Sailing at Sunset - Cindi Madsen Page 0,43
even finished her spiel, he’d squatted next to her, placed his hand on her shoulder, and told her it wasn’t a big deal.
Then he’d grabbed a roll of paper towels, told her to be careful so she wouldn’t cut her fingers, and helped her clean it up. That’d been the first glimmer of attraction, and things had blossomed from there.
She’d doubted her instincts when it came to dating and relationships since the breakup, but maybe she hadn’t been completely wrong about Mark, even if it hadn’t worked out.
As they climbed off the carousel, she quickened her pace so she could talk to Mark. “That was very nice of you.”
“I couldn’t handle watching him miss one last time. Everyone deserves bragging rights and a free ride.”
“Guess that rowdy boy grew up to be a generous gentleman.”
As they went to step off the carousel, Mark extended a hand and helped her down. “That means a lot coming from you, considering you’ve seen some of my not-so-generous moments.”
“Not true. Even with”—unexpected emotion clotted her throat—“everything that happened with us, you’ve remained courteous and professional, and I appreciate it. Even if I might not have at first.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t easy. And sometimes—”
“That was amazing,” Vanessa said, hooking her arm in Danae’s. “The pictures and the videos, and ahh, I feel like a kid again.”
Mere steps in front of them, Franco glanced over his shoulder and then loudly faux-whispered to Paige, “What’s next? I’d ask Danae, but I’m afraid she’ll yell at me for not reading the itinerary.” The entire team laughed. After a few days of wondering if she could pull off team bonding, it buoyed Danae’s already happy mood to the next level.
She turned to Paige and Vanessa, crossing her fingers that they were feeling the bonding vibes as well. “Any publicity and marketing opportunities there? Even if it’s just networking?”
“I’ll look into it,” Paige said.
“Awesome. Next up is a short walk down Circuit Street, and then we’ll cut across Tabernacle Avenue and check out the real-life gingerbread houses. From there, it’s only a three-minute walk to The Sweet Life Café, where I’ve booked us a late lunch. Not only is it one of the top-rated restaurants in town, I called ahead and made sure they had vegetarian options for Paige, gluten-free dishes for Franco, and that they’d consider opening an hour early to accommodate our group.”
Then she’d present the five-year plan she’d worked so hard on to everyone. The nerves she’d kept at bay rose up, even as she assured herself that it would be fine. The last few meetings had gone much better than the first.
It was just that this one was the big one. The high she’d experienced from today’s bonding time slowly leaked out of her, every breath tightening instead of expanding her lungs.
To combat her apprehension, Danae did what she did best. She dug her planner out of her bag and began studying the notes she’d made for her presentation while silently chanting, Please, please let it go well.
Chapter Eleven
When it came to getting through to Danae about living in the moment, it felt like one step forward and two steps back. Having every minute of a day arranged made Josh scratch at his throat, but she obviously found it comforting. Currently she had her nose buried so far in her planner that she was missing out on the little shops buzzing with tourists, the blue sky overhead, and the leafy green trees that provided welcome patches of shade.
Maybe the houses and businesses they were passing weren’t the “gingerbread houses” she had on her bullet-pointed list, but there was a lot of beautiful architecture. For instance, the charming inn to their right, with its balconies and turret and greenery climbing up the sides.
“Hey, look,” Josh said, stepping closer to her so that the family of four would go through the gap he’d opened up instead of slam into Danae, who probably wouldn’t even notice. “It’s the Lazy Frog. Danae, maybe you want to stop in and see if you can find tips on how to take some extra leisure time—it says ‘dedicated to leisure’ right there.”
Several members of her team chuckled. Unfortunately, he didn’t get so much as a glance from Danae, much less the smile he’d hoped for. Already he’d failed at remaining uber professional. It wasn’t really his style anyway. Plus, they’d connected yesterday, and he couldn’t just throw that away. Instead, he was attempting to walk closer to the friendly line rather than the