Page 44 of Holding Out

For a moment, she thought about texting him.Telling him.I’m at work and all I can think about is you on your knees with your face—

But that would obviously be the worst idea in the world, given the Marina thing.

Damn, she’d completely missed that last message.She hit 4 to repeat it.

A shadow fell across the desk.It was Julia.She was a remarkably well-preserved fifty-something blond whose hair and skin shone with the light of a thousand suns and several hundred beauty products.

“Hey, lady,” Julia said.

“Hey back atcha.”She passed her boss the sheet of notes, and watched, with amusement, as Julia’s face cracked into a broad smile.“Like that one, do you?”

“That’s a good one.”

“How’s the Bainbridge plan going?”

Bainbridge Island was a short ferry ride from downtown Seattle.For several years, Julia had been living there with her husband and kids and commuting back and forth, and she’d been in the process of opening a branch of the salon there when she got the news about losing the Seattle space.So, she’d decided to throw everything behind the Bainbridge location.Becca might have considered following her, but she couldn’t afford to wait for Julia’s multi-month grand opening timeline to play out.

“Well, as much as this wasn’t how I’d planned for things to go, it’ll sure as heck make the commute easier.And maybe if that opening goes well, I’ll do one in Poulsbo, too.”

Julia was putting a good face on the situation—it was her way, after all—but Becca knew it wasn’t that easy.Julia had been at the Seattle location for years.She’d expanded the spa from a single storefront into two, and bumped out the back of the building to make more space for a relaxation room.Starting over again in another town—no matter how much she’d benefit from an easier commute—would be exhausting, risky, and difficult.

“Becca,” Julia said quietly.“Let’s talk about you.”

“What about me?”

“You need to figure out what you’re doing next.”

“I’m fine,” Becca insisted.

Julia shook her head.“I’m going to pay you for the next two weeks, but my daughter will cover the desk during that time so you can concentrate on finding something new.It’s the least I can do.You’ve taken almost no time off, and I don’t pay vacation, so this my way of making it up to you.”

Julia’s generosity made her stomach hurt.“You don’t have to—I can—”

But the truth was, she’d be crazy to turn down the offer.Two weeks of freedom, paid.She could get a jump on her job search.And—she got excited thinking of it—she could be with Nate, Alia, and Robbie.Alia was always trying to get her to spend more time with Robbie while he was little—they change so fast at this age, something new every week.And she knew Nate and Alia could use the help.They’d been so grateful for everything she’d done to pitch in last weekend.

It would be fun to get more time with her family.And Griff, a little voice said.

Not Griff, her practical self shot back.Two and through.No need to set yourself up for another slap in the face—or worse.

“Thank you,” Becca said.She squeezed Julia’s hand.

“You’re welcome.And kiddo, it’s been great.You’ve been great.If you ever want a job on Bainbridge, it’s yours.Although I hope you’ll have found something amazing with someone else who appreciates you by then.”

“Thank you,” Becca said, knowing there was no way she could afford to be out of work for that long, especially if she hoped to get a place of her own someday.

No, she’d start the job search as soon as she walked out the door today.

From her temporary home base in Tierney Bay.

Where she would do her very best to stay out of the way of one Griff Ambrose.

And if their paths crossed, she would make very sure their compatible body parts stayed well separated.

Shewould.

21

Griff was helping JoJo Evans with her math homework in the big tutoring room at KidsUp.JoJo was a seventh grader with an absentee father, an alcoholic mother, and a shitload of unrealized promise.She was brilliant at math, but the instant anything got hard for her, she bailed.Griff’s toughest job was getting her to stay seated at the table long enough to finish a whole problem set.

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