Once Upon a Summertime (22 page)

Although she was trying to be cautious with her savings account, her precious nest egg, she also knew that payday was right around the corner. She thought maybe she could splurge a little, just this once. After all, she'd never really had a place of her own before. Well, it was hers and Marley's, although so far, it felt more like Anna's since she'd made the deposits and Rodney had informed her that the lease was in her name. That was fine. She needed some housing references of her own. This would only help.

Anna had made a list of some furnishings and household goods that she thought would be nice for the apartment. She was longing to feel settled in and at home. She hoped that it would provide just one more good distraction for her heart. Because Anna knew she was going to get over this—in time.

Anna got up
earlier than necessary
on Monday morning, but only because she was so excited over the prospect of shopping for her new apartment. She'd slept in Sophie's bed last night, and it wasn't a very comfortable one, so she was determined to shop for a good bed. She and Marley had decided that since the single bedroom was relatively good-sized and even had two closets, it would be better to share it with twin beds. Besides, Anna was tired of sleeping on couches.

No one in the apartment was up yet, so Anna decided to use this opportunity to take a nice long shower, and then she packed up most of her things so that she'd be all set to move tomorrow. Seeing that the kitchen was a mess—as usual—she decided to show her appreciation one last time by giving it and the living room a thorough cleaning. She wasn't sure that anyone ever appreciated her housekeeping skills, but it made her feel better. As if she was paying her dues.

When she was done, she realized she was hungry, and since she hadn't had time to get any provisions lately, she
decided to hit the nearest café and then continue on her shopping expedition. She was just going out the door when her phone started ringing inside her bag. She fished around for it, not sure who it might be. She didn't think it was her grandmother since they had spoken at length last night, and she hoped it wasn't the hotel with some sort of emergency. To her surprise, it was Sean.

“It's time for our meeting,” he said.

“It's my day off,” she told him.

“Yeah. Mine too. But I was hoping we could still meet.”

“To talk business?” She frowned as she walked.

“Of course. I was just on my way to get a late breakfast. Want to join me? You can just get coffee if you've already eaten.”

“Actually, I was on my way to get a late breakfast too,” she admitted.

They arranged to meet and Anna tried not to get herself worked up over this as she entered the Little Red Hen Café. This was a business meeting. That was all.

“Hey, Anna.” Sean waved from a table by the window.

Anna greeted him as she sat down, then pretended to be captivated by the menu posted on the wall.

“This is great,” Sean said after the waitress took their orders. “I really didn't feel like eating alone today.”

“You said this was a business meeting,” she reminded him.

He beamed at her. “It is. I just wanted to say great job with everything, Anna. Your housekeeping team is the best.”

“The best?”

“Absolutely. We even had several guests compliment the quality of maid service.”

“Really?”

“Yep. I thought you should know.”

“Well, thanks.” She paused as the waitress set down their coffees. “That's very nice to hear.”

“See?” He spooned sugar into his cup. “This is a business meeting.”

“Well, if we're dispersing compliments, I should tell you that I'm very impressed with how well you've managed everything, Sean. The opening was amazingly smooth. It's obvious that the hotel is in very good hands.”

“Thank you.” He picked up his phone with a slightly uneasy expression. “I just hope that Thomas isn't having any problems.”

“It's a Monday,” she reminded him. “The hotel is less than thirty percent occupied. It's probably totally dead there right now.”

He made a sheepish grin. “Yeah, I know. It just feels kind of like being a new parent and leaving your baby alone with the sitter for the first time.”

She laughed. “You know, I've had the exact same feeling.”

They chatted as their food was served, and when there was a lull in the conversation, Anna asked him something she'd been curious about for a while. “What was it that got you interested in hotel management? I mean, you seemed like the kind of guy who could do anything. Obviously, you could've gone into your family's tire business. Why hotels?”

“First of all, I could never have worked in the family business. I hate the smell of tires.” He wrinkled his nose. “Always have.”

She nodded. “I know exactly what you mean. I took my grandma's car to get new tires last year, and I nearly got sick in the waiting area. The smell of rubber was so strong. I had a headache all day.”

“When I was nine, my dad took me to Chicago with him. He was going to some tire convention and it was my birthday, so he offered to take me along. Or maybe Mom made him. I can't remember.”

“Ugh, a tire convention—that must've smelled pretty bad.”

He laughed. “Actually, I can't even remember what the convention was like. All I remember is being totally blown away by the fantastic hotel. It was a huge glass building, right by the river. Everything was so shiny and clean and beautiful—I was just in total awe.” He sighed. “You see, my mom wasn't much of a housekeeper. To be fair, she had six kids and did the bookkeeping for my dad, so she was pretty busy. But she never really cared if the place was a mess.” He shrugged. “With six kids . . . well, you can probably imagine.”

“Interesting.” Anna was surprised. She'd always assumed that Sean O'Neil's home was perfection.

“Seeing this immaculate, amazing hotel just blew my mind. I remember waiting for my dad inside the hotel. I was standing in the lobby, and he was outside tipping the valet or something. I had leaned my face against the window—you know how kids are—and suddenly I realized I'd left this nasty smudge on their clean, shiny window. We'd probably just had lunch and I'll bet my face was greasy. Anyway, I used my hand, trying to wipe it off, and naturally, that just made it worse. I'm standing there feeling bad for making a mess when this big guy in a black suit walks up with a totally serious expression, and I'm thinking, oh no, he's going to arrest me and throw me in the hotel jail.”

“Like there's a hotel jail.” Anna laughed. “Although that's not a bad idea for some places. So what happened?”

“The guy reaches into his pocket, and I'm thinking it's
going to be handcuffs or a gun. But he pulls out this little tiny spray bottle.” Sean showed the size with his fingers. “He gives my smudge a couple of squirts, then pulls out a handkerchief and instantly wipes it clean. Then he turns to me and says, ‘Presto change-o,' and he pats me on the back with a big grin.”

“What a guy.”

“Yeah. It sounds silly, but it had an impact on me. I thought, when I grow up, I want to work in a place like that. Where everything is clean and orderly and the men wear cool suits and have good manners.” He chuckled. “Pretty weird dream for a nine-year-old boy, huh?”

“I think it's sweet.”

“What's your story? Why did you choose hotel management?”

Anna was still so touched by his story that she knew she had to tell him the truth, something she'd managed to avoid doing when she got asked this question back in college. “Well, in some ways my story's not all that different than yours, although your parents were functional, whereas mine were not even close. I already told you about how messed up my parents were, and our living conditions were awful. Sometimes we'd get thrown out of a place, and a couple of times, when we had nowhere to stay, someone would put us up in a motel. I'm not even sure who. Maybe it was a church or the mission or something.” She paused to sip her coffee.

“I can still remember that first moment of going into a clean and neat motel room. Sure, it was a cheap motel, but to me it was like the Ritz compared to what I was used to. I went around examining everything and wishing we could
just live there always and that we could keep it looking nice and tidy. It got messy right away, and even though I'd try to clean it up, my parents didn't care. I know it sounds pathetic, but I think that's when I got the hotel bug.”

“That's not pathetic,” Sean said with a sad expression. “Although it is a little heartbreaking.”

“Sorry.” Anna forced a smile. “Didn't mean to break your heart over waffles.”

“Thinking of a little girl feeling like that.” Sean shook his head. “That's hard.”

“Well, fortunately I got out of there.” Anna decided to change the subject by telling him about the new apartment. “I'm shopping for a few furnishings and things today.” She felt her face lighting up. “I can't wait to get started.” She glanced at her watch. “The stores should be open by now.”

“Want any company?”

“You're kidding.” She frowned. “You'd want to spend your day off looking for household items with me?”

“Hey, don't let this get around, but I took an interior design class in college and I happen to have pretty good taste in home décor.” He made a sheepish grin. “For a straight guy.”

She laughed.

“Seriously, just ask my oldest sister. I helped her with her first house.” He pointed at her. “What's your style?”

“Style?”

“For your apartment. Are you a shabby chic girl? Traditional? Old-world? Contemporary? Midcentury modern?”

“Wow, you really do know your stuff.”

“I wouldn't lie to you.”

She thought about it. “I actually kind of like midcentury modern. But not the shiny plastic, metal, and glass sort of
furnishings. Maybe I'm modern and traditional. Clean lines, but comfortable.”

“I like that.” His brows arched hopefully. “Do I get to come?”

She shrugged. “Well, if you really want to—”

“I do!”

“Okay, but I give you the right to bow out at any point.”

“I'll keep that in mind.”

By the end of the day, Sean had not only refused to bow out but had shown great endurance too. Perhaps even better than Anna's. Plus he'd been extremely helpful with decision making, which wasn't Anna's forte. He knew how to barter too. She was amazed how many items he'd gotten reduced. He'd even suggested they borrow the hotel's shuttle van to pick up some of the larger pieces on Tuesday.

“As long as I replace the gas, no one minds,” he told her as they rode home in a taxi that was heaped with bags and boxes.

“I'll help you get your stuff inside,” Sean said as she paid for the taxi.

With an armload of bags, Anna nodded toward what remained on the sidewalk. “How about if you watch this while I run inside to see if the painters have finished? Maybe I can just leave everything inside there for the night.”

When she got to the apartment, Rodney was just locking the door. “The painters finished about an hour ago,” he told her. “Looks pretty good too. Wanna see?”

“If it's okay, I'd like to put some things inside tonight.” She explained about the things still outside on the sidewalk.

He grinned as he handed her a key. “It's all yours, Anna.”

“Thank you!”

“The painters used a low-VOC paint, so it doesn't even smell too bad.”

Anna unlocked the door and peered inside to see all the walls looking clean and fresh and white. “It looks great,” she told him.

“Tell Marley she can pick up her key tomorrow.” He peeled off a strip of blue painter's tape that had been missed above the door. “Enjoy!”

“Thanks.” Leaving the door open, she hurried out to tell Sean, and together they hauled the rest of the stuff up the stairs and into the vacant apartment, piling it all in the center of the living room.

“Hey, this isn't bad,” Sean said as he walked around examining everything. “Not bad at all.”

“I know.” Anna ran her hand over a windowsill. “I've never had a place of my own before. I mean, I realize it's Marley's too, but she doesn't seem that interested in fixing it up. That's fine by me. Marley's most excited that the bathroom will only be shared by two of us.” Anna went into the kitchen, which was similar to the one upstairs. “I know there's not much space in here, but I'm looking forward to cooking again.”

“Do you like to cook?”

She nodded eagerly. “My grandma does too. Fortunately, she taught me a lot of things while I was growing up, although she usually did most of the cooking.” Anna could feel Sean standing behind her, almost as if he was just inches away. She could imagine him reaching out to her, pulling her toward him—and just the thought of this made her slightly dizzy. She leaned forward, holding onto the edge of the sink.

“Are you okay?” he asked with concern.

“Yeah,” she said slowly. “Probably just tired.”

“And hungry,” he added. “We haven't eaten since this morning.”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “I got kind of light-headed. Maybe it's low blood sugar.”

“Come on,” he urged. “Let's run and get an early dinner. If we hurry we can beat the rush.”

Anna knew she should decline, but after spending the whole day with him and having such a great time, it was as if her resolve had dissolved, so she agreed. As they walked, he made a phone call, securing them a table somewhere. She felt a little uneasy as they walked past the hotel, as if she was doing something wrong, although she knew she wasn't. In fact, she was doing exactly what the Newmans had encouraged her to do—developing a stronger friendship with Sean. At least she hoped that was what she was doing.

“Here we are,” he proclaimed when they reached the same little restaurant where they'd first shared a meal together, on Anna's first Saturday here in New York. “I asked for a sidewalk table,” he said. “Hope that's okay.”

“Perfect.”

It was perfect—the food, the conversation, the company. To Anna's relief, Sean didn't even argue when she insisted on paying. “It's my way of thanking you for all your help today,” she said as she clung to the bill like a lifeline.

As Sean walked her back to her apartment, she knew she was treading on thin ice. She knew she needed to guard her heart more than ever right now. She could not afford to fall in love. She would not allow it.

“Thanks for everything,” she told him as they lingered at the foot of the steps.