Almost against her will, she looked over at Andrew. Their gazes met and he gave her a tentative smile. Rosie could feel her face heat even more, feeling as if she had swallowed a hummingbird. She smiled back but quickly looked away again.
“I saw that!” Mei Lin murmured.
“What?” Rosie tried for an innocent tone.
“The two of you exchanging longing glances in the middle of a party.”
“You didn’t see anything. We’re friends, that’s all. I’m taking over as the project manager of the Stormhaven renovation.”
“Even better,” Nina joined in. “You’ll have to see each other all the time, at least until his house is done.”
Yes. She was fully aware of that. In fact, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.
“You should go for it,” Mei Lin pressed. “He’s really hot, Rosie.”
Sheer force of will was the only thing stopping her from stealing another look. “No thanks. I have enough on my plate right now. I’ve got Emma and Olive and my mom and two businesses. Who has time for romance?”
“You should,” Nina said firmly.
“Gary’s been gone for ten years,” Mei Lin said. “Don’t you think it’s time to move on?”
“I have moved on. I’ve dated.”
“Nobody seriously, except for that restaurant owner,” Mei said, her features frustrated. “How many times have we all tried to set you up with somebody great? You date them one or two times and then say there was no spark.”
“I can’t help that.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe the reason you haven’t generated any sparks with anybody is because you do everything you can to blow out any fires before they can get started?”
Rosie instinctively wanted to argue, but she knew they were right. She had dated several perfectly nice guys but always made excuses for why they weren’t right for each other.
And yes. She was tired of being alone. That didn’t mean she was self-destructive enough to want to jump headfirst into a relationship destined for failure.
“Seriously. When am I going to find time to date? Even if Andrew Morgan and I were not completely wrong for each other, this isn’t the time for me to start something withanyone.”
“When is the right time?” Nina asked. “You can make excuses for the rest of your life.”
“And what’s wrong with that? I don’t need a man to be happy. My life is full and rich and beautiful, just as it is.”
If she had nights when she ached to have someone’s arms around her, early mornings when she would love to have someone to walk on the beach with, evenings when she yearned for conversation and laughter andfun, that was her business.
“It is,” Nina agreed. “That doesn’t mean you should automatically shut the door on anything without seeing where it might lead.”
“You could merely have a wild affair with him,” Mei Lin said.
“Okay, first of all, I don’t plan to have a wild affair with anyone. You both know that’s not in my nature. Second of all, what would Andrew Morgan see in someone like me? He dates tight, hot, young actresses. I haven’t been tight, hot or young in a long time.”
“You’re forty-five years young, honey,” Mei Lin said. “Perimenopausal doesn’t mean dead. Take it from me. I’m a professional.”
She was grateful when another friend came over to talk to them, interrupting the conversation she did not want to have, about a man she could not stop thinking about.
Chapter Fourteen
Andrew
Rosie Lucas’s garden was truly spectacular.
As Andrew followed another of the winding paths, this one leading along the fence that separated her yard from a trail down to the beach, he was surrounded by a sensory overload.
