Page 16 of Boston
“Adam and I want to have a summer barbecue and bonfire in his backyard on the weekend. What are you doing?”
“I have a hunting excursion.”
“Dang it.” Joey sighed. “When can you do it?”
Boston had just looked at his schedule, thankfully. “Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday, but it’s fine. You don’t need to hold it for me.”
“But we can,” Joey said. “I’m still waiting to hear from Beth, so I’ll let you know.”
“Okay,” Boston said.
“And, no pressure, but Lynnie and Matthew will be here, and Corrine is wondering if she can bring her boyfriend…so we’re inviting everyone and their plus-one. It doesn’t have to be a romantic plus-one. You could bring a friend from the lodge or whatever.”
“Okay,” Boston said. “And Corrine is bringing her boyfriend?” His cousin was brave if she was truly going to bring her high school boyfriend to a Young family function. “How does Uncle Luke feel about this?”
“I guess they’re taking him camping with them in a couple of weeks and everything,” Joey said.
“You’re joking.” Boston’s father would’veneverdone that.
Joey giggled. “We’re all saying Uncle Luke is turning into a completely different person.”
“It’s a little weird,” Boston said. “And I might bring a friend. Let me know when it is.”
“Sure thing.” Joey hung up, and Boston wandered over to the microwave, wondering if he could consider Cora a friend by the time the bonfire happened, and if she’d come with him if he invited her.
“Just see if she flirts with you tomorrow during your ‘meeting’.” He got out his microwavable meal, stirred it up, and put it back in for a few more seconds. Yeah, that was what he’d do. Just see if he could get a better read on Cora tomorrow, and then he might know if he should put her in the friend category, or the boss one, or if maybe, just maybe, there could be something else between them worth exploring.
CHAPTER
SIX
Cora felt like she was fighting a losing battle against time. It was definitely winning today, and she couldn’t do anything about it.
She’d spent hours and hours in meetings before. Something about today’s really irritated her.
Perhaps if you didn’t have a lunch date with the gorgeous Boston Simpson,she told herself.Your leg wouldn’t be bouncing and you wouldn’t be tapping the tabletop with your fingernails.
“All right, that’s it,” her momma finally said, and Cora practically jumped to her feet.
She’d taken plenty of notes she’d probably never look at again, but it didn’t matter. The act of writing it down solidified it in her mind.
“Cora, dear,” her momma said. “I’d love to go over your schedule.”
Just when she thought she’d be able to get away.
“What schedule?” she asked, barely able to keep the bite out of her voice.
Jeremy laughed as he left the room with Anne, their head chef, Ernie, their chief maintenance and grounds officer, andPatrick, who oversaw all of their events. She had time scheduled with each of them this week as well, but none of them made her stomach boil and had her anticipation rioting the way her lunch date with Boston did.
It’s not a date,she told herself sternly as she navigated back over to her momma.It’s a business meeting.
“Leon says he can meet with you anytime and go over the accounting,” her momma said, a warm smile on her face.
“Yes,” Cora said. “I had an email out to him.” She looked at her phone. “I didn’t see his reply.”
“I tracked him down at the coffee bar this morning,” Momma said. “Leon isn’t great with email.”
Cora looked up and blinked. Whoever heard of running a huge business with over one hundred employees without the expectation that they would check their email? Such a thing felt so foreign to Cora. She would have never been able to get away with that in Miami.
