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checked her calendar and looked at her appointments amidst her rising heartbeat.
    “If you can.”
    “I can. One o’clock?” She knew that would give her the most free time between her work meetings.
    “Sounds great.” He let out his breath with a small whoosh. “Where?”
    She mentioned a small restaurant near the wharf and he said he knew where it was. She hung up the phone and cursed herself for her business meeting attire. If she knew she was going to see him, she would have definitely dressed differently.
    Bailey stood in her cubicle and looked over the short wall in Caroline’s direction. She pointed and motioned her over. Caroline’s cheeks reddened with each step.
    “Who was that on the phone, missy?” Bailey inquired.
    “It was him!” Caroline couldn’t hide her excitement.
    “Shut up! What did he want? How did he find you? What did he say?”
    Caroline laughed at Bailey’s questions. “He remembered where I worked. He wants to have lunch. I’m meeting him in twenty minutes.”
    “Oh, really?” Bailey said with mischief in her voice.
    Bailey’s expression made Caroline feel conflicted. “Bails, don’t look at me like that. You’re killing me.”
    Bailey cocked her eyebrow. “I could always go in your place. Tell him you chickened out. Or grew a conscience or something?”
    “Bailey!” Caroline snapped.
    “I’m only joking. Have fun…but um, you should probably keep in mind that you already have the world’s greatest boyfriend.” Bailey winked.
    Caroline rolled her eyes at her longtime friend. “I hate you.”
    “My work here is done,” Bailey sassed.
    Caroline smiled and turned to grab her purse from her desk. Before heading out, she sent Tracey a text message that said, “ HE FOUND ME!!!! Heading to lunch with him now! Call you later.”
    It took less than ten seconds for her phone to ring. “Yes?” Caroline said as she walked out of the office toward the wharf. Tracey’s voice was on the other end of the line.
    “What the hell are you doing?” Tracey asked accusingly.
    Caroline laughed. “What do you mean?”
    “I can’t believe you’re seeing this guy again! Does Clay know?”
    “Of course he doesn’t know. It’s not a big deal, it’s just lunch.” Caroline tried to downplay the situation.
    “If it’s no big deal, then why aren’t you telling Clay?” Obviously Tracey didn’t believe for one second this guy was no big deal . Caroline winced.
    “You know I can’t tell him,” Caroline explained, as guilt slowly crept in.
    “Because you know it’s wrong? You feel guilty? What?” Tracey asked.
    For a moment Caroline actually considered calling Jackson to cancel. Then she remembered the promise she’d made during Johnny’s funeral. “I do feel guilty,” Caroline admitted, “but I want to see him. I don’t know why, but I do.”
    Tracey let out a deep sigh. “For the record, I think this is a bad idea.”
    “Noted,” Caroline said sharply. She didn’t want to hear this from Tracey. Caroline didn’t need help feeling that what she was doing was wrong; she already knew it was. But even her guilt couldn’t outweigh her want.
    “Don’t get mad, Care…I’m just saying.” Caroline could tell that Tracey didn’t want to fight; she was simply trying to be a good friend.
    “I know. Just don’t worry. I’ll call you later.”
    With every step Caroline took, her nerves rattled more. What would it be like to see him again? Had she imagined their special connection on the plane? Was he feeling the same way she was?
    Lost in thought, she kept walking until her eyes suddenly found his. Seeing him literally stopped her legs from moving. She had imagined his bright blue eyes a million times since she’d left his side that day. But seeing them light up at the sight of her reinforced everything she had been feeling. He looked incredibly sexy waiting for her in his jeans and black T-shirt and she had to stop from running full force into his arms.
    She gathered