{Wattys Shortlist 2022}
A one night stand is turned inside out when two strangers discover their shared past.
After a skydiving excursion that ends in a whirlwind one night stand, Camilla writes off ever seeing her handsome instructor again. That...
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I collapsed into my desk chair, convinced I was having an out-of-body experience.
My sleep-deprived mind kept trying to examine each part of my conversation with South: the suit, the graceful way he stepped down from planning the regatta, the admission that he couldn't stop thinking about me, the damn lollipop.
I needed coffee... lots and lots of coffee before I could process all of this. Quickly clicking through my emails to see if there was anything pressing I needed to tend to, I noticed Sandra had added a new calendar reminder.
All it said was Mr. Dougherty, and the appointment had been set for tomorrow at nine-thirty in the morning. Curious, I ran through the list of club members and waitlisted club members but didn't find a single Dougherty. I knew no one on staff had that last name.
Strange.
I strolled out of my office, stopping at reception on my way to the kitchen. Sandra gave me a knowing smile, sliding off her tortoiseshell glasses and letting them drape around her neck from the bejeweled chain.
"So, how did it go?"
I tried acting dense. "How did what go?"
Sandra rolled her eyes then punched in the call-forwarding service on her desk phone. I watched the older woman as she peeled out of the desk chair and made her way towards me. Sandra looped her arm through mine and patted my hand.
"Ms. Isley, I'm far too old to have men showing up at my desk, so I need to live vicariously through you."
Sandra was well into her sixties, but she was a beautiful woman. Her silvery hair was always styled perfectly, and she dressed in the latest fashions. Petite in every way, I felt like a giant walking arm in arm with Sandra, my low heels bringing me to 5' 10".
"Oh, come on, Sandra. I saw that bouquet of flowers on your desk last week. I'm sure those roses weren't from a friend."
Sandra let out a huff as we turned the corner. "Henry is just an old sap, and he certainly isn't showing up at my desk wearing a suit."
The two of us shared a laugh as we continued through the dining room. I noticed Spencer Fredericksen and his girlfriend Stella sitting at one of the round tables near the back windows with a group of friends. All of them looked like they were recovering from a night of fun.
"Did you know," Sandra said as we ducked inside the kitchen, "I've known those Tenney kids since they were old enough to tie a knot?"
I grabbed two white mugs from the shelf and placed them in Sandra's outstretched hands. "Is that so?" I replied, trying not to sound overly interested.
