Sincerely,
Sandra Elson
Below her email signature was a telephone number as well as a website for The Alexander. I immediately clicked on the link, eager to see what she’d described.
When the site came up, I gasped. Sandra’s words had hardly done it justice—I wasn’t surprised it had been featured in Hollywood films because it looked like a movie set. I could imagine Rhett Butler carrying Scarlett O’Hara up the wide stone staircase, or Grace Kelly gliding across the elegant living room floor with a martini in her gloved hand, or Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers twirling madly in the cavernous ballroom, an orchestra at one end.
The rose gardens were breathtaking, the decorating sumptuous and deliciously over the top. There were marble fireplaces and velvet loveseats and ceilings carved with murals and friezes. The entire place reverberated with the glamour and romance of a bygone era. Perusing the website, I was inundated with ideas for wedding ceremonies and grand receptions and cozy, intimate wine dinners. Designing events for a place like this would be a dream job for me.
Immediately I typed a reply, thanking her for thinking of me and letting her know that I’d love to chat more about the opportunity—but I couldn’t bring myself to hit send.
I stood there staring at the screen as the minutes ticked by, and my fingers wouldn’t tap that blue button.
It was an unbelievable offer, one I should jump at.
What was holding me back?
When my shift at the front desk was over, I poked my head into my dad’s office. “Hey.”
He looked up and smiled, his deep blue eyes crinkling at the corners. “Hey, sweetheart. Working late?”
“I’m done now.” I wandered in and dropped into a chair in front of his desk. “Got a minute?”
“Sure.” He closed his laptop. “What’s up?”
I told him about the email I’d just gotten from Sandra Elson.
“That’s awesome, Win. You must have really knocked her out in that interview. Did you reply?”
“Yes. I told her I was interested.” I shook my head. “But I didn’t send it.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Why not?”
“I don’t know for sure. Maybe because it’s so far away?”
“You were going to move to New York City, weren’t you?”
“Right, but that was different. I was moving with someone I knew. I wouldn’t know anyone in Rhode Island.”
“I have no doubt you’d make friends instantly. You’ve always had that gift.”
I rolled my eyes. “Stop.”
“I mean it, Win. Your teachers always used to remark on how friendly you were to everyone. They always put the new kids in the desk next to yours because they knew you’d be kind and welcoming. And remember the Buddy Bench at elementary school? You wouldn’t let someone sit on that thing for a minute without running over and asking them to play.”
“Yeah.” I smiled at the memory. “It used to break my heart when kids would go sit there alone.”
“Because you’re a people person. You like making people happy—and that draws people to you. It’s what makes you such a natural in this industry too.”
“So you think I should tell her I’m interested, huh?”
“I think you should make your own decision and not be afraid.” He held up his hands. “And even though I’d miss you and Mom will probably wring my neck for encouraging you to move away, I think you have to do the thing you were meant to do. If that takes you away from home, so be it.”
“Don’t tell her yet, okay? I just want to catch my breath and think.” My eyes scanned the shelves behind him, where familiar old photos were perched among books and vacation souvenirs and other little things my sisters and I had given him over the years. I spotted a framed picture of my older sisters and me with our dad that had been taken almost twenty years ago. I was sitting on his shoulders, and Millie and Felicity each hung off his biceps. It reminded me of something Hallie and Luna would do to Dex. I laughed a little. “God, that picture is so old.”
My dad glanced behind him to see what I was talking about. “I’m so old. I didn’t even have gray hair then. And I was in such good shape.”
“You’re still in good shape, Dad.” It was true—even in his mid-fifties, my dad still worked out almost every day. “I bet you could still put me up on your shoulders.”
“But I wouldn’t get very far.”
I laughed. “Was that at a Cloverleigh Farms staff picnic?”
“I think so. I’m pretty sure Mom took that before we were married.”
“When you were sneaking around and hiding in closets?”
“Probably.”
I shook my head. “You guys were so obvious. Millie and I were just talking about it earlier today.”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
“And then you tried to break it off, remember? And we had to call a family meeting to give you the hard words.”
“I remember.” He studied the picture a moment longer and looked at me again. “Good thing I had you three to tell me I was being an idiot.”
I laughed. “We didn’t say it like that.”
“Oh yes, you did. I distinctly remember Millie saying those exact words.”
“Well, it was true. And we didn’t want you to make a huge mistake. Just think, maybe you wouldn’t have gotten married and had Emmeline and Audrey if it wasn’t for those hard words.”
“I’m definitely the luckiest guy in the world,” he said. “Everything I needed to be happy was right there in front of me.”
“That is lucky,” I said softly.
“But I had to make choices leading up to that point that weren’t easy to make.” He looked at me intently. “Don’t be afraid to do things that seem scary. Even make mistakes. It’s how you grow and learn.”
I smiled. “Spoken like a true dad.”
“Hey. At heart, we are who we are.”
Rising from the chair, I came around and kissed his cheek. “I’d miss being able to come in here and bug you while you’re trying to work if I left.”
“I’d miss that too.”
Heading for the door, I gave him a wave. “Bye, Dad. See you tomorrow.”
“Bye, Win.”
After work, I went to Pilates class, then headed home. I kept wracking my brain for any valid reason I shouldn’t hit send on that reply to Sandra and coming up short. The pros were obvious, and any possible con was based solely in fear, and I didn’t want to be the sort of person who failed to chase a dream because she was scared.
But pretty soon, my thoughts strayed to Dex. As the water ran down my body, I thought about him in the shower. I wondered what he looked like naked. What his hands would feel like on my skin if he were here right now. What things he might do to me or say to me.
The water was hot, but I shivered.
I still couldn’t believe I’d had the nerve to get on his lap like that, to flirt with him and kiss him and provoke him. I’d felt so strong and brave and sexy. And no, he wasn’t gentle—but every time I thought about him sewing my dress, my heart melted. And I’d been smiling all day about the way he said goodnight, making sure to tell me he didn’t love me.