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Ordinarily, she would keep track of all the messages that came in while Reynolds was on a call or out of the office or generally unavailable and deliver them all at once. But for the past couple of days, he’d been pretty much unavailable as he hunkered down in his office with the door closed except for taking any appointments, and the messages were really building up.
It was hard not to feel like his behavior was somehow directed toward her. Like he was avoiding her.
And she’d be lying if she couldn’t admit that possibility sucked.
Sunday had been a roller coaster of emotions, but she’d managed the worst of it thanks to Reynolds’s being by her side, defending her and championing her to her father and anyone else who tried to bring her down.
The day could have been over the moment they drove into town, and she would have still considered it a success, but for some reason she hadn’t understood, Reynolds had invited her to his family dinner, let her be a part of the Cavanaugh family’s evening, and given her a glimpse of what an actual wonderful, functioning, and loving family experience could be.
And then he’d brought her home, walked her to her door, and for one long, exhilarating and terrifying moment, given her the impression he was going to kiss her.
Kiss. Her.
Any other time, she would have scoffed at the notion that a guy like Reynolds Cavanaugh would have been interested in kissing her since most of the time it seemed he barely tolerated her.
But something about his interaction with her felt different. She’d opened up to him, revealed painful and embarrassing truths about her past that she would only have done because she’d felt those truths would be safe. And to a certain extent, she had thought he’d started to open up a little more to her, too. Enough so that she’d believed her attraction and growing affection for the guy were maybe, somehow…reciprocated.
Then something flickered in his eyes, and he’d stepped away from her, and the guy who’d spent the day with her disappeared, replaced by a guy even moodier than before.
How were they supposed to travel together to the Keys and present themselves as a couple in love in three short days when he couldn’t even look her in the eyes?
Waverley was about to check the shopping status for a couple new swimsuits she’d ordered for the weekend when the bell over the front door of the office jingled and in walked Avery, Poppy, and a brunette she hadn’t met but she assumed was probably Meg.
“Hi, Waverley,” Poppy and Avery said in unison.
“Hi, I’m Meg. I’m so glad to finally meet you,” the brunette said, offering her a quick, easy smile and a warm glint in her pretty blue eyes. She was wearing a pair of baggy overalls and a long-sleeved white tee shirt that, combined with the two buns coiled on each side of her head, gave her a distinctively quirky style.
Waverley immediately liked her.
“Happy to meet you, too.” Waverley looked at the clock, trying to hide her confusion since she hadn’t expected their arrival for another hour. “Did I mix up the time?”
“Nope,” Poppy said, her voice high and upbeat. “There’s been a slight change in our plans, and we’re hoping we can steal you away a little earlier.”
Another door opened, and a few seconds later, Reynolds appeared in dark jeans and a white button-down shirt.
Oh, man.
How was it that, even now, her stomach was all fluttery with nervous excitement at the mere sight of him?
He looked around in confusion at the women filling his office before settling on her, as if she was responsible.
“Sorry, Reynolds,” Poppy chimed in. “But there’s been an emergency and we’re going to need to kidnap your receptionist for the next few hours.”
“Hours?” she and Reynolds both said automatically, before Reynolds followed up with, “What kind of emergency?”
“Nothing to be concerned with, dear brother. It’s wedding stuff.”
“I don’t know,” Waverley said, not comfortable bailing in the middle of her day for something as vague as wedding stuff. It sounded flaky.
“Look at that, Reynolds. You’re terrifying the poor woman. Please. You know as well as I do that you can spare her for a little while.”
Her brother looked skeptically at her.
Poppy threw up her hands. “Fine. If you must know, I managed to get an appointment at a very elite boutique in downtown Denver in half an hour. With Avery’s wedding coming in just three short months and my leaving to Cincinnati for the weekend and my classes starting up again after that, we are running out of time to find our dresses for the big day, let alone time for any fittings.”
“And you want me to come along?” Waverley asked, feeling flattered as well as unsure of the unexpected invitation.
“Of course we do,” Avery said. “You have such incredible taste and style, and I’m going to need you to give Poppy some perspective.”
