last night.”
Garth frowned. “Last night?”
“Yes, last night. Regan and I were having dinner at the Riverview when you and that Josephine Harris woman arrived.”
Garth drew in a deep breath. “Damn.” He recalled how Josephine had clung to him walking into the restaurant, wanting to make it seem like they were an item.
“Who is Josephine Harris?” Maverick wanted to know.
“The woman from the dating agency,” Charm answered.
“What dating agency?” Sloan asked.
Garth ignored his question. Instead he kept his gaze trained on Charm. “I took Josephine Harris to dinner to tell her I didn’t want to see her again.”
“Well, it didn’t look that way from where Regan and I sat. The woman was practically all over you. I would not have known that seeing you and the woman together bothered Regan if I didn’t know her so well. And then when she called me this morning to say she was resigning and to make sure you got her note, that’s when I put two and two together.”
Garth straightened and shoved the envelope into the pocket of his jacket. “This meeting is canceled.”
He then walked out briskly.
Regan stood back and studied the Christmas tree she’d just decorated. Granted, Thanksgiving was still two weeks away, but it didn’t matter to her. She loved the holidays, Christmas especially. Besides, she needed to do something to keep her busy, to keep her from thinking about Garth. She checked her watch. He should have gotten her resignation letter by now.
She had cried herself to sleep last night, after calling herself all kinds of fool for thinking it would be easy to win him over. And what was even more pathetic was that she hadn’t even gone after his heart. She’d figured desire would be the foundation and that one day he would eventually fall in love with her. She’d been willing to take that chance.
But things hadn’t worked out that way, and it was time to move on to protect her heart. After all that time they’d spent together and what they’d shared—if Josephine Harris could easily walk in and erase it from his mind, then the woman was welcome to him.
He wouldn’t need a pilot until the end of next month, which gave him plenty of time to look for her replacement. She would call Harold Anders later today and accept his job offer. Also, later today she would call her father and let him know of her decision to resign. For the first time in over forty years, a Fairchild would not be the corporate pilot for Outlaw Freight Lines. She would make both of those calls later. Right now, she wanted to stand here, sip her coffee and stare at her beautifully decorated Christmas tree.
Her doorbell sounded. She frowned, wondering who would be paying her a visit. She hoped it wasn’t Charm. Last night she’d come close to spilling her guts.
Leaving the living room, she went to the door. “Who is it?”
“Garth.”
Garth? What was he doing here?
If he thought he could talk her out of resigning, then he was wrong. But more than anything, she would not let him think the reason she was quitting had anything to do with him...even if it did. She had her pride.
She opened the door and pasted a cheery smile on her face. “Garth? What are you doing here?”
“May I come in?”
“Sure.” She stepped aside to let him in.
He’d been to her house before, many times, when he’d been kind enough to pick her up for the airport because of bad weather. This was the first time she’d noticed how his tall, muscular frame seemed to take up a large portion of her living room.
“That’s a pretty Christmas tree.”
She followed his gaze. “Thanks.” She then looked back at him. “Why are you here, Garth?”
He pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket. “About this. We need to talk, Regan.”
She lifted her chin. “Why? I resigned. There’s nothing to talk about. I got a better job offer, and I’m taking it. End of story.”
“I don’t think that’s the end of the story. We should talk.”
Regan drew in a deep breath. She had given two weeks’ notice, so technically he was still her boss for now. She would listen to what he had to say, and then she would ask him to leave. There was nothing he could say that would make her change her mind at this point.
“Fine. We’ll talk. May I take your coat?” She watched him peel his coat off massive shoulders and a masculine body. A