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She nodded eagerly, fully in agreement with him. Despite their rocky beginning, she could see that he’d been trying hard all week. Maybe the guy wasn’t as bad as she thought.
“My turn.” He spun in his chair to face her. “Why haven’t you left this forsaken town? How does a girl like you get stuck in a place like this?”
She didn’t know whether that was an insult or a compliment. Still, she huffed and shook her head. “New Hope is a wonderful place to live. A lot of people live here their whole lives and never get tired of it. My mom grew up here and I did, too.”
“And you think you could live and die here?” He raised an eyebrow at her.
“Of, course. You haven’t spent enough time here to judge. The people are lovely. It’s safe and secure. We have everything we ever need. I know it doesn’t compare to your big-city life, but I love it here. It’s my home.”
He pressed his lips together in disbelief. “Sure, I guess I’ll have to take your word for it. Does your mom still live here?”
“Yep, just a few blocks down from my apartment.”
He groaned and slapped a hand to his face.
“Hey, don’t judge. At least I don’t live in my family’s penthouse.”
The tips of his ears grew red, but he just smiled.
“The real plan is to take a month off and fly to Europe,” Gemma said, her voice growing dreamy. Her eyes gazed up toward the ceiling. “Just my mom and me. I’ve been saving for this trip forever. She just finished her second round of chemo and now’s the time.”
“Cancer?” he asked.
She nodded. “Breast cancer. It took my grandma, too. Who knows how much time she has left.”
“Better hop on that plane then,” he added grimly. “I know a little too much about regrets. Don’t waste a minute.”
“I don’t plan on it.” Gemma smiled at him, excitement shining in her eyes. “With my Christmas bonus from the foundation, I’ll finally have enough saved to go. I’m buying the tickets on Christmas day. They’ll make the most epic stocking stuffer.”
The temperature of the room chilled as Lance sat back in his chair and grimaced. He chewed on his tongue for a moment and then turned back to his files. “Europe is over-rated. I spent my summer after high school in France. Don’t waste your money.”
She smiled, despite the grim warning. “I think I’ll take my chances and explore it for myself.”
“Whatever,” was his only reply.
Gemma eyed him over her paperwork for the next two hours, wondering about the man who sat in front of her. Maybe she’d missed the mark on this one. He certainly didn’t seem like the jerk who’d spilled her coffee only a few days ago in the Blue Stem Bistro. Still, there was something he was holding back. Something secret. Maybe she’d get it out of him by the time he left New Hope.
Chapter Seven
It was only eight o’clock on a Monday morning and already Lance was in need of a pick-me-up. The weekend had been a dull blur of phone calls with his uncle, emails from the office, and an obscure football match on the fuzzy motel TV. New Hope was as boring as he’d imagined. Not even a decent bar to play a game of pool. Without a weekend outlet for all his pent up energy, he’d tanked out early this morning.
“What time do the women get in?” Frankie whined from the chair next to his. He’d been given some paperwork to file, but that had lasted him all of five minutes. “This place is dead boring without them.”
“Soon enough,” Lance mumbled, looking at his watch.
He had to admit, the office was a much brighter place with those three bright women running around. Especially one such woman with long wavy blonde hair. He’d wondered the streets this weekend, hoping to run into her, but no luck.
He wasn’t even sure why he wanted to see her. All they seemed to do was argue. But their conversation in the office last week had begun to soften his feelings toward her. Maybe there was something more behind the tense exterior that she displayed. But that didn’t make anything less complicated.
She was hoping to afford a trip to Europe and he was there to slash those dreams to pieces. As soon as his uncle gave the word, he’d be cutting her loose with no reliable source of income. There was no way she’d be able to buy those tickets for Christmas. And the blame would fall to Lance, as it should. She’d hate him forever. No good could come out of pursuing her now.
The door to the office slid open, exposing the room to feminine trills of laughter as his office mates finally arrived. Lance jumped up from his seat, tucking his shirt back into the waistband of his pants and pulling on his jacket. Frankie observed his sudden desire to groom with raised eyebrows, but didn’t say anything. Good assistants knew when to keep quiet. This was one of those times.
“Are you coming?” Gemma peeked around the corner of her office doorway, her face flushed from the cool morning air. It made her look especially pretty. “It’s tree decorating day. The best day of the year.”
Lance tightened his black satin tie and frowned. “I’ll probably sit this one out. I don’t really do the whole Christmas thing.”
Her mouth fell open and she stepped fully into the office, a giant knitted scarf still wrapped around her neck. “What do you mean, you don’t do Christmas?”
