Page 48 of The Mistakes I've Made
But I was on a time crunch, and he was more than qualified. Plus, he’d done amazing work on a Hart project up the coast already this year. It was a win-win.
“You can do both plans?”
“I can do both plans,” he confirmed.
“Then, you’re hired.”
“Excellent. I look forward to working with you.” I could almost hear the smile in his voice.
“Likewise.”
Rather than wrapping up the call, there was some hesitation before he continued, “If you’re up for celebrating, I could hop on a ferry back to Ocracoke and join you for dinner tonight. I’m staying at a friend’s house in Hatteras for the evening.”
I tried not to let out a frustrated huff.
Does Taylor have to be right about everything?
“I think it’s best if we keep this relationship strictly professional, don’t you?” I said, feeling all sorts of uncomfortable. This was not how I wanted to start out this working relationship.
“Of course,” he answered quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just—”
“Good night, Jack,” I said before he could say another word. “We’ll talk again soon.”
I ended the call, wondering just how I’d managed to miss all the telltale signs throughout the day that my architect had the hots for me.
Your attention wasn’t exactly on him.
No, I’d been completely distracted by Taylor and his blonde lunch date to be bothered with Jack.
But all that was behind me now.
We had rules.
Rules that would keep our hands off each other.
Rules that would keep his lips from ever touching mine.
My eyes drifted to the nearest window, and soon, my body followed. There was a single light on in the Sutherland Fishing Company office.
With a single occupant.
From here, I could see Taylor hunched over that worn desk of his, staring at a laptop.
Checking the time on my phone, I found it was well past closing time.
I guessed I wasn’t the only one who worked after hours.
My feet took a step toward the door.
Toward Taylor.
“What am I doing?” I said out loud.
I’d just turned down dinner with a man in order to keep it professional, and now, I was running back to the one man I couldn’t keep away from.
I stopped short of the door, feeling defeated.
Defeated and alone.
