Page 33 of Every Bit As Perfect
“You,” he repeated firmly.
I flushed further.By this point, I probably resembled a cherry tomato.
He took another sip of his hot chocolate.“I saw you, too.”
“You did?”
“Yes.Did you go home with him?”
My jaw dropped.
“What’s good for the goose, Harley.”
“No.No, I did not.”
“Did you see him again after that?”
I shook my head.“No.It, uh, turned out I wasn’t ready to start dating again.”
“Good.”
“Daire—”
“The reason I’m here is to see if Sage Ridge Resort can help with a situation at the school.”
I came alert.This is what I’d been working toward, community outreach, providing recreational activities for the community, not just serve as another employer in the community but actually serve to strengthen the community.
“What’s going on?”
He smiled slyly.“Having been a competitive swimmer in university—”
“Oh my god.You tricked me.”
“You didn’t ask, little Spitfire.You just strolled in and started throwing down.”
I laughed.“I did, didn’t I?”
He grinned.“You did.”
“You knew I couldn’t beat you,” I accused.
“I knew.”He winked and promised, “And one day I’ll pick up that raincheck.”
I shook my head but couldn’t help my smile.“You were saying?”
“Right.The school asked me to coach the swim team, grades seven to twelve.The problem is the recreation center pool is out of commission for six weeks.We have nowhere to practice.”
“What’s your timeline like?”
“Our competition is the week before Halloween.Altogether, there are four schools involved.We can petition to have the meet at one of their facilities, but it’s our turn to host.”
I slammed my hand down on the desk excitedly.“This is exactly the sort of thing I want the resort to get involved with!You know, we have this beautiful facility, and so many people in the community work here, but they rarely get to enjoy it with their families.And why not?Why shouldn’t they?We’re a small community and we do such good things together.”
I got up and rounded my desk to perch on the edge in front of him.
“Okay, this is not exactly what I had in mind.I was thinking more of a Halloween party.But still.This would be great,” I ran on.“I’ll talk to my parents.They don’t tend to get on board with my ideas, but I’ve never had one go sideways yet.”
“What ideas have you had, little one?”
