A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection (2 page)

Clint finished sending a text then shrugged before putting the phone into his shirt pocket. Though they were in a resort location, everyone was dressed in casual business attire. Men wore khakis and short-sleeved, button-down shirts, while the women wore slacks or skirts. Clint smirked. “Does it matter? She’s here, and we’ve got four days together before she goes back on home to Omaha. I’ve got high expectations.”

Mark frowned. The bad feeling he’d had since first realizing who Clint was flirting with on the company IM system grew a little stronger. Mark had met Sarah two years earlier at orientation. Back then, he’d taken note more of her disposition than of her looks, but she’d also stood out because of her daughter, who she had said had Down syndrome. Her name was Daisy or Violet or some other kind of flower. Sarah had teared up, saying that the orientation was the longest she’d ever been apart from her daughter. It had been sweet, even though he knew she’d been embarrassed by her show of emotion at the time.

Mark had meant to talk to her after that opening session, but he let nerves get the better of him on the first day, and then she’d flown home before the closing reception the following afternoon. After returning to Seattle, he’d thought about contacting her, but an introduction via the Internet seemed awkward. When he reflected on his own situation, he’d wondered what he hoped would come of contacting her anyway.

Now and then, he’d seen her name on a report or shared correspondence, but he never reached out to her—never felt confident about what he’d be reaching out for. And then Clint showed him the picture of the woman he was flirting with in Omaha, the woman who had agreed to stay the weekend so she and Clint could “get to know each other better.”

Mark didn’t know Sarah, not really, but he hadn’t thought she was
that
kind of girl. He knew exactly what kind of guy Clint was, as did at least three women in their office who had already fallen for his charm at one time or another. When Clint said that Sarah’s friend was staying longer too, Mark offered to stay as well to give them even numbers. He was still trying to make sense of why he’d made the offer.

The big windows along the south side framed flowering shrubs and lazy palm trees of the Cozumel beach, but there were still five hours left of day one of the conference—five hours until the employees of Bowman and Skagg were free to pursue the evening as they chose. Mark had never been to Cozumel, and though he looked forward to seeing more of the island, he had growing concern about how this weekend might unfold.

“So you’re meeting Sarah at lunch, then?” Mark asked.

“James got me that spot at Bowman’s table, so I told her we’d meet up at dinner instead.”

“Right,” Mark said, nodding while walking fast to keep up with Clint’s long-legged strides. Mark wasn’t quite six feet tall, while Clint was six three, leaner, tanner, and with whiter teeth. Not that Mark was some kind of pariah, but he didn’t look like he’d stepped out of any type of magazine, other than maybe
Average Guy Weekly
.

As they passed a room with a workshop about to start, Mark did a double-take when he noticed Sarah standing just inside the door. She caught his eye but quickly turned her attention to Clint, who hadn’t seen her as he continued down the hall. She looked great in a lavender blouse and slacks—curvy the way women should be, with big brown eyes and thick brown hair that fell just past her shoulders.

“I’ll, uh, catch up with you after class,” Mark said.

Clint nodded and immediately increased his pace. “Good deal.”

Mark slowed his step and, once Clint rounded the corner, turned back to where he’d seen Sarah. The sign outside the conference room said that this workshop was training for the new software that would be implemented company-wide next month. The Seattle office had piloted the new program, which meant Mark had no need to attend training for it. But that wasn’t why he decided to go.

“Hi,” Mark whispered when he reached Sarah, who was still standing where she’d been a minute earlier. She was doing something with her phone and startled, dropping it into her purse and looking up at him with her pretty brown eyes. She had those fake eyelashes that were all the rage and though he’d seen worse sets, she probably should have saved her money. He liked what she’d done with her hair, though. At the orientation two years ago she’d kept it pulled back. It looked nice worn down like she had it today. He put his hand out. “Mark Leavittson. We were in orientation together a couple of years ago.”

He didn’t expect her to remember him, but was still disappointed when no recognition showed on her face. He’d come to terms with the fact that he wasn’t the kind of guy who stood out, but that didn’t mean it didn’t sting a little. She took his hand and smiled politely. “I’m sorry, I’m not very good with names, or, well, faces, either, apparently.”

They dropped hands, and he put his in his pockets as she glanced down the hall where he and Clint had parted company not long ago. “You’re a friend of Clint Hunter?” she asked. Her eyes snapped back to his a moment later. “Wait, you’re
Mark
? The guy staying for the weekend with us?”

Us.

Mark nodded. “Yeah. Should be a lot of fun.”

“Oh, I think so too,” she said eagerly, but with some nervousness mixed in. The same sweetness still radiated from her. All over again, he experienced the feeling that she was someone he could connect with. But he hadn’t taken the opportunity when he’d had it. Two years later, Clint had.

“It’s really nice to meet you, or, well,
see
you again, I guess,” she went on. “It’s kind of funny that I met you before Clint.”

“I’ll introduce the two of you at dinner, but from what he’s said, you guys have really hit it off.”

She blushed and looked away, tucking her hair behind her ear. He wanted to ask about her daughter. Then he could tell her about Dillon, too. The common ground could be something they could build on. But this was Clint’s weekend, not his. There was no reason for him to build anything. Mark wasn’t sure Clint even knew about Sarah’s daughter. Then again, Clint insisted this was a weekend fling. Maybe all of Mark’s impressions about this woman had been wrong. Maybe she was just as casual as Clint about these things. The problem was that Mark’s impressions didn’t
feel
wrong. Sheesh.
Feelings.
He forced a smile. He was Clint’s wingman. That was all.

“Clint’s got a lunch commitment he can’t get out of,” Mark said.

“Oh, that’s fine,” she said, but seemed relieved. “I’m glad he got in okay. Were you on the same flight?”

Mark nodded and put a hand over his stomach. “If I never eat another airport meal, it will be too soon.”

She smiled again, more genuine this time, less nervous. He liked that. The voice of the instructor filtered back to them as he welcomed everyone to the class. “We’d better get our seats,” Sarah said, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. “Do you want to sit together? It’s always nice to sit by someone you know.”

“That’d be great,” Mark said, smiling again and holding her eyes long enough that she looked away first, perhaps a tiny bit confused at his interest. That made two of them.

Chapter Three

“Did Grammy put the bubbles in the tub?” Sarah asked into the phone.

“Yeth,” Rose said, then went on to tell Sarah all about her bath. Rose was better at signing than with verbal articulation, but of course, over the phone, that wasn’t an option. Sarah tried to pick out the words she could understand and gave lots of “Wow” and “How fun” commentary. She had to remind herself not to be sad that she wasn’t missed. This was why she and Rose lived with Grammy and Pops—so Rose would have lots of love and nurturing. This call was proof of that success.

The conversation on the other end of the line suddenly stopped, as though the phone had been dropped. “Rose?” Sarah sat up a little on the bed. “Rosey?”

“She wants to show you her picture,” Sarah’s mom said into the phone a moment later, allowing Sarah to relax. “It’s pink and green and brown. Okay, now she’s back.”

“Oh, and it’s so pretty,” Sarah said after the hand-off and hearing Rose’s garbled explanation of the picture Sarah couldn’t see. “I love the pink.”

She lay back into the pillows and listened some more, ignoring the double ache in her chest—first, because she wasn’t there to see the picture in person, and second because she was having a good time. She felt a little guilty about both. In less than an hour, she’d meet Clint for the first time. That thought awakened the butterflies in her stomach, but she pushed them away; Rose was in the spotlight right now and Sarah didn’t want to miss a thing.

Rose dropped the phone twice more before Sarah’s mom said in the background that it was time to go. “Love you, sweet girl,” Sarah said into the phone.

“Luff, luff,” Rose said.

Sarah’s mom got back on the line and assured Sarah that everything was going well. “Don’t call tomorrow; you’re going to have a ridiculous phone bill next month, and she’s fine, really.”

“I won’t make any promises,” Sarah said. “But thank you for doing this, Mom. I really appreciate you guys.”

“It’s our pleasure; you know that. Are you having a good time?”

“It’s just been the conference so far, but I meet up with Clint for dinner in an hour, with Brylee and Clint’s friend too, of course.”

“Good,” Mom said. “You can tell us all about it when you get home. We’d better end this phone call before we have to get a payday loan to cover it.”

Sarah laughed, they said their goodbyes, and then she hung up, took a deep breath and put her phone—and that part of her life—on the bedside table. A minute later, she pulled the dark purple faux-wrap dress she’d wear to dinner from the closet, and her nerves rushed in as though she’d turned on a faucet. Clint. Thirty minutes. Dinner. Beach. Moonlight.

“Holy crap, what am I doing?”

* * *

Brylee showed up five minutes before they were supposed to leave the hotel—she’d gone out for drinks with the group that she’d collaborated reconciliation procedures with who were now her BFFs. The woman was a social genius. Sarah was putting the final details on her hair—for the sixth time—and wondered how on earth Brylee could get ready in five minutes. Brylee threw off her slacks and blouse, pulled a red sundress over her head, took her hair out of a bun and—bam—she was ready. Like Supergirl without a phone booth. Sarah was comfortable with her figure unless she spent much time with Brylee, who made size four women feel like fatties. Sarah was not a size four.

“Okay,” Brylee said, grinning widely. “Are you excited?”

“Yes,” Sarah said with a sharp nod and a smile she hoped matched Brylee’s. “I am
so
excited.”

Chapter Four

It started raining on the way to the restaurant, which was only half a block from the hotel. Brylee and Sarah kicked off their heels and carried them, making a run for it and finding safety in the foyer where a good laugh at the drama helped cover Sarah’s disappointment over the weather. There would be no walk on the beach tonight, apparently, but that was okay. They still had the rest of the weekend, and having a little less pressure this first night was probably a good thing. They ducked into the bathroom and fixed their hair. Well, Sarah fixed hers; Brylee didn’t need to, although she did apply a little more lip-gloss.

Clint and Mark stood when Sarah and Brylee got to the table a few minutes later. Clint gave Sarah a quick hug—no kiss. That was a good sign. But she’d hoped to feel some kind of tingle when they first touched, and she didn’t. The anticipation of this meeting must have mitigated whatever electricity she might have felt. Brylee and Mark shook hands.

When the chips and salsa came to the table, Clint pushed his salsa toward Sarah so they could share. The four of them talked about Clint and Mark’s delayed flight and how horrible it was spending eight hours in an airport. The conversation eventually moved on to the different break-out sessions they’d attended that day.

“You two were in the class on the new software together?” Clint asked after Sarah explained how she and Mark had met. Clint gave Mark a look Sarah didn’t understand.

“It was really good,” Sarah said while attempting to decipher the look. “I think it will make tabulating the reports so much smoother.”

“Oh, it will,” Clint said with a grin. “We’ve been using it since the first of the year—Seattle was the pilot office for the program.”

Sarah and Brylee both looked at Mark, who was intently dunking his chip in the salsa. Why had he attended the class if he didn’t need to learn the software?

“None of the other breakouts in that block interested me,” Mark said with a shrug.

“They didn’t
interest
you?” Brylee said, leaning forward slightly, her eyes wide with feigned surprise. “Proper accounting of insufficient fund transactions and collection procedure doesn’t light your fire? Who are you?”

Mark leaned forward too, a teasing smile on his face. “Don’t tell my boss or my mother. It would break their hearts.”

They all laughed, and Sarah joined in half a beat after the others.
Relax. Have Fun.
She did not want to betray how out of her element she felt right now. Too bad she wasn’t a drinker, though now might be the perfect time to start. Surely she could relax better with a few shots of vodka in her. Then again, they might make her sick, and she still worried about the whole throwing-up-on-Clint scenario. Not worth the risk.

“What about tomorrow’s classes?” Clint asked. “Are there any that stand out to you guys? ’Cause if not, we could play hooky and hit the beach early.”

Sarah tensed and dipped another chip. Her boss had emphasized how essential it was for every employee to attend each block. He’d be following up with them next week and Sarah wasn’t sure she could lie about it.

“I thought tomorrow looked like a good lineup.  Plus I’m moderating the partner panel after lunch,” Mark said. Sarah glanced up at him, relieved that he was supporting her silent position, and smiled her thanks. She didn’t know how, but she could tell he understood exactly what she meant with that smile. She was suddenly so glad that Brylee and Mark were here with her and Clint; she’d have never made this weekend work without them.