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CHAPTER2
Andy
I hungup the phone with a smile.
“Everything good?” Nolan asked, leaning against the door to my office.
“Never better. Manchester is ahead of schedule and under budget. I don’t think I’ve ever heard Brad so excited.”
My best friend shot me a wry smile. “Does that mean I’m getting transferred sooner rather than later?”
I suppressed a groan. Once Nolan left, what would keep me here, in the middle-of-nowhere New Hampshire? Only one thing.
“I would start packing,” I said, standing from the maple desk and pushing my arms overhead in a stretch. “Unless I can convince you to hang around Pierce?”
He shook his head. “Not a chance. In fact, with all the traveling you’re doing, why not come with me? It’s a hell of a lot closer to the airport, and there might actually be some nightlife.”
I frowned. Brad Sexton, my mentor, had argued the same, along with half the angel investors who’d dumped money and resources into rolling out my line of gyms across New England, and, with any luck, across the country by the end of next year.
Living in the White Mountains, hours away from the airport and civilization in general, worked great for remote jobs. However, it was not so great for building a rapidly expanding company.
I’d balked against that notion. I claimed I didn’t want to leave my family home— the enormous mansion my mom left me when she’d taken off to Connecticut after my dad died. Of course, the steep gabled roof cost a fortune to repair, the seven bedrooms mainly sat unused, and my housekeeper, a woman who’d been cleaning the house for decades, developed cataracts five years ago. I spent most weekends dusting the nooks and crannies of the ancient home, rather than going out and having fun. Not that I had much time for fun.
The house was just a convenient excuse.
“I’m guessing by your silence, that the plan is to rot away in Franklin Notch until you ask Nora out. And judging by how long you’ve been working up the nerve, that means forever.”
I winced at Nolan’s pointed assessment. “Tonight. It’s happening tonight.”
He rolled his eyes and pushed himself off the doorframe. “Really? Because you’ve been saying that for six months and haven’t done anything.”
“There hasn’t been a good time.”
Nolan raised an eyebrow.
“Fine. There has. I just don’t want to blow my shot.”
He closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Seriously? I mean, how many years has it been, man? Rip off the Band-Aid. If she turns you down, so be it. You can’t waste the rest of your life waiting to ask this girl out.”
He had a point, not one I enjoyed hearing, but a point nonetheless.
It had only been a year since her brother stopped hating me. Sure, we weren’t best friends, by any means, and we never would be. But a once-heated rivalry had cooled into begrudging respect. Following up by immediately asking out his little sister seemed like a bad idea.
“Tonight,” I conceded. “No more excuses.”
Nolan grinned, checking his watch. “Well, then you better go, Romeo. The Chamber of Commerce meeting started fifteen minutes ago.”
* * *
I made it to Franklin Notch in fifteen minutes, driving a little too fast through the winding back roads and over potholes. I parked in front of City Hall and hustled inside, taking a breath to collect myself outside the door before slipping into the meeting room.
Gary Archer held court over the three-dozen people attending the Greater Franklin Notch Chamber of Commerce meeting. I scanned the room for Nora, finding her in the back row, hunched over a notepad and furiously taking notes as Gary prattled on about tax holidays or some nonsense.
She wore black pants and a plain white t-shirt under a cream cardigan; the sleeves enveloped her hands, so she had to stop writing to push them back every few minutes. She crossed one leg over the other, a pair of hot pink flats the only hint of color in her outfit.
My mouth hitched up in a grin. I watched her brow furrow as she wrote, her big, soft brown eyes glancing up at Gary every few seconds. She caught my eye, cheeks burning pink, before ducking her head again.
I pulled my attention away from her to the front row, where Dave Barton and Lexi Williams had left an open seat between them. Instead of taking the empty chair, I walked to the back of the room and slid in beside Nora.
