Page 21 of Love Resurrected
He nods. “Yeah. I need to prove to myself that I can do this; move past Kat’s death and keep living. Like I promised her. Like you accused me of faking. And, since we don’t really care for one another and I’m not attracted to you, you’re perfect to practice on.”
“That’s quite the pick-up line you’ve got there, Mr. Darcy.”
“My last name is Mathews.”
“I know, it was a joke . . . never mind.”
He gives me a chin nod, and begins walking toward the parking lot and, I’m assuming, his car. He turns back when he’s halfway there. “You never answered me.”
“About dinner?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm, that would be a no,” I say. I don’t need that kind of complication in my life.
“Can’t say I didn’t try,” he says, waving a hand in my direction as he pivots and keeps walking.
“And a hell of a try it was,” I mumble to myself, turning to go back into the event.
* * *
My phone ringing wakes me at nine thirty in the morning. I hadn’t bothered to set my alarm last night because I figured I deserved to sleep in the day after such a large event. My birthday present to myself.
“Hello?” my voice croaks. I sound froggy. I clear my throat and try again. “Hello?”
“Tenley, how are you this morning, dear?”
“Madame Mayor?”
“Yes, I have some exciting news to share with you.”
“Okay.” I sit up and rub the sleep out of my eyes.
“First, may I just say what a fantastic job you did with the auction last night. We raised a lot of money and everyone had a great time.”
“Oh, thank you. I appreciate that.”
“And while we are on the subject, recruitment is down in the city for first responders and law enforcement. We are looking for someone to help remedy that. And, since you mentioned that you were happy to volunteer in any capacity, I immediately thought of you for the position. There is a small stipend allotted for it in the budget for your time, and of course, we will reimburse all costs of materials. What do you think?”
“Uh, you mean, like, a job? Are you offering me a job?”
“Yes, it would be a contract position. Though, the money earmarked for it will hardly cover your time since you are invaluable to us. But I know you like to give back to the community and this seems like a great way to do so.”
“Oh. Well, I’m flattered, but are you sure I’m the right person for this?” I stand and start pacing in my bedroom to wake myself up. “I know nothing about first responders or law enforcement.”
“That’s okay, dear. The chiefs from both the SSFD and the SSPD are assigning liaisons who will assist you with the program. Absolutely, you are the right person for the job.”
“Oh, well, okay. Sure, I would love to help. When would you like for me to start?”
“I am hoping to have us all get together this afternoon around two o’clock at my office. We can meet the law enforcement and first responder liaisons and go through the expectations. Does that work for you?”
“It does, yes.” Pacing doesn’t do the trick, so I stumble into the kitchen and hit start on my coffee maker.
“That’s great, I appreciate you, Tenley. I’m not sure what we would do without you.”
“Thank you, Madame Mayor. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
“See you then.” The mayor hangs up and I’m left standing in my kitchen, barely awake, wondering how I got myself into this mess. Event planning is not something I particularly enjoy doing, but when you offer yourself as a volunteer to the mayor, you don’t always get to choose what she assigns. I love donating my time, it keeps me busy and makes me feel good. But I was hoping for something more like petting and feeding abandoned pets at the shelter when the mayor and I first spoke. Instead, this will be the third major event I’ve organized for the city in the last nine months. And they’ve all been centered around law enforcement and first responders.
