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He nodded.
“I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to see.” Her voice was a breath above a whisper. The tension between them had been mounting since that moment in the barn, then again at the lake. It felt like a big game of cat and mouse at this point. She couldn’t tell if he was toying with her, and at this point she wasn’t sure she minded all that much.
He moved closer, his eyes glancing toward her mouth. “Yeah?”
In a moment of clarity and perhaps flirtatiousness, Eloise ducked under his arm and scooted along the wall before turning to face him. “My break is at nine.” With that statement, she turned on her heel and headed back the way they’d come.
Her heart was beating too fast, and her face was flushed. Hannah was bound to notice that something was up. Her only chance was to blame it on something else… or perhaps someone else.
As she walked back into the kitchen, Hannah gave her a suspicious side-glance. “I know that look. You’re seeing someone.” Hannah placed a few dishes in front of them with a flourish. “So who’s the guy?”
Eloise avoided looking directly at her friend. Instead she focused on grabbing the materials they needed for the chef salads. “I don’t think you know him. We’ve spent some time together recently, though. It might turn into more.” A smile tugged at her lips.
Hannah gasped, snapping her fingers. Even though the kitchen was full of busy workers, it felt like they were alone. “It’s that guy. Shane’s cousin. Matt? Michael?” Her smile widened. “Marc. That’s who it is, isn’t it?”
Eloise pressed her lips together, still avoiding her friend’s gaze.
“That’s totally who it is.Girl, that’s so exciting. He was cute.”
“You met him?”
She shook her head. “No, but I noticed him once when I got here for work.” Hannah nudged Eloise with her elbow. “Good for you. So, how serious is it?”
“Not very serious. It’s just starting out.” At least that was the truth. Eloise didn’t even know what would come of her meeting with Shane when she slipped away to see him during her break.
“Okay,” Hannah drawled, “then how serious do youwantit to be?”
Eloise’s thoughts shifted to Shane. Their little date had shown a side of him she wouldn’t soon forget. He had the potential to be the kind of guy she could see herself with for the long haul. “I don’t know.”
“You don’tknow? Sweetie.” Hannah gave her a pointed look. “Deep down you do. I don’t care what anyone says. The moment we meet a person, weknow.”
“It’s… complicated.”
Hannah shot a confused look in her direction. “Nothing is worthcomplicated. It either works or it doesn’t.”
“I don’t believe that for a second. Things can be complicated until they’re not.” Eloise wasn’t sure she believed her own words. Was she just making excuses? Maybe. Then again, maybe not.
* * *
Hannah’s wordsran laps in Eloise’s head throughout their shift—which unfortunately felt shorter than usual. When the time for her break arrived, she almost didn’t know if she had the guts to follow through with meeting Shane—not until she was standing in front of his office, her hand poised to knock.
She was doing this. She wasactuallydoing this.
Eloise took a deep breath, then just as she was about to make contact with the door, it swung inward. Shane’s cousin—Madeline—nearly ran into Eloise. Her eyes widened, and she glanced over her shoulder toward her cousin.
Shane looked worse for wear. His hair was mussed, and his face was drawn. There was a look about him that suggested he’d been in a fight.
Strange. Eloise had thought that Shane got along alright with her.
Madeline smiled widely at her. “Well, hello there. Lovely to see you again. Eloise, wasn’t it?”
Nodding, Eloise matched Madeline’s smile. “How are you settling in? Marc mentioned that you two were going to buy a ranch.”
“Oh, we’ve just closed on it.”
Eloise blinked rapidly. “Wow. That was fast. I thought there was a waiting period for something like that?”
“Oh, there was. But the owners opted to bypass on a few things, as did we. Who needs an inspection, am I right?” Madeline winked twice, then brushed past her.
