Page 44 of Love is a Game

“Oh.” She cocked her head in surprise. “That would be great.”

“Good.” He rubbed his hands together nervously. The conversation had gone better than he expected; he might as well see how far his luck would go. “Why don’t I order us some dinner so we can keep working as long as we need to?”

Sadie nodded, smiling. “Sure.”

“Okay, great. I’ll see you tonight, then,” Andrew said, stepping back toward the front steps.

“Thanks”—she held up the paper in her hand—“for this.”

He winked. “What are friendly acquaintances for?”

She rolled her eyes playfully at him again and closed the door as he turned to leave. He walked back to his car with a new lightness in his step. She’d accepted his apology, even smiled at his stupid jokes. Most importantly, she was coming back to the library, and he would have the whole evening to convince her that they could be more than friends.

Chapter Fifteen

It was busy at the Tethered Anchor when Sadie arrived. She knew Friday nights were always crowded, but this seemed like more people than usual, and the row of bagged to-go orders on the counter indicated that plenty of people were planning to dine at home as well.

“Sadie, hey!” Tessa called. “Let me grab your food.”

“Thanks. What do I owe you?” she asked when Tessa met her at the counter.

“You’re good. Andrew already paid when he called it in.”

“Oh.” Sadie paused. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Is it not that kind of dinner?” Tessa asked with a teasing smile.

“No,” Sadie insisted firmly. “We’re just going over documents from the Cypress. It should be an exceptionally boring night, brightened only by your amazing club sandwiches.”

“Okay, we’ll see about that,” Tessa said skeptically. “I’m really happy to hear you two are working together. I know that old hotel means a lot to him.”

“Who, Andrew?”

“Yes. It must have been terrible to lose his mom so soon after the Gregsons passed. Losing the hotel too? I couldn’t imagine.”

The room around them buzzed with activity and noise. She knew she should let Tessa get back to work, but she didn’t want to pass up this chance for information. The food sat between them on the countertop but Sadie didn’t reach for it. Instead, she leaned in and asked, “Was Andrew close to the Gregsons?”

“Oh yeah. They were always so good to him, brought him in here on Saturday mornings sometimes for breakfast. I think they had just become empty nesters when they hired his mom, so I’m sure they were happy to have a kid around again.”

“Is that why Robby loaned everything to him?”

“Well, I think Robby felt like he owed him.” Tessa lowered her voice and whispered loud enough to be heard over the cacophony, “Andrew paid for all of their funeral expenses after the accident, and he helped Robby sort through the legal stuff with their estate. I know he was a huge help to him.”

“Wow, I had no idea.”

“He’s not the type to toot his own horn about that kind of thing.”

Sadie begged to differ, but more and more she was realizing there was a side to Andrew she didn’t know.

Tessa straightened as another couple walked in. “Anyway”—she pushed the food toward Sadie with a wink—“enjoy, whatever kind of dinner it may be.”

Sadie shook her head and grinned. “Good night Tessa.”

As she drove to the library, she kept thinking about what Tessa had told her. She hadn’t realized the project was so personal to him, but it explained a lot. It even made sense why he would be wary of Maddox taking over. She would have to show him how beneficial that kind of deal would be.

“Hey,” she called, pushing through the library doors with the food in her arms. It was just after six, but he’d left the door unlocked for her.

“Hey,” he called back, emerging from the office. “Here, I can take that.”