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Chapter One
Mary Ellen opened the fridge and stared at its uninspiring contents. She’d been doing well, but the thought of yet another salad held no appeal. She opened the freezer and sighed. A neat pile of nutritious, low-calorie microwave dinners stared forlornly back at her. No. She couldn’t force herself to do it. She closed the door firmly and smiled. “I’m going to Molly’s,” she announced to the empty apartment.
It had been a long week, and it was only Wednesday. Work was crazy because Cameron had a seemingly endless stream of candidates coming through the office every day. He was looking to appoint a new Sales Director and, as his right-hand woman, she’d been involved in every aspect of the process. Well, everything except the initial sorting of candidates. If she’d been part of that, David would have never made it past the paper sift. She gave herself a shake. Hadn’t she just decided she was going to take herself out to Molly’s for dinner? She picked up her purse and checked that she had her keys. She wasn’t going to hang around here thinking about David. She’d done way too much of that when she first arrived in Napa. He was the past, and she could only hope that he wouldn’t have any effect on her future. Surely Cameron would see through him when he sat down to interview him tomorrow.
She let herself out of the apartment and rode the elevator down to the lobby. Lately, she’d been making the effort to take the stairs, but tonight she was giving herself a night off. No salad, no stairs, nope. She was going to indulge herself in whatever she felt like tonight—everything except thinking about David.
She smiled when she stepped out onto the street. It was a warm, pleasant evening. She was lucky, and she knew it. She needed to focus on all the good in her life. She lived right here in Napa. She had an amazing job that she loved that allowed her to live in a fantastic apartment right downtown. There were people the world over who would give anything to live the life she was living. So what if her ex-fiancé was in town? So what if he was being considered for a job at Hamilton-Groves? She couldn’t believe he’d get it, and even if by some strange twist of fate he did, he wouldn’t have to affect her or the life she’d built for herself here.
She slid her keys into her purse and slung it over her shoulder as she set out toward Molly’s. She wasn’t going to allow him to spoil this evening for her. She was going to enjoy herself, eat something highly calorific, have a glass or two of something alcoholic and just relax. If it wasn’t too busy, she might get to catch up with Molly and hear what was going on in her world.
Looking through the window when she arrived, she was surprised to see that Molly’s was busy. Not crowded, but there were far more patrons than she’d expected to see this early on a Wednesday evening. Molly greeted her with a smile as she let herself in.
“Hey, girlfriend. Did some memo go out that Molly’s is the place to be tonight?”
Mary Ellen laughed. “Maybe. If it did, it was some telepathic message, and I got it loud and clear.”
“Well, you’re not the only one.” Molly looked around. “It’s unusual to be this busy, but I’m not complaining. Where do you want to sit? Want to take the window and watch the world go by?”
Mary Ellen followed her toward a booth by the front window.
“Is this okay?”
Mary Ellen shot a glance at the next booth which didn’t have a window, but looked much quieter, tucked away in the corner.
She raised an eyebrow at her friend, but Molly made a face. “Sorry. It’s taken. I think he must have gone to the bathroom, but he’ll be back.”
“Oh, no worries.” Mary Ellen slid into the booth by the window. “This is great.”
“What can I get you to drink?”
Mary Ellen grinned. “You know what I like when I’m by myself.”
Molly chuckled and looked around. “Okay. Your secret’s safe with me.”
Once she’d gone, Mary Ellen studied the menu. She ate here often enough that she could probably recite the whole thing by heart, but after her recent attempts at dieting, just reading each of the delicious sounding dishes felt like a treat.
Molly returned after a few minutes and put a Margarita down in front of her. “There you go. It makes me laugh that you drink those when you come in by yourself.”
Mary Ellen took a sip and smiled. “I love them. Don’t get me wrong, you know I love wine, too—all kinds of wine—but I eat, sleep, think, breathe, work with wine all day every day. Everyone I know is in the wine business.”
“I know that feeling.” As she spoke, Molly looked up with a smile and nodded at someone behind Mary Ellen. No doubt the occupant of the corner booth had returned.
“I won’t keep you.” Much as she’d love to catch up with her friend, she could see Molly was busy. “I’d like the filet mignon and the parmesan truffle fries.”
Molly grinned. “Good for you. Do you want me to bring out the bread rolls while you wait?”
Mary Ellen nodded. “Yeah, why not. If I’m going to blow it, I may as well go all out, right?”
Molly chuckled. “I have a friend who calls it calorie cycling. If your body gets used to being deprived, you stop losing weight, because your body’s afraid it might starve. She says a good blowout every now and then just reassures your body that it’s okay to keep shedding pounds.”
“I like it. So, I’m not cheating or having a relapse or blowing it. I’m simply calorie cycling. And if that’s the case, I might even need to have dessert.”
Molly looked up again, and Mary Ellen felt bad for holding her up. Whoever was at the booth in the corner must be waiting. She wanted to turn around and apologize, but she knew there was no need. Molly left her with a smile, and Mary Ellen listened in as she spoke to the guy.
“Are you expecting company?”
“No. I’m here to enjoy my own company. I don’t get chance very often.”
