“You caught me. Seriously though, you sound happy which makes me happy. I can’t wait to hear about all your adventures. Hold on a second.” The screen went black when Rachel set down her phone. A live view of her sitting in her office returned fifteen seconds later. “Sorry, Cameron passed by and he’s on a rampage today.”
“Cameron, our boss? He’s usually so level-headed.”
“He spilled coffee all down his shirt during the morning meeting. His face turned beet red, but he continued like nothing happened. As soon as the meeting ended, he sent his assistant for a new shirt, but she hasn’t returned yet.”
“Yikes.” Cece couldn’t imagine their boss in an uproar. She wasn’t sure she’d ever experienced him even raise his voice.
“He’ll be fine. This has happened twice before, not spilling his coffee, but other times he’s been in a mood, and he gets over it quickly.”
“Must be why I’ve never noticed.”
“Anyway,” Rachel said, turning the conversation back to Finlovia. “Has anything exciting happened yet?”
“Actually, yes. I made a new friend. Two possibly.” She relayed the story of how she’d met Anya and James.
“That’s fantastic. Are you going to meet Anya for dinner? And you invited James?” A curious arched turned Rachel’s brows into a V.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Cece warned. “I know what you’re thinking, and the meeting with James was nothing like that. He’s just a nice guy despite my first interaction with him.”
“I’ll be quiet.” Rachel pretended to zip her lips. “For now.”
Cece laughed. “You’re terrible.”
“But you love me.” Rachel winked. “As much as I’d love to continue prying, I must get back to work. I want all the dinner details later!”
“I promise I’ll call you tonight before I go to sleep.”
Once the call with Rachel ended, she called Anya. After a brief discussion of whether to eat at the restaurant or café, they chose the laidback atmosphere of the café for their first night.
“By the way, I invited the man from the elevator.”
“Mr. Grouch?” Anya sounded dubious.
Cece stifled her grin. “That’s him but he’s not so bad. We had a short but pleasant conversation after you stepped off the elevator. I don’t know the entire story, but he was tricked into staying at Ellington Castle. He thought he was coming to Finlovia for a business trip.”
“The horror,” Anya said with false outrage. “How terrible for him to be tricked into taking a luxurious vacation that some of us have saved for years to take.”
“I can uninvite him if you mind. I guess I should have asked first.” Self-doubt made its nagging appearance, an emotion she’d never struggled with before Daniel cheated on her.
“Are you kidding? I’m intrigued. Definitely convince him to join us if you can.”
Her feelings calmed. “All right. Let me change into fresh clothes, then I’ll stop by his room to see what he decided. Either way, I’ll meet you in the lobby in ten minutes.”
She ended her second phone call, then lugged her suitcase and garment bag onto the bed for easier access. A dress seemed overdone for the occasion, but would jeans be too casual? She settled on a pair of versatile black slacks and a jade-green cashmere blend sweater, one of the new outfits she’d purchased last week for this trip. The green matched her eyes, and the cashmere was a cloud against her skin.
After she touched up her makeup and ran a brush through her hair, she left the room. She patted the key fob in her pocket before the door completely closed. Getting locked out of her room would be a non-lovely way to kick off her first evening in Finlovia.
She stopped outside James’s door and paused before knocking. Had she overdressed? Would she give him the wrong impression? Her invitation had been simply what she told him, nothing more. Love and romance were not on her radar, although after seeing the castle in person, she could understand how the legend had grown over the years.
Lifting her hand, she knocked on the door. Nobody answered. She’d taken an hour versus the forty-five minutes she’d told him. Had he already left, assuming she’d changed her mind? They’d barely met and only had a minute interaction, so she couldn’t blame him if so.
As she was about to turn away, the door opened.
James stood there, dressed in a fresh outfit-gray pants and a royal blue sweater. “I’m so sorry. My boss called to see if I’d calmed down, then he launched into a story, and I couldn’t get a word in.”
“No problem. Did you all make up?” she asked with a teasing lilt.
“Grant’s my boss, but he’s also like family. Staying mad at him is hard when his heart was in the right place.” He gestured to his sweater and smiled. “However, I’ll need to have a talk with my housekeeper when I get home. Imagine my surprise when I found a separate suitcase in my room with clothes I did not pack.”
