Did she believe him? Not really. But all she had to do was hold firm about it. At least that way she could feel marginally less guilty about how long it was taking her to tell him what he had a right to know.
Tell him now,her conscience insisted.
But then he said glumly, “Lenore tripped all the breakers herself last night, just to get me over there.”
“Wow. That’s…not okay.”
“My thoughts exactly,” he grumbled.
“Did she admit it?”
“Nah. She turned it around on me, tried to make me the bad guy.”
“I don’t know what to say, Josh. I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too. I confronted her, but when she refused to admit what she did, I backed down. I need to get along with her…”
“Of course you do.”
“I’m just not sure how to deal with her. I’m really not.”
“You’ll figure it out. You are a great dad and an excellent ex-husband.”
He laughed, a wry sound. “Yeah, well. I’m doing my best. It’s just not quite good enough.” Right then, the phone on her desk rang. “Better answer that,” he said.
“All right, then. See you tomorrow.”
“You bet. I can’t wait.”
Feeling more than a little bit guilty that once again she’dfailed to break the baby news, she said goodbye and answered the call, which was from the front desk. Once that was dealt with, she finished reviewing the last of the invoices and then left her office to check on things upstairs before she took her lunch break.
At the foot of the stairs that led up to the ground floor, she heard voices in the recently opened Basement Bar. The bar had been Riley’s pet project, and Annette considered it Riley’s best idea yet. They’d completed it the year before.
The Basement Bar had a cozy, speakeasy feel. It opened at three in the afternoon, closed at the usual 2:00 a.m. and served liquor, wine and light dinner fare—things like steak sandwiches, classic salads, fish tacos and various small plates.
“I like Arlington’s Steakhouse myself…” That was Miles Crowne, Riley realized. The burly, fiftyish carpenter owned Crowne Custom Design up in Sheridan. Miles had built not only the gorgeous, curving mahogany bar for Riley’s pet project, but he’d also created the beautiful gold-upholstered barstools and the backbar with its period-perfect etched mirrors.Andhe’d helped Riley talk Annette into a classic pressed tin ceiling as fine as the ones original to the hotel. His work was beautiful and just right for the Basement Bar.
And yes, Riley knew she shouldn’t listen in, but Miles had sounded so…hopeful. Riley grinned in sheer delight. The carpenter was working up to asking Annette to have dinner with him.
“Miles,” Annette said sternly. “I agree. Arlington’s is great. But right now, we are discussing the backbar…”
Her response made Riley cringe. Annette would never get a chance to share a nice evening with a good guy if she shut the guy down before he could even get started.
“I understand,” said Miles gently. “And I’m just sayingthat sometimes it’s nice to get out, you know? It’s nice to go somewhere other than your own place of business, somewhere you can relax and enjoy yourself without feeling you have to be ready to jump up and deal with some issue or other…”
Go, Miles!Riley mentally cheered the man on as she tiptoed closer to the door that led into bar. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t already given up. He was such a great guy, all strong and hunky—and yet thoughtful and sensitive, too. Annette shouldn’t even hesitate to say yes. She hadn’t been on a date since her husband, Trevor Senior, died—which was a couple of decades ago now.
But then Annette said impatiently, “Yes, of course, Arlington’s is lovely. But I’m trying to tell you that in the original design, we miscalculated how much shelving we would need behind the bar.”
Miles made a low noise in his throat. Riley thought it sounded like disappointment. “So then,” he said. “You want me to add more shelving to the backbar.”
“Yes!” Annette replied emphatically. “But can you do it without things looking cluttered? I don’t want the added shelves and bottles to completely obscure the etched mirrors, which Riley and I both love.”
“Absolutely. I can make it work for you. I’ll draw up some plans.”
“That would be perfect.”
“Consider it done.” Miles sounded gruff now. Who could blame him? Asking a woman out shouldn’t be such torture. The man deserved a medal just for trying.
