The Job Offer - By Eleanor Webb Page 0,51

week.

As difficult as it would be, she would not contact him once she moved to Seattle. Since he did not want to see her again, there was also no point in telling him that she was moving in the first place, she thought. With more than 3.5 million people in the Seattle metro area, it was doubtful that they would ever run into one another.

The thought of never seeing Ben again after Sunday made her walk faster to chase away her heavy feelings. It dawned on her suddenly that she had fallen in love with him, and the knowledge robbed her of breath. Her chest hurt, and she groaned. How stupid could she get! No wonder her heart hurt at the idea of not seeing him again. Her logical scientist's brain was telling her it simply was not possible. It was far too close to love at first sight, something she simply did not believe in. It did not matter that she had been attracted to him years ago. But she knew what she felt, and if she and Ben had more time together, she knew that they could have something special.

That stopped her. She was not going to ask for more from him. He liked her. Yes! But he did not feel the same way about her that she felt about him. She was not going to turn into another Chelsea.

She stopped walking and looked around her. She recognized the point. She had walked almost six miles to the east and could see the gates for Morgan State Park up ahead and Mount Constitution in the distance. The mountain was the highest point in the San Juan Islands, and if she had more time, she would keep walking until she reached the observation tower at the summit. But that would take far too much time. As it was, she needed to head back to the inn. She forgot her watch, but could tell by where the sun was in the sky that it was already past noon. She doubted that she and Ben would have time to bike down to Orcas Village, but they could take a short trip if they set out once she got back.

At least their families were not expecting them that night. Anne and Ben were planning on skipping dinner with the families so that the rest of the afternoon and evening would be theirs. With only a few short days, she did not want to miss any more time with him. The clock was ticking. They only had about seventy two hours before he left for good, and she wanted to spend as much of those hours with him as she could before they said goodbye.

It took her a few more hours to walk back, and her feet hurt long before she limped up the drive to the inn. Her canvas shoes may work for everyday wear, but they were the wrong shoes for a long walk, especially without socks. She could already feel the blisters forming on her heels and big toe. She chastised herself for her mistake. She should have changed into walking shoes before she left, but she just did not expect to walk for so long. She also had left her cell phone in the suite, so she could not even call for a ride. Limping into her parents' house before going to Ben's suite, she pulled off her shoes and reached for a few bandages. Then she grabbed a pair of socks and her walking shoes and put them on grimacing at the pain.

After taking a bottle of water from her parents' refrigerator, she slipped up the back way and let herself into Ben's sitting room. He wasn't in the suite, but she simply could not walk anymore to go find him, and she did not have his cell number. Her feet were throbbing, so she dropped down on the couch and put her feet up. She must have fallen asleep because the next thing she knew Ben was sitting on the coffee table watching her. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the tender expression she saw in his eyes.

"Hi. What time is it?" She sat up and pushed her hair back from her face.

"It's after three. I was worried about you. We were supposed to meet in the dining room for lunch. You never showed. Then when you did not come, I went looking for you. I checked up here twice,