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“Sure,” she said, motioning for him to follow her to the elevator.
“I looked it up last night. It’s about five hours from here.”
“Yep. We usually leave around ten in the morning to get there at three. In past years, I’d get up earlier and drive to their house, but we aren’t doing that this year.”
“Why not?”
They walked into the elevator, and Amelia opened her mouth to respond, but someone else ran in before she could speak.
Andrea looked between the two of them. “You’re both leaving early.”
“We have big plans,” Amelia said. She glanced at Daniel, hoping she hadn’t just said the wrong thing, but he gave her a tiny nod.
“Wait, both of you?”
“We’re going to the beach,” was Daniel’s simple yet telling answer.
“At the same time?”
“Yes.”
“To the same beach?”
“Yep,” Daniel said. Andrea turned to look at both of them, and her eyes went back and forth between them for a long second, as if trying to picture them together. Amelia didn’t blame her—she was trying to picture the same thing.
The elevator door opened, and they were all spared any more awkwardness.
“Um, have fun, then!” Andrea said, and she raced to her car. Amelia wondered how long it was going to take for the entire office to know.
“That’s going to be a talking point for the whole week.”
“Unfortunately,” she muttered under her breath. Judging by what she’d heard Andrea and Dana say only the day before, she knew it wasn’t all going to be good talk.
“What were you saying before Andrea joined us in the elevator?”
“Oh, right. We’re not going to my parents’ house because we’re driving by ourselves. I figured the two of us being alone in a car together is better than all five of us being in a tiny car.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“If one of us isn’t dead in a ditch by the time we hit the South Carolina line, we should be fine for a week.”
Daniel chuckled. “Hopefully. I’ll text you my address.”
She nodded and expected him to leave. But then he glanced over at Andrea’s car, which was still in the parking lot.
“Do you still want to pretend to date here at work?” she asked.
“I do.”
“Andrea is still in her car, and I’m pretty sure she’s watching. We could, I don’t know, hug? Maybe?”
Daniel gave her a sideways glance, and she had a split second to wonder if it had been a good idea to suggest this at all. But then he wrapped his long arm around her shoulder, pulling her into a tight hug. Amelia felt her entire face almost explode in heat as she let it happen.
He smelled too good. His body was too warm, and she could easily get addicted to this if she let herself.
“There,” he said, pulling away. “That will make tomorrow easier.”
“Right,” she said, feeling her heart race. “Easier.”
