“I think a bird just flew into our cabin.”

“A bird . . .” Two beats pass and then Christa’s eyes widen. “No! No no no no no . . .” She bolts inside. I run in after her, just as the interior of our cabin is bathed in light. Her sharp gaze searches the ceiling’s corners. “There!” As sleeping bags begin to rustle and squinty-eyed faces emerge, she points to the far corner, where a small, wiry black body clings. “It’s not a bird. It’s a bat!”

In those few seconds of calm before reality registers and mass pandemonium explodes, I let out a disappointed sigh.

So much for seeing Kyle tonight.

Chapter 9

NOW

“No!”

“Come on . . .” David’s on my heels as we enter the building after an industry breakfast meeting. “Just lend him to me for the day!”

“Mark is not a damn pen to be passed around!” I take a calming breath as my gaze settles on the cluster of people loitering around the front desk. Visitors, waiting to get signed in. Kyle sits somewhere behind them, taking down information, handing out badges. Offering them polite smiles and banal greetings, with no more familiarity than he has shown me these past two weeks since he started working in the building.

My intelligent, mature self keeps telling me to let it go. That what we had was thirteen years ago. We were teenagers then. Stupid kids, really. We’re adults now, and complete strangers. If Kyle wants to keep it that way . . . fine.

Except he was the first boy I ever loved—my first in many ways—and he crushed me. How can he keep treating me like I mean nothing to him?

I have to stop thinking about the mischievous, playful guy from Camp Wawa. The one who was chasing and charming me from the moment he first laid eyes on me. The one who grabbed my attention from forty feet away and seized my heart not long after.

Clearly, that guy is long gone.

Plus, Kyle’s involved with someone else. I’m not getting in the middle of that.

“Piper!” David’s annoyed bark startles me. He asked me a question. What, I have no idea.

“What was wrong with that lady from a couple of days ago? The one with the thick glasses. Carla said she was perfect.”

“Who? Grandma Ethel?” David snorts derisively. “She called me dearie three times during her interview.”

I mock-gasp. “Oh, the horror!”

“And she flat-out refused to do dry cleaning or coffee runs, or work past four P.M.”

The crowd ahead dissipates. As much as I want to stroll right past without glancing, it’s impossible. My eyes veer toward Kyle, sitting in his chair—to his chiseled jaw and high cheekbones and his full lips, noting how much thicker and more stylish his hair looks now. He was attractive as a seventeen-year-old boy; he has become dangerously handsome as a man.

And his steady gaze is on me.

“Come on, Piper . . . help me out,” David whines. “Just for the week.”

“A minute ago, it was for the day!” This is so David, asking for an inch, then reaching for a mile, as if he’s entitled to it. “Ask Greta to help you out.”

“Are you kidding? Greta doesn’t have time. Plus, Kieran doesn’t share well.”

“Neither do I, so you had better hire someone soon.”

David curses under his breath.

“You know you’ve done this to yourself,” I lecture. There’s been a steady trickle of potential executive assistants passing through his office door, courtesy of Human Resources’s efforts. All vetted, all with extensive experience.

And all problematic, according to David.

“What’s with you lately, Piper?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I mean, you’ve been in a fucking mood for the past two weeks.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my mood,” I hiss, feeling Kyle’s and Gus’s attention on us as we bicker not five feet away.

David drops his voice. “Is this because I’m seeing other women? You’re the one who told me to go out and find someone. You’re the one who ended our engagement, remember.”

I roll my eyes. “I don’t care who you’re with. Stop making this about us, David.”

“Isn’t it, though?”

“No! It’s about you finding an assistant so you stop torturing mine. You’ve been a complete dickhead to him since day one.”

“Okay, seriously, Piper? I’m on my knees begging you for just a bit of help so I can nail this project down for your company, and you’re calling me names? This is what we’ve come to?” He swipes his badge over the scanner and shoves through the security barrier in a huff, without so much as a nod toward Gus, whose eyebrows are raised.

And I’m left standing awkwardly in front of Kyle, suddenly feeling like the bad guy.

Kyle curiously watches David’s retreating back a moment before focusing on me. He’s not actually buying David’s sob story, is he?

“He broke Mark’s windmill!” I blurt out, as if that explains everything.

The corners of Kyle’s lips twitch. “Have a great day, Miss Calloway.”

I sigh heavily. Strangers it is. I pass through the security gate, feeling his penetrating gaze on me the entire way.

What is he doing?

My gaze trails Kyle’s graceful stride as he strolls along the corridor at a leisurely pace, casting nothing more than a perfunctory glance my way. That’s the second time today—fifth time this week—that he has walked by a meeting room I’ve been in. Did Ivan patrol the floors like this, too? If he did, I never noticed him. It’s a bit ridiculous, really. I might understand the need for security patrols during the dead of the night, but it’s ten A.M.

Mark’s elbow gently nudges my arm, pulling my attention back.

To the four sets of eyes steadily watching me.

“Tripp’s recommending we go with KDZ for the construction of the Marquee,” Mark murmurs softly, a prompt for what I missed while ogling our new security guard.

I feel my cheeks flush as I quickly scan the proposal in front of me again. “I’m sorry, who? We’re using Jameson for the Marquee. Who the hell is this KDZ Construction Company, anyway?”

“They’re from Boston, but they’ve recently expanded into the area. They come highly recommended, and their contract will be competitive.” Tripp smooths his tie down over his belly as he recites what sounds like a planned response. “I’ve been in talks with them about the Marquee for months now.”