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Her plans to distance herself from him had worked out really poorly. There was something about him. The combination of his good looks, humor, and genuinely kind personality had only become more lethal.
With him down the hall, she needed to find a way to deal with it, or just accept that something was eventually going to happen between them. Avoiding him wasn’t really an option at this point. Between the family gatherings and him working next door, she needed to figure something out soon.
When she slipped back into her own office suite, her receptionist, Celia, looked up from her chair and asked, “Good lunch?”
Conflicted, Cora gave a nod and said, “I think so.”
Celia studied her face and then said, “That’s the face of a woman who has a story.”
“I had lunch with Jamie,” Cora said, by way of explanation.
“Okay. Who’s—wait. Jamie Jamie? Ex Jamie?”
Celia had been one of the few people she’d stayed in contact with since college. She’d been there for the beginning, the middle and the inevitable end of it all. Between her and Taryn, they hadn’t allowed her to feel sorry for herself for very long. Celia had certainly seen her at her worst though.
Cora nodded and said, “He moved back into town. I saw him the other night at Sophie’s birthday party. His sister in law actually rented him an office two doors down from us.”
“Whoa. And why am I just now hearing about this, Cora?”
“I wasn’t sure what to do with it,” she answered. “I thought I could avoid him...”
“So sparks are flying again, I take it?” Celia asked.
“I told myself I was trying to avoid them, but yeah. Somehow we ended up having lunch today and he’s helping me with my bathroom vanity on Saturday. I don’t know what I’m doing, Celia. With all of the Bryce stuff just settling down, I feel like it’s too soon but I can’t seem to help myself.”
“You don’t always get to decide the timing, honey. The heart wants what it wants.”
Sighing deeply, Cora agreed, “Don’t I know it.”
Celia studied her face for a moment and then switched gears. “Your one o’clock should be here any minute.”
“Send her in when she gets here,” Cora said, a bit relieved that the inquisition was over. It gave her a lot to think about, though.
* * * *
Saturday afternoon, she leaned back against her bathroom wall and admired the new vanity. It had been a total pain in the ass to p
ut in, but it looked good. Completely wiped out, she slumped down and said, “Looks good. Thank you so much. But seriously, next time something floods, remind me to hire the work out.”
“No way. You probably saved yourself a grand, easy. Besides. This looks fantastic. Now can I go lie on your couch and admit defeat? That old sink was heavy,” he groaned as he slumped down next to her.
“Shit. I didn’t even think about that. Between all the painting and stuff, you’ve gotta be hurting. Go sit. I’ll go put the meatloaf in. Did you want a drink?”
“What have you got,” he asked.
Her voice stilted, she said, “I picked up that beer you used to drink,”
“Score,” he said as he followed her into the kitchen.
She reached into the refrigerator and snagged two from the six-pack and popped the lids off. After she had passed him a bottle, he said, “You’re awful at blackmail.”
Cora took a swig and said, “Seriously. Blackmail aside. Thank you for helping. There’s no way I could have moved that sink on my own.”
Jamie hovered in the kitchen, leaning up against the counter while she preheated the oven. When she took the meatloaf out of the refrigerator and took the plastic wrap off, he said, “So much bacon.”
She grinned and said, “This has an hour. Go sit. I’ll be out in a minute.”
“Kay,” he said. “Not gonna argue that.”
