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He’d spent the worst of the winter months in England working on a land acquisition project so he’d not been affected. “I’m sure it won’t take them that long to get us out.”
“I’m sure you’re right,” Addie answered. Thanks to the security lights in the elevator he could see her face and her facial expression revealed her true feelings on the matter.
In a few short steps he crossed to her. “Like I was saying, my house was built in 1911 for Madeline Curran. Her father made his fortune in the shipping business and the house was a wedding present to her,” he explained as a way to distract her.
Outside, a streak of lightning lit up the sky, followed soon after by a distant clap of thunder.
“Sounds like the storm is moving away.” Addie moved next to him, her arm bumping up against his.
“Counting the seconds between the flash and the sound? I do that sometimes, too.”
“Knowing how close or far away it is helps,” she said. “Too bad it hasn’t rained yet. We could use it. My mom has complained all summer about her grass not getting enough water. She’s a bit obsessed with her yard. She loves to garden. Her roses are her pride and joy.”
Trent latched onto the everyday topic. “What about you? Do you enjoy gardening as well?”
“I kill everything I try to grow. I once even managed to kill a cactus,” she said with a hint of humor in her voice.
He looked over at her profile. “How did you manage that? I thought those were easy.” Plants weren’t his thing, although he knew a great deal about them thanks to his mom. His mom had adored flowers. She’d had a whole greenhouse full of beautiful plants at their estate on Martha’s Vineyard when he was a child. His father’s second wife had cleared the entire thing out not long after they married.
Addie dropped her arms to her sides. “So did I, but I overwatered it. Now the only time I have flowers, they come from the florist in a vase or they are made of silk.”
With no idea how long they might be stuck, Trent lowered himself to the floor, his long legs stretched out in front of him. Then he took his suit jacket and spread it out next to him. “You might want to get comfortable. Or as comfortable as possible.” He gestured to the suit jacket he’d spread out. “Have a seat.”
“You probably don’t want to use your jacket like that.”
She looked down at him as she spoke and for a moment he couldn’t look away from her eyes. A blue much lighter than his own, they reminded him of the oceans off of Hawaii. “I’m not worried about it.”
Addie didn’t offer any further argument. Instead, she lowered herself to the floor, then smoothed down her dress. “Okay, but I’m not paying for the dry cleaning,” she said in a playful tone.
“Fair enough,” he said with a laugh. “So if you weren’t stuck in here with me what would you be doing tonight?” As he spoke, he tried to ignore the hunger pains in his stomach.
Her shoulders brushed against his as she shrugged and clasped her hands in her lap. “Depends. Sometimes I work on contracts. Other times I help out at the bakery.”
Although he knew she wasn’t involved with anyone at the moment, thanks to Marty, he’d expected a different answer. Most people he knew their age devoted their weekends to pleasure. Then again, most of the people he associated with had few responsibilities to begin with.
“What about you?” she asked as she turned her face toward him. “Actually, never mind. Forget I asked that.”
“Why? I just asked you the same question.”
“It was an inappropriate question to ask a client.” Her voice took on a more formal tone, indicating she’d forgotten at least for a moment that he’d hired her for a job.
“Trust me, it doesn’t bother me. You may not have noticed, but my social life is often public knowledge.” His stomach growled again. This time so loud the security guards on the first floor probably heard it.
“Hungry?” Addie asked, reaching into her bag.
“What gave it away?”
“I figured it was either that or the thunder is getting closer again,” she teased, her voice losing some of its formality again. “Here, this should help.” She handed him a high protein bar. “I have two more in my bag if you want them.”
He accepted the snack and tore it open without even looking at the flavor. “Thanks. Do you always prepare for being stuck in elevators?”
Next to him, she pulled out a bottle of water. “I started keeping snacks in my bag when I worked in Boston. Sometimes traffic would be so bad it would take me forever to get home and I’d often get hungry.”
He bit into the dense chocolate-covered bar. Though not at all how he planned to spend his night, getting stuck in the elevator with Addie was proving beneficial. It allowed him the perfect opportunity to learn more about her. “You commuted into Boston every day from Rhode Island?”
Addie licked a drop of water from her bottom lip and Trent’s eyes followed its path. Once again he noticed how plump and full her lips were. In fact, he could imagine just how they’d feel against his.
“No, when I worked in Boston I shared an apartment with a friend in Marlborough. I moved to Cumberland when I started work in Providence.”
