Page 15 of The Hometown Dilemma
“I don’t know, not late?” I pushed a hand through my hair, already wanting to get in the shower and wash away the stale smell of alcohol I sensed exuding from my pores.
Cami cocked a brow. “Who brought you home? Judging by the, uh,aromain here I’m guessing you had a drink or two.”
“Ugh. Yes. Austen and I went to Dempsey’s for drinks after we’d been to see Moira Channing and it escalated from there.”
“Oooh, Austen.” Cami dropped down on the end of the bed, her eyes wide with anticipation, as if sensing gossip. “Are you going to see him again?”
“Of course,” I deadpanned. “Because we’re working together, remember?”
For some reason, I felt the need to keep the truth from Cami. I hadn’t been so drunk that I didn’t know everything that had happened on the drive home with Wade. How he’d asked if I wanted to work at Dempsey’s again, how his hand felt under mine, how his rough skin felt against my knuckles…
Dragging myself back to the present, I pointed to the dresser where I spotted the keys. “There you go. Will I see you for dinner?”
Cami stood up and swiped them from the side. “Yeah, I’m working until five, but I’m home tonight. You wanna watch a movie or something? Just a couple of sisters hanging out?”
“Sounds good.” I nodded. A quiet night would be exactly what I needed.
“What are your plans for today?” Cami hesitated in the doorway on her way out.
“Working on the designs for Mrs. Channing’s staging.” I paused. “Do you mind if I use the dining room as an office? There’s not enough space in here for me to work properly.” I gestured around my room, which had never been conducive to studying, let alone spreading out an entire portfolio of client ideas.
“Go for it. Not like we’ll be entertaining any time soon. Unless you’re planning to invite Austen over.” The corner of Cami’s mouth turned up and she winked. “Have a good day, sis. I’ll see you later.”
And with that, she was gone.
Already worn out by the short exchange, I knew today would be a long day. I slumped back on my pillows and reached for my phone on the bedside table.
Two messages sat on the screen; both timestamped this morning. Tapping my passcode into the device, I swiped into the messaging app and scanned them.
Austen:Great meeting with Moira Channing and loved the ideas we spoke about. Do you want to call into the office and chat some more about your plans? I’ll be around all day x
Wade:Hey, how are you feeling today? Hope you managed to get some sleep :o) If you’ve had a chance to think about working with me again, pop by any time this afternoon xx
I’d been back in town such a short time and already I was getting messages with kisses from two different men. I stifled a snort. Back in New York, I’d barely had two messages a week, let alone two on the same day.
But I wasn’t back in Abbott Ridge to find a boyfriend.
I was here to kick-start my career.
My head wanted to reply to Austen, but my heart thought I should reply to Wade.
Ignoring my heart, I went with my head.
Jaime:Great, I’ll pop in this afternoon. I want to spend this morning formulating the designs in more detail.
Not wanting to give Austen the wrong impression, I left off the kiss. Right now, this was purely business.
Almost immediately, he replied.
Austen:Great, I’ve got a showing at midday but should be back within the hour. See you any time after 1pm xx
Jaime:Sure, see you later.
Tossing the phone onto the comforter, a slight twinge of guilt prickled at me for not replying to Wade. In all honesty, I didn’t want to go back to working in the bar - it seemed like a step backwards, whereas working with Austen was a definite step in the right direction. But Wade had been good enough to drive me home last night. Although that didn’t mean I owed him anything in return. I let out a sigh. Who knew coming home would provide this level of complication?
Deciding it was time to get my act together, I hauled my ass out of bed and headed for the shower. The warm jet massaged away any remains of the niggling hangover I thought I might get. Twenty minutes later, refreshed, I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater, as there was no need to get dressed up this morning.
Pulling out my portfolio, laptop, and the notes I’d taken at yesterday’s meeting, I went downstairs to the dining room. Cami was right, we didn’t need it. Neither of us were about to host a full-on dinner party in the near future. I spent a good hour moving things around, shifting the large table closer to the window to provide better light, and tidying away our mother’s knickknacks to give me more space.
