Page 91 of Time To Live Again

“Damn, girl! You’re full of surprises. I can picture you hot-rodding it down the highway. So sexy.” He pecks my lips, then lies back down. God, I’ve missed this man. “With the way you’ve been acting today, is it safe to assume it went well?”

“It did, but it was difficult. I cried a lot, as usual.” I tell him about seeing Adele and visiting the hospital and visiting where I’d lived. “I can put it behind me now. I won’t work in a hospital again, but—” I tell him how Adele quit her job too and where she’s working now. “It gives me hope that I can utilize my knowledge and experience somewhere else. Now if I could only figure out where.”

“You’ll find something, and I’ll be at your side along the way.”

I scoot closer to him. “Thank you for understanding and for being patient.”

“If anybody should understand what you’re going through, it’s me. I’ve been wondering myself where or when I can sing and dance again. Change is good, but it’s a mental game too. And since we’re having this heart-to-heart, tell me what you really think. Should I take the manager’s job at the hotel?”

“That’s not for me to say. Deep down, only you know what you want.” I tap the skin over his heart. “So you tell me what it is.”

“I want to take it. It’s time to be with my family again, and I love working at the hotel. I’ll need to find another place to live. Can you picture yourself with me there? Would you be happy? There are things you need to think about. It’s an island. You’ll always have to take a ferry to the mainland. It’s a lot quieter than LA or Seattle. You’ll be far away from your family.”

“I’ve gone through all the pros and cons with my therapist and Andy. And no matter what, everything leads me to you.”

“How about I tell my mom I’ll do it for two years? Then we can reevaluate the situation. What do you think?”

“That sounds perfect. You really don’t know how you’ll feel living there permanently again.” He nods in agreement. “Other than your mom, though, let’s keep it to ourselves for now, maybe until after Corey’s memorial. I’m not ready to deal with my mom yet.”

“Let’s not talk about her. No time for negativity.” He taps my thigh. “Let’s get cleaned up and order some food. Then I want to hear how you got everyone there today. Especially Sully.”

I didn’t have to do much. As soon as I told them my idea, they were on board. Sully wasn’t supposed to come, but when I told him the plan, he was in too. Everyone loves Leo and would do anything for him. It makes my heart burst with love, knowing how much they care.

Andy and Sam hit it off immediately when they met the night before Leo arrived in San Francisco. Andy and Tonya are another story. Tonya won’t put up with his flirty bullshit, but that doesn’t deter him in the least. If he’s not flirting, they’re arguing. At one point, their quiet bickering annoyed the hell out of us. Sully sat between them to shut them up. I’m curious how the Super Bowl party will go tomorrow.

Leo helps me out of the bed, and I actually stagger when my feet hit the floor. My legs feel like rubber. “I want to explore this gorgeous hotel room. Someone had me pretty occupied when we got here.”

“Sorry, not sorry.” He traces his fingers up my sides, giving me goosebumps. “It’s the perks of my job.”

“I’d give this bedroom a five out of five. Let’s go test the shower. I want to clean you up and then make you dirty all over again.” I pull him out of the room, not a care in the world.

“You are one sexy woman,” Leo purrs. “Damn, I’m lucky!”

41

LEO

Istand in front of the Madrona Inn and consider it my new home, no longer a temporary spot to put down my bags and sleep. It’s weird to think I won’t be writing articles anymore or traveling nonstop. Soon I’ll be doing the job I went to school for. Not long ago, I would’ve run back to the airport instead of agreeing to come back here permanently. Now I look forward to it because Olive will join me here one day. We’re going to discuss that in more detail when she arrives on Monday.

I enter the hotel and breathe in the familiar scent of my surroundings. My eyes scan the area, recalling the one time Corey and I played basketball in the lobby. I threw the ball over Corey’s shoulder, and it hit an expensive antique, shattering it. Per my usual punishment, I was grounded for two weeks.

Donna jumps up from behind the front desk when she sees me. I guess her back is doing better. “Leo, you’re finally here.” She hustles toward Mom’s office. “Marla, Leo’s back!”

I set my stuff aside, then give Donna a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Mom runs out of her office, swerving around Donna. She wraps me in a warm, motherly hug. “Leo, we’ve really missed you around here. We’re glad you’re home. Come back to my office for a few minutes, or would you rather go home and freshen up?”

“Let me go take a shower first. It’s been a long day.”

“Go do that. Come over for dinner. I’ll whip something up, and I’ll tell Sully and Tonya to join us,” Mom says, shooing me away.

“Sounds great. Thanks, Ma.”

I walk through the halls, trying to imagine me and Olive living on Orcas Island. Finding a place we call home. I wonder how quickly I can convince her to move here.

The scent of fresh coffee brewing from Café Charmant tempts me to say hello to Louis and grab a tart, but I need to settle in. I stayed at two new hotels this week. The one in Las Vegas was phenomenal. I’ll definitely take Olive there. The one in New York City was good, but nothing near the exceptional quality of the other. The flight from Vegas was delayed three times, making me miss the connection to Orcas Island. I’ve had it with traveling.

My little cottage comes into view, and all I want to do is face-plant onto my bed. Once I’m inside, I take a deep breath. It smells thoroughly sanitized from ceiling to floor. It’s all wrong. It should smell like Olive. I leave my suitcase by the door and go straight to the bathroom.

It’s time to tell Mom I’m staying.

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