Page 464 of Talk Swoony to Me

“God!” She rolls her eyes, amused. “Don’t tell me you’re still madly in love with me.”

“You’re far too much woman for me, Angie. You know that.”

“Damn right.”

I take a step back toward the door, then pause. “Seriously. You’ve known me since...” I shrug a shoulder. “Do you really think I’ve got this?”

Angela smiles, showing sincerity in her wise, old eyes. “I think if you put your mind to it, you can do anything,” she says.

I nod, comforted by her response. “Even you?” I joke.

She laughs. “Oh, fuck off.”

I bow as I open the door.

“Hey, kiddo,” she says, stopping me. “I’m really proud of you.”

I smile. “Thanks.”

“You’re here through the weekend, yes?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I answer. “Lunch tomorrow?”

Her brow piques. “On you?”

“On Graham.”

“Then, yes.”

“Maybe you can finish telling me that story then,” I say.

Angela mimes a key near her mouth and turns it.

I exit her office, stepping immediately into the busy front desk area of Botsford Plaza Boston.

Paige rises from a chair behind the desk with her clipboard. Just like always, my eyes instantly draw a line down her body from head-to-toe. She wore blue today but, for the first time on this trip, I didn’t get the memo.

I wore the red tie.

She detaches her file and hands it to me, her movements stiff and cold. “Your meeting went a little long, so I finished the gift shop on my own,” she says, barely making eye contact with me.

“Sorry about that,” I say. “Angie and I are?—”

“It’s fine,” she says over me. “The audit is complete now, so... have a good weekend. Our flight to Miami leaves Sunday night at seven.”

My gut clenches.

Oh, right.

Flight.

“Okay,” I say.

Paige walks off without another word. She rounds the desk and heads toward the golden elevators, never once glancing back at me.

Graceful. Elegant. Professional.

Good.

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