Love by Design

I definitely plan on sleeping in tomorrow.

If I remember correctly, in for you is eight in the morning.

True, but that’s a big deal for me.

They said good-night, and he set his phone down. Normally, he would turn it off, but he decided to keep it on. He knew it was a stretch, but if Dakota ever needed to call him, he wanted to be available. Now that she had given him the opportunity, he was not going to let her down. He was confident that things would even out, and they could rebuild their friendship.

* * *

“How long are you going to let your hair grow?”

“Huh?”

“I’m just wondering if it’ll be as long as most bonafide hermits, or do you intend to keep it at a reasonable length?” she joked. “I’ve missed seeing my buddy—outside of work, that is.”

Dakota set her notebook aside, got up and gave her best friend a hug. “Very funny. I’m sorry, Susan. It’s been crazy lately, but in a good way. Belle Cove’s renovation is coming along, and as soon as we can, girls’ night out!”

“I’ll drink to that,” Susan replied.

“So what’s the latest with the report on the Rothschild sheets?”

“Good news,” Susan said excitedly. “I’ve got a spa day appointment downtown on the day Bootsie Ellerby will be there. My plan is to strike up a conversation, casually drop the sheets in there and then watch her tell me all I need to know.”

“Susan, that’s a great idea.” Dakota hugged her. “Thank you. I won’t ask how you found out Bootsie’s schedule.”

Susan grinned conspiratorially. “You’d be surprised what you can find on social media—speaking of social, Norma Jean’s dinner party was fun, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah, it was, but then they always are.”

“It’s nice sharing good food and even better conversation, don’t you think?”

With a smirk, Dakota set down her pen. “Okay, where are you going with this?”

“So have you—”

“No, I haven’t,” Dakota finished for her.

“I’m just saying, I’m sure it would be better if you two were at least cordial.”

“Logan and I are plenty cordial. We talked at Ms. Jeannie’s, and all the time on email.”

“That’s not the same thing, and you know it.”

“Susan, the project is coming along great, and most of the contractors have been selected, but a few will have to be reined in on their pricing. I’m headed back to Belle Cove next week to begin. Don’t worry, all the bases are covered.”

“Since when have I ever worried about you on a project? It’s your personal life I’m concerned about.”

“I’m fine. I told you, dating is not a priority right now. Work comes first.”

“I know what you said, but that’s not the issue. It’s more what you haven’t said.” Susan sat down. “Are you sleeping any better?”

“No.”

Since telling Logan about her parents’ deaths, Dakota had been plagued with nightmares. She had only confided in Susan since they began two weeks ago. What she had not told Susan was that at times they were pretty harrowing.

“Don’t you think it would be a good idea to talk to someone? A therapist, or a grief support group? It could help.”

“Suzy, I appreciate your concern, believe me—”

“But butt out,” she finished for her.

Dakota chuckled. “I wasn’t going to say that. I was going to say that I’ll think about it after Belle Cove’s complete.”

“Fair enough.” Susan stood up. “I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Thanks,” Dakota replied. After a few minutes of work, she leaned back in her chair. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths to relax. Unable to help herself, she thought about the night she went over to Logan’s house, and then the dinner at Norma Jean’s. It was the last time she had seen him.

They had made a lot of progress since then: talks on the phone and conversations through email, but if he saw her in person, he would ask why she looked like the walking dead, and she was not ready to discuss her bad dreams. She would get a handle on whatever this was by herself. Logan had offered to be there whenever she needed a friend or confidant, but Dakota felt unable to take him up on that offer. Despite what Susan hinted at, she was not punishing him for deserting her. However, Dakota was unable to completely trust him or let her guard down. Not yet.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

* * *

“Dude, it’s not that complicated a plan,” Adrian told Logan over the phone. “You get up, go over there and see what the hell is going on. You haven’t seen Dakota in almost three weeks. After the night at your apartment you told me about, and dinner at Mom’s, I’d have thought things would’ve progressed a lot further than this.”