And she hadn’t heard from him since.
Granted, she hadn’t been home much. She’d been consumed with event planning, checking over last minute details, making sure everything was in order. She’d been at the hotel conference suite since yesterday afternoon, setting everything up, meeting with the vendors, the models, everyone.
Finally, after months of planning, the night was almost over. It was a relief, yet she was also sad. It had been fun, planning the event. The idea of returning to her slightly boring receptionist job was almost depressing.
“I was going to talk to you tomorrow, but I don’t want to wait. What do you think about becoming my assistant?” Marnie smiled at her, an expectant expression on her face.
Janelle’s heart raced. This was the moment she’d been waiting for. “Are you serious? What about Theresa?”
No way did she want to steal her friend’s job.
“She’s being promoted. Theresa is going to be our new director of research.” Marnie inclined her head toward Janelle. “I hope you’ll consider the position. We can talk more about
it tomorrow. They’ll be an increase in pay, of course, plus more responsibility, but I’m not worried about that. I know you can do it. If you can organize this, you can do just about anything.”
Joy blossomed inside her chest and Janelle couldn’t help her big grin. “I don’t need to consider anything. I’ll take it.”
“Perfect. I was hoping you’d say that. That’s why I asked now.” Marnie drew Janelle into a brief hug. “I’m so glad you’ll be joining my team. I can’t wait to work with you more.”
“Thank you so much, Marnie. You don’t know how much this means to me.” Janelle couldn’t believe this was happening. That Marnie had offered her such an opportunity, that she was excited to work with her.
“I’m thrilled you accepted, Janelle. I’ll be back. I need to go check on something.” Marnie touched Janelle’s arm before she walked away.
Finally. Finally, she’d shown she was good enough and found someone who believed in her.
Nate believed in you, too. Why did you turn him away?
Her lips tightened into a firm line. Because she didn’t want to be turned away first, that’s why. Rejection stung. She’d been rejected countless times in her life, she didn’t want to go through it again.
Really, she didn’t think she could take it, having Nate turn her away. So she’d turned him away first—after having one more night with him.
And oh, what a night it had been. The way he’d touched her, looked at her. Their lovemaking had been fraught with emotion, more intense. Though maybe that had been all on her part…
Heaven help her, she’d made the mistake of falling in love with him. So stupid. She’d warned herself when she’d embarked on this little affair. Then she’d gone and done it anyway. Fallen hard for a man who admitted he wasn’t good at relationships. Well, neither was she.
What a perfect couple they made. The thought almost made her snort out loud.
“Hey, Janelle. Someone is here to see you.” Theresa approached her out of nowhere, a secretive smile on her face.
“What? Who is it? Hey, why didn’t you tell me about your promotion? Marnie just let me know.”
“Well, because she wanted to talk to you first about taking my old job. She just told me you said yes. Congratulations!”
“Congratulations to you, too. This is all so exciting.” Janelle wrapped her friend in a quick embrace.
“I think you’ll be even more excited when you see this.” Theresa gripped Janelle by the shoulders and turned her around.
Nate stood before her, a nervous smile on his face, a bouquet of vibrant spring flowers clutched in his hand. He shifted from one foot to the other, looking so handsome and nervous. Hope rose within her, leaving her breathless.
“Hi.”
Just that one word spoken, his deep voice washing over her, had her knees weak, her heart tripping over itself.
Everything bubbled up inside her at once. The need to tell him about her promotion, how much of a success the night’s event had turned out, how everything in her life was finally coming together.
More than anything, she wanted to confess her love. How much she needed Nate in her life.
“Hi,” she said instead, nodding toward the bouquet. “Pretty flowers.”