“Neither does Frank. He’s off on Wednesdays.” Grinning, Zach fell in behind the still-bantering clerics. “In fact, if you two want to extend the evening, feel free. I can find my way home alone.”
Stephanie stifled a groan.
She was going to have to have a serious talk later with her nephew.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Frank indicated a table off to the side. “It won’t come close to The Perfect Blend, but if you’re in the mood for java, it’s decent.”
“No, thanks. All coffee is off-limits for me this late in the evening—decaf included.”
“Shall we sit while we wait for Zach?”
Shoot.
Frank didn’t appear inclined to pick up on his employer’s less-than-subtle hint.
She refused to let her lips droop. “Why not?” After they claimed adjacent chairs, she angled toward him. “Zach tells me you’re retired from the postal service.”
“Yes. Up in Coos Bay. That’s where my wife grew up. I didn’t have any family of my own, so living there was fine with me. A job with the postal service wasn’t the most exciting career, but it was steady and gave us security.”
“Do you miss it?”
“No—but I miss her.” A shadow darkened his irises. “She passed away three years ago.”
“Zach mentioned that. I’m sorry. Do you have any other family?”
“No. We were never blessed with children, and her brother passed on two years ago. He never married.”
So Frank was even more alone than she was.
“That has to be hard.”
“Some days have been harder than others—but after I moved here and started working for Zach, I turned a corner. Life’s different now, but Hope Harbor is a wonderful place and Zach’s a terrific boss.”
“He’s also a fine nephew. We haven’t stayed in close touch—but I intend to remedy that in my retirement.”
“Tell me about your job.”
She gave him a brief overview of her career, touching on her extensive travel around the globe. “As I told someone recently, though, it’s more glamorous in the telling than in reality.”
“I expect living out of a suitcase would get old—but you’ve been to an impressive list of places.”
“Most of which I saw only through the windows of a taxi en route to and from meetings.”
“Bummer.”
“Amen to that. Have you traveled much?”
“My wife and I liked to camp, and we hit most of the national parks in the western half of the country.”
She tipped her head. “You know . . . for all my travels, I’ve never been to a national park.”
“I bet you’ve never camped either.”
“I did once, back in Girl Scouts. Sad to say, it wasn’t a positive experience. I got poison ivy and chigger bites.”
He winced. “Not fun. In fact, those less-than-pleasant aspects of camping helped convince my wife and me to graduate to B&Bs.”
“That would be more my style.”
Zach rejoined them, and Frank stood. She followed suit.
“Sorry to interrupt, but I’m ready to call it a day.” He waited, as if he expected Frank to offer her a lift so they could continue their chat.
When the silence stretched too long, she quashed her foolish disappointment and summoned up a cheery smile. “I’m all set. Frank, it was a pleasure talking with you.” She held out her hand.
He took it in a firm grip—and held on a fraction of a second longer than protocol demanded.
Suggesting he didn’t want their evening to end either.
Yet he did nothing to prolong it.
“I enjoyed our conversation too.” He released her hand. “See you Thursday, Zach.”
With that he hastened toward the door.
Zach frowned after him. “I could have sworn he’d offer to drive you home.”
“Your romantic inclinations are working overtime.” She kept her tone cheerful as she tucked her arm in his. “Shall we?”
Without further comment, he guided her through the crowd and out to the car.
During the ride home, she kept the conversation focused on the meeting and the humorous exchange between the clerics—but once she was behind the closed door of her room, she sank onto the side of the bed. Exhaled.
What a strange twist this trip had taken.
She’d come here with two goals—renew her acquaintance with her nephew and begin to acclimate to her retiree status.
She had not expected to meet an attractive, available man who intrigued her.
How could this happen now, after she’d long ago sacrificed the possibility of marriage and family on the altar of corporate success?
With a sigh, she fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, hugging a decorative pillow to her chest.
She did not need this sort of complication at this stage of her life.
Nor was she in the market for romance. Not after her deliberate and reasoned decision decades ago to forgo love as she climbed the corporate ladder.
Women might talk about having it all, but theory didn’t translate very well to reality. Yes, a woman could have it all . . . but not all at the same time. Trying to juggle too many balls inevitably meant some got dropped and something—or someone—suffered. With a job that demanded constant travel and long hours, how could she have given adequate attention to a husband and children?
The answer, for her, had been simple. She couldn’t. So she’d closed the door to a family—and motherhood. It had been the hardest decision she’d ever faced.
And it was too late to rethink it now.
Besides, she was used to living alone, being independent. The idea of doing as she pleased, when she pleased, in her postcareer life was appealing. Adding another person to the mix would complicate the carefree existence she’d envisioned.
But won’t it be lonely, Stephanie?
She sat back up and flung the pillow against the headboard.
No!
It wouldn’t be.
She wouldn’t let it be.
Without a grueling travel schedule and long hours at the office, she’d be able to join clubs. Make friends. Volunteer. There was an abundance of opportunities like that back in New York.
Her life would be full and rich.
And it wasn’t as if there was any reason to change her plans. Despite the gleam of interest in Frank’s eyes during their first encounter yesterday—and the conversation he’d initiated tonight—he hadn’t tried to extend their evening.
Perhaps he’d decided it wasn’t worth getting to know a woman who would soon be gone.
Or he may have concluded that the memories of his cherished wife were sufficient to sustain him.
Whatever had caused him to back off, it was for the best. A relationship wasn’t in her plans. Especially one here, across the country from the apartment she called home.
Suddenly weary, she rose to draw the curtains—pausing to take in the romantic crescent moon that hung in the sky outside her window.
And to tamp down the wistful, unbidden surge of longing that had no place in the future she’d plotted out.
10
Frank had been acting weird all day.
Adding a drizzle of caramel to a whipped caramel macchiato, Zach gave his barista a surreptitious scan.