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"Thanks," he said. "I'll look at both."
When they got to her car, he put Leo into his car seat. Her little boy could barely keep his eyes open.
"Will you be able to get him in the house?" Decker asked. "I could follow you home and help."
"I do it on my own all the time. But thanks for offering." She couldn't help thinking that Joel hadn't offered to help her get Leo to the car or into the house or anything. But maybe that was a little on her. She'd wanted to be careful about Leo getting too close to anyone she was dating in case it didn't work out, which it usually didn't, so she hadn't made a big deal about Joel and Leo getting to know each other. She closed the car door and gave Decker a smile. "I hope I'll see you tomorrow for brunch at the inn."
"It's very nice of you and your friends to include me."
"The more the merrier. And you're Joel's friend. So, of course, we'd include you. Have a good night."
"You, too," he said, as he walked away.
She let out a breath as he left, her gaze lingering on him for far too long. She forced herself to turn away and get into her car, reminding herself that she had another attractive male who wanted to take her out tonight. That would be an excellent opportunity for her to get Decker out of her head.
ChapterThirteen
It wasfun to put on a sexy dress and go out to dinner with Joel. While they'd been dating for about six weeks, they hadn't spent that much time together. She'd wanted to take it slow in the beginning. She was wary of relationships after her divorce, and she had a child to consider. Joel had been okay with that. He'd gotten out of a relationship a few months earlier and didn't need to move fast. They'd started out on the same page, but lately it felt like Joel had turned a couple of pages ahead of her.
"More wine?" Joel asked as they finished their meal at the Harbor View Restaurant. There wasn't much to see at night, but it was still pretty inside, with glass windows and white lights strung around the dining room, adding a warm ambiance to the room.
"No thanks," she said.
"What about dessert?"
"I could not eat another bite," she said with a laugh. "Plus, I already snuck a couple of Leo's chocolate Easter eggs when he wasn't looking."
He smiled as he topped off his wine glass. "I've never been a big fan of chocolate."
"Seriously? It's so delicious."
"I'm not really into sweets." He sipped his wine. "This is a good bottle of merlot. I've never heard of this winery."
"It's local. There are several wineries in Edmonds Valley, about a half hour from here."
"We'll have to go wine-tasting one day. I love discovering new wines."
"That would be fun, but I think you'll have to get a little less busy for that to happen."
"It has been a week," he said with a sigh.
"Do you think it will work—moving your operations here? I know that's your plan, but it seems like you're running into obstacles."
"More than I expected," he admitted. "I thought I was getting away from the intensity of the city and corporate politics, but they followed me here. I'll figure it out. I want to stay here, to have my own life. When I'm in Manhattan, I'm living everyone else's life. I'm moving at such a fast pace that I can barely breathe. I want to slow down."
He'd made similar comments before, and she'd liked hearing that he wanted to slow down, balance out his life, take a breath, but his words didn't ring as true now as they had the first time she'd heard them, because his actions didn't align with his words. "It feels like you've been going at a fast pace the past few weeks, even though you're far away from New York."
"It's just the transition. It will settle down." He smiled. "I am sorry that I've had to bail on you a few times. I hope you understand it's a temporary situation."
"I know that's what you want it to be, but…" She licked her lips, not sure how much she wanted to get into his business.
"But what?" he asked.
"You seem really charged up and excited when you're working hard, when you're competing, when you're trying to close a deal. I just wonder if a slower pace will really be what you want when you finally get it."
"It will be," he said confidently. "Some of the happiest years of my life were my high school years in San Francisco. I loved being out of New York, away from my prep schools, the competition for attention, the constant comparisons between whose family had the most money or the best vacation house. I could just be myself. College was the same. I had real friends like Decker and others who didn't care who I was or what I owned. But once I graduated, once I got sucked back into my father's world in New York, it all changed again. Then I came here, and the good feelings returned, especially when I met you. I know this is where I need to be."
She was touched by his words. "I'm glad you've been happy here."
