Cassie sat out on the porch of The Cabot after getting back from her lunch with Uncle Ted. She wasn’t sitting there in plain sight, hoping that Del might see her. That wasn’t it at all. They just had really good sweet tea at The Cabot was all. But her drink was almost gone, and no sign of Del. She didn’t want to bother him if he was really busy. He did have a hotel to run. And there was the whole fire thing.
She took the last sip and set the glass on the table beside her. Now what to do? The afternoon stretched out before her.
“There you are.” Del hurried up to her. “I told my manager to keep an eye out for your return. He said he saw you head out here. I wanted to talk to you.”
Suddenly the afternoon looked brighter. Maybe she could convince him to take a little break and walk along the harbor? She motioned to the chair beside her. “Sit down. How’s the room? Is there a lot of damage?”
“Some. Well, lots. But we’ll repaint and get new furniture and carpets. Hope it will only take a month or so to get everything in. Should be all set for January when the snowbirds come to town and we get busy again.”
“And the guest? Is he okay?”
“Yes, a minor burn. He apologized over and over… not that it makes it any better. Some people just don’t think the rules apply to them. No smoking anywhere inside the hotel.” He frowned as he shook his head.
“I’m glad it wasn’t worse.”
“Me, too. Anyway, I wanted to say how sorry I am that our dinner got cut short.” He took her hand in his and a wave of warmth and connection flowed through her.
She stared down at their hands, then remembered she hadn’t answered him. “I was sorry, too.” So very sorry. She’d wanted handholding and long conversations and maybe a goodnight kiss. Not a hotel emergency.
“So, how about I make it up to you? I’ll cook dinner for you tomorrow night?” He looked at her expectantly.
“That would be nice.” Nice? Nice? It would be fantastic to have some more time alone with him. What was wrong with her when she got around Delbert?
“Six? I should be done with work by then.”
She nodded, afraid she’d say something silly like nice again.
He glanced down in annoyance at his phone pinging with text messages. “I’m sorry. I have to go. An electrical problem on the first floor. Might be related to the fire.”
Disappointment blasted through her, though she put on an encouraging smile. “Go. That’s fine.” So much for spending more time with him and her dream of a nice harbor walk.
“I’ll wrap all this up and I promise we won’t be disturbed tomorrow night.”
She nodded, and he walked away with long, determined strides. She only hoped he was right. That nothing interrupted their dinner tomorrow.