Page 5 of The Single Dad's Guide to Recreation

If I could shrink my six-foot-three body down to equal her five foot and change, I would. Instead, I sit across from her and hunch over, elbows on knees. “I can tell you two have a history. Which I’m sure makes this all… complicated.”

She rolls her eyes. “You could say that again.”

“Eli,” I say on a chuckle, adding aWhat can you do?shrug. “When he’s excited, especially when it’s a new idea, he tunnel visions.”

“So you’ve worked for him for a long time?” She picks up a pen and sits back in her chair to twirl it around her fingers.

“Actually, I just joined Trede a few months ago. But I’ve known him a long time. My, uh, wife—” It’s still difficult to figure out how to refer to her, but I push on. “Worked on a startup with him their senior year in college. She vowed to never do it again.”

She nods knowingly. “Because he’s such a jerk?”

I shake my head. “Because she valued his friendship too much.”

“So why areyouworking for him?” she asks, sitting forward.

This is an easy answer, even though working for the man is nowhere near easy. “He made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. And it was a good fit for me and my family.”

She taps the pen on her desk blotter and her gaze flicks to her computer monitor, a piece of equipment that looks like it’s been there for twenty-five years. It seems like I’ve shifted things slightly, but I’m running out of time, so I go for broke. “Can I be frank, Ms. Blake?”

She puffs out a slightly less irritated sigh. “You can call me Leia.”

“Leia, I honestly believe that if we work together—you and me and your staff—we can make this place the center of the community. Not just a community center.”

Her eyes narrow again. “That sounds like an ad campaign.”

“It just came out of my mouth, but we could use it.” My hand goes to my heart. “It’s not just words. I am a part of this community now. I want it to be a place where my kids can thrive.”

That last line isn’t bullshit, I remind myself. They’re the reason I took the job in this tiny town.That, and the fact that you couldn’t get out of bed in the morning back in Manhattan.

She sighs again, but this time it feels like surrender. “What would this ‘working together’ mean?”

“Well, I’d love to start with your survey results from the past few years.”

She stiffens. “I hope you’re not looking at numbers during COVID. Obviously?—”

“Obviously, those have to be treated differently. But there are some useful dynamics at play.”

“Like what?”

“Hey, Leia?”

At the sound of that sweet voice, my head whips around to lock in on its source.

“Did you hear back from the fire department about visiting—” Seeing me, Avery freezes. “I’m so sorry I didn’t know you had a, uh… I’ll just check in la?—”

There’s a ripping sound as she disappears and then reappears in the doorway before falling through it headfirst, exclaiming, “Oh, sugar!”

Diving between her and the floor, I just manage to catch her shoulders and roll beneath her to cushion her fall. When she lands on top of me, every molecule of air whooshes out of my body, but I don’t care. I could lie here forever with her draped over me like a plush, cozy, sexy blanket. For a few magical moments we just blink at each other. When she breaks the spell, scrambling to her feet muttering apologies and something about a ripped pocket, my nose follows her, my lungs shamelessly vacuuming up as much of her scent as I possibly can.

The door slamming behind her brings me back to earth. A pointed throat-clearing from Leia brings me back to my senses. “Are you okay, Mr. Harmon?”

Hopping to my feet, I hunch over, brushing off my trousers as I will my junk to calm down. “Oh, yeah. Fine. Now, where were we?”

Face hot, I reach for my briefcase and grab the reports I brought along. Eighty-five percent sure she’s a gal who likes a graph, I pull a stack of colorfully printed pages from my briefcase. Still needing a moment, I tip my head toward a table and chairs by the window. “Mind if I lay these out over there?”

“Sure. Whatever.”

I turn my back as I spread out the bait and release a tiny breath of relief when she appears at my side. When she picks up a spreadsheet, I shift into full-on wonk-mode. Five minutes later I’ve got her wrapped in demographics and percentages, all adding up to what she must see is truly incontrovertible data.

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