Page 34 of That Friendzone Feeling

It’sallIcan do to not crawl across the granite counter to pull her into my arms.

“Yeah, well.”Shepicks up a cork coaster. “There’sno time for getting sentimental right now,Mr.P.”

Shetosses the coaster at me.

Ithits the fridge.

“Couldyou please get your charger cord soIcan send our favorite movie star the plans?”

Itip my bottle against my lips and look at her over the bottom of it.

Ilet the stout sit on my tongue for a couple of seconds, enjoying the hint of sweetnessIput there just for her, before swallowing slowly.

“You’renot going to believe this,”Itell her.

“Todayseems to be full of thingsI’mstruggling to comprehend.”Shethrows her hands into the air. “Whatyou got now?”

“Mycomputer and charger are both at the office.Ididn’t take them toBathgatewith me, andIcame straight home from there.”

Sheflops forward, arms outstretched, her forehead landing on the counter with athunk, her voice muffled as she cries, “Forfuck’s sake.”

11

Two weeks later

EMILY

Ihate sitting with the car engine idling.Butnow the sun’s set behind the little clapboardHornbyIslandAirportbuilding, what warmth there’d been in the air has vanished andIneed the heat on.

ThankgoodnessI’mnot in my usual work attire of a dress and heels or my feet would be freezing right now.Instead, they are delightedIdecided to go for the more fitting island attire of a wool jacket over a sweater, jeans, and sneakers.Ieven picked up some new walking shoes for when we showChasearound the resort tomorrow soI’lllook less like a goober walking around in stilettos and more likeIknow whatI’mdoing.

Walker’splane is due to land any minute.Heshould have flown with me this morning, but one of the vats—Walkerhates it whenIcall them vats and always correctsme to “tun”—at theBrooklynpub sprang a leak and he wanted to help fix it.

Wehave a section of that pub set up as a mini brewery behind glass walls so customers can admire the beautiful copper vats and watchVijay, that location’s brewer, at work.It’squite the attraction.

Vijaysaid he could repair it himself, butWalkerinsisted on staying behind to help, whileIflew up ahead to make sure everything’s ready forChase’svisit tomorrow.

Chaseis still making positive noises about the whole thing.Hispraise for our vision couldn’t have been more glowing whenIwas eventually able to email him the details of the resort the morning after our meeting at his hotel.Andwe’ve exchanged numerous fun texts since.Heeven sent me a photo of himself pulling a face while wearing a silly hat that was part of his costume for the role he’s been filming these last few days.

Iguess the nonwork messages could be construed as flirting, butI’mrefusing to think about that.I’mworking on the assumption that we’re forming a friendly, professional relationship.

Andat leastWalker’scoming to the meeting this time.Yes,Ican handle deals and negotiations and presentations by myself, but having him next to me makes all the difference.

Thisisourbusiness,ourbaby.We’rethe only people who understand how the other feels about it.Andit wouldn’t even exist without our unique combination of skills—neither of us could have createdToastedTomatoon our own.

Wehave each other’s back the way no one else does, have talked the other out of giving up during the toughtimes, and have been each other’s cheerleader through the business lows as well as the highs.

Knowingthe man by my side is the one person certain to catch me ifIfall makes me ten times stronger.Hemakes me better than myself.

Planelights come into view over the water.Itmust be him.

Aflutter rises from my belly to my chest.

GoodGod, these feelings forWalkerare confusing.ButI’vedone a pretty good job of shoving them aside these last couple of weeks.I’vefelt less awkward around him since he was so nice to me after my fuck-up with the power cord.ButIalso haven’t been walking around the loft half-dressed likeImight have done in the old days.

Ireally should have found somewhere else to live by now, but we’ve been so busy trying to get everything together to make the best possible impression onChase.

Andalso, ifI’mhonest with myself,Ilike staying with him and don’t want to leave.