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his wife Darcy in New York next month over Valentine’s Day weekend when the couple would celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
    As he walked down the corridor to the elevator, he could still smell Red’s scent and knew it would remain with him for a long time whether he wanted it to or not.

Chapter 5
    “S o, how are things going?”
    Ainsley smiled upon hearing Tessa’s voice. “Fine. I’m stretched out on the beach watching the waves come in. It’s so relaxing. I wish you could have come with me,” she said, pulling up in a sitting position.
    “I wish I could have come, too, but some of us have to work for a living.”
    Ainsley groaned, thinking of her own employment situation. “And some of us are unemployed.”
    “Have you called The New York Times to see if you can get your old job back?” Tessa asked her.
    “I put in a call to Bobby a few days ago and he hasn’t returned it. The last time we talked, I was lectured on how the company was reducing their staff so he couldn’t make me any promises. I knew when I resigned that the downsizing was due to the economy. However, at the time, I was so sure I was going to win the election and wouldn’t need that job.”
    “And you would have, if Luis Higgins hadn’t lied about you being a stripper instead of a dancer at that New York club during your college days.”
    “Doesn’t matter.” She wouldn’t admit it to Tessa but it had mattered. The good people of Claxton, many of whom she’d known all her life, had let her down by believing such nonsense. They had been quick to believe the worst and decided a mayor with a history of pole dancing just wouldn’t cut it, regardless of the fact it was one of her ancestors, the first Ainsley St. James, who had founded the town and had been the town’s first mayor.
    “I’m hoping Bobby calls me back before I leave. I want to have some definite plans in place before returning to Claxton. With Luis Higgins as mayor, I won’t stay in town any longer than I have to. Dad is doing better so he doesn’t need me any more. I’ll return just long enough to pack my bags. Mom and Dad understand.”
    Ainsley was glad she had sub-leased her New York condo in Harlem. The couple had only wanted a six-month lease, which meant she had a place to stay when she returned. However, with this trip and the personal money she’d thrown into the campaign, she needed an income to pay her bills.
    “So, have you run into Mr. Hot-Throb any more?”
    She’d told Tessa about meeting Winston at the nightclub a week ago, but she hadn’t told her anything about spending the night with him. That was too much to share with anyone, even a best friend. “No, I haven’t run into him. He’s probably left the island already.”
    She couldn’t help wondering if he had. She hadn’t gone back to the Sparrow, but she had gone to a couple restaurants on that side of town. And she’d always felt the need to look over her shoulder, nervous about running into him again.
    It was hard to believe it had been a week already. She hated admitting there hadn’t been one single day that she hadn’t thought about Winston—remembering something he had said or recalling how he would look at her with those dark penetrating eyes of his.
    Some days a part of her wished she hadn’t sneaked out of his hotel room like a thief in the night. It would have been nice to have spent the morning after with him, possibly even sharing breakfast if nothing more. Then on other days she was convinced she had done the right thing. One-night stands didn’t need to extend into the next day and night. It was best to make a clean break and move on.
    She had ended her phone call with Tessa, gone back to her room to shower and change for dinner at one of the resort’s restaurants when her cell phone rang again. Her heart kicked up a beat when she saw it was her old boss, Bobby Ryerson. “Bobby, I was wondering if you were going to call me back.”
    “Hey, kid, I didn’t