Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94512 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 378(@250wpm)___ 315(@300wpm)
Liza opened her mouth, then closed it again, searching for the right words. “Date?” was the best she could do.
“When you asked me to meet you here…never mind,” he said, shaking his head.
Liza was mortified, both for herself and for him. “No, it’s not a date,” she said softly. “I only meant it as an offer to introduce you around and ease your transition to town. I’m so sorry if you thought otherwise.”
His face flushed red. “It’s the hick in me, I guess,” he said sheepishly.
“No!” she said, meaning it.
“Okay, I’m back!” Bianca returned, interrupting the embarrassing moment. “Bought extra.” She waved the zeppoli in front of Liza and Jeff.
He accepted the offer, taking one. Liza decided she’d just earned the treat.
“Guess who I ran into over by the fried-dough stand?” Bianca asked. “Peter from accounting,” she said before they could offer a guess. “And he was alone. Even at a social event like this one, he’s such a loner. Sad.” She shook her head and bit into her doughy treat.
“Did you ask him to join us?” Liza asked.
Bianca nodded. “He said he’s more of an observer than a joiner, but thank you anyway. Whatever that means,” she said with an eye roll. “He’s an odd duck.”
“But good with numbers, and that’s what matters to me.”
Bianca nodded. “I can’t believe how hot it is today,” she said, changing the subject.
“But it’s not raining, so that’s a good day off in my book,” Jeff said, finally speaking and obviously eager to move on from their misunderstanding.
Liza took his cue and tried to forget about it too. It wasn’t easy. She’d never meant to lead him on. As nice as he was, Liza wouldn’t date someone from the office. She wasn’t interested in dating period.
Oddly, that didn’t stop her interest in a certain police officer she hadn’t run into yet today. On the heels of that thought came a surge of disappointment and she couldn’t help wondering if Dare had thought about her at all, if he’d looked for her today the way she was looking for him.
“Liza? Are you coming?” Bianca asked.
She shook her head hard. “Sorry. Am I coming where?” She’d been too lost in her own thoughts and had stopped paying attention to Bianca and Jeff.
“The dunking booth. It’s a chance to nail the cops!” Bianca waggled her eyebrows, laughing.
Taking in the other woman’s miniskirt and cropped tank top, so different from her office attire, Liza figured there was a good chance the cops would be eager to let Bianca have a shot at them. As long as it wasn’t her cop, Liza thought, and immediately stifled the thought.
“I wouldn’t miss this.” Liza followed them to the far end of the area where the dunking booth had been set up.
Jeff kept his distance from Liza, focusing more on Bianca, allowing her to chat away like they were old friends. And though Liza was relieved, she was still uncomfortable. The last thing she wanted was any awkward office moments.
The walk to the dunking booth took a while since Bianca was stopped often. They passed Peter Dalton, and though Liza waved, he merely watched them, nodding as they passed. Bianca was right. The man was an odd duck.
The rest of the people they stopped to talk to were Bianca’s friends, most of them younger than Liza’s twenty-nine. Bianca herself was only twenty-three, coming to work for Liza straight out of college. She’d been with Liza for a little over a year and despite her chatty demeanor, she handled her phone calls professionally and kept Liza’s work and appointments well organized.
Bianca introduced both Liza and Jeff to her friends. They all seemed to like him, especially the women, who were obviously thrilled to meet a new guy in town. His discomfort from earlier seemingly forgotten, Liza was again struck by how easygoing the man was. The Midwest must breed their males to be friendly because Jeff had no trouble fitting in. Liza watched from the sidelines. Once again, she felt on the fringe of a group instead of a part of it, so she was grateful when they started walking again.
At the dunking booth, a large crowd had gathered, making it impossible to see the tank.
“I wonder who’s in the booth.” Bianca craned her head to try to see over and around the people.
“It’s Sam Marsden,” a woman standing in front of them offered.
Brian’s most recent arresting officer. Despite what she spouted in defense of her brother, Liza didn’t fault the police for taking Brian in when he deserved it. But she still wouldn’t mind watching Officer Marsden receive a good soaking, she thought with a grin.
“Throw, throw, throw, throw!” The chant came from the crowd, obviously eager to watch the confrontation.
“Let’s get closer.” Bianca plowed forward, barreling through the crush of people.