching. Her back groaned a little at her. She was inching ever closer to forty, which meant she really oughtn’t be sleeping on hard benches that were barely covered any longer. She definitely felt better than she had while she was fighting exhaustion, however, and felt better still when she saw the little bouquet of sunflowers that Anthony had gotten for her. They had been placed in a spare reusable water bottlethat she kept beneath the counter for days when she forgot to bring a drink with her. For some reason, she found that detail unbelievably charming. She could just imagine Anthony buying the flowers, then grimacing at himself when he realized he didn’t have a vase to put them in.
She let herself enjoy a little flutter of warmth as she thought about the kindness that Anthony had shown her today. Not only had he let her get some much-needed rest, but he’d bought her little pick-me-ups to help her get through the day.Andhe’d come by to apologize for their awkward date.
There weren’t many men who would do such a thing. Diana knew that all too well, as her experience on the apps showed her. Most men would just completely ignore her after that kind of uncomfortable evening.
But not Anthony. No, he was not at all like the kind of men that Diana had been dating recently. And she liked that.
Suddenly, she blinked. Anthony! Here she was, woolgathering afterhoursof sleeping, and poor Anthony was still minding her shop! She scrambled to her feet and did a cursory shake of her sundress, trying to get the worst of the wrinkles out, then giving the whole thing up as a lost cause. She was still wearing her sandals; apparently, she’d been so tired that she’d fallen asleep with her shoes still on.
She felt horrible when she saw, from the small window directly outside the dressing room, that the sun was well on its way to setting, the sky painted in stripes of orange and pink. This time of year, that meant it had to be, what, seven or eight at night? She had slept forfour hours.
She burst into the main area of the store, an apology and thank you already rising to her lips, then froze.
