Page 58 of V is for Valentine
Felicity blew out a breath. That was a solid yes and no.
She had to admit that their current dynamic added a certain energy to her life, which she hadn’t felt since…
Don’t say it.
Sean.
She cringed inwardly, then drew herself up as she walked up the steps. She was older and wiser and had experience on her side. There was no need to worry about falling into that trap again.
Right you are.
“I have donuts,” she called up the stairs.
“I’ll be down in a while. I need to finish spraying this batch.”
“Gotcha.”
She grabbed her donut out of the box and headed into the office she’d finished the day before to begin sanding the seams in preparation for texturing. Then she’d head upstairs to start painting while Danny textured downstairs.
She heard him coming down the stairs as she finished the last seam. Still holding the sanding block, she stepped out into the hall. “I got you two lemon bismarks to make up for being late.” There’d been a run on Valentine’s cookies that morning, so she hadn’t been able to prove her open-mindedness concerning a holiday that meant nothing to her.
“Thanks.” He gave her a look that made her instantly recall why she’d lain awake that night.
“Not a problem.” She gave him a perfunctory smile, then ducked back into the office, feeling almost as out of breath as she’d been that morning after hurrying up the steps to the front door.
Danny had her on the run.
No. Her lack of faith in herself had her on the run.
The realization was hard to swallow, but that didn’t make it any less true.
This will not do.
She set down the sanding block and was on her way out of the room to meet this challenge head-on, in full winging-it mode, when her phone rang, bringing her to a stop. Tess.
“Hey,” she said in a distracted voice.
“Hi. I have a guy here who wants to talk to you.”
“What? At the animal shelter?”
“Cade Kincaid.”
“Really?” She didn’t like the sound of that. “Put him on.”
A few seconds later, Cade said, “Hi, Felicity. Sorry to contact you in this roundabout way.”
“Not a problem,” she said, hoping those words were true.
“I heard that you’re a financial advisor, and I was wondering if before you leave for Seattle, we could have drinks and discuss a few matters.”
“This sounds a little like a come-on, Cade.”
“Really?”
“It’s the drinks part.”
He laughed. “How many hours did we spend together in the library? If I’d wanted to come on to you, I would have done it then.”
