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“Yes. I like it very much.”

Spending an evening with Amelia and Chase sounds a heck of a lot more fun than my empty apartment.

I’ve always liked living on my own, so I don’t know why I dread it now.

“So.” I turn back to Henry. “It’s doable?”

“It’s going to be a lot of paperwork. And a whole new project will need to be drawn. And don’t even think about opening in the next two years. But… it’s doable.”

“That’s all I needed to hear.”

Chapter Fifteen

Amelia

The next morning, Ethan moves all of his things out of the office. It is both gratifying, because now the agency is all mine and I won’t have to see him every day, and entirely terrifying. Because now the agency is all mine. From now on, I’m on my own. If I mess up, I don’t have anyone to rely on. And that’s a scary thought.

We don’t say more than two words to each other.

“I’ll see you in Stewart’s office tomorrow at ten,” Ethan says as he leaves.

Afterward, I stand in the doorway to his empty office. It’s all mine now. I hesitate. I could bring my computer in there, but the reason I stayed out here is that we need someone in the main office to greet people.

It’s time to hire someone. Ethan and I had talked about it. We’d even asked Stewart about it. He confirmed that we had the money and that it would help increase business.

Now that I’m down to one person, I don’t know that hiring someone would help me grow, but it would at least help me keep to the same level.

I pick up the name plate that’s been sitting on my desk for the last eight years.

Amelia Brown.

Ethan bought it for me. He had a matching one in his office. I throw it in the trash.

I’ll need to get a new one that says Davis instead.

My cell phone rings. I pull it out and all my self-pity goes out the door.

I jump up and down with excitement. It’s Georgina’s agent, finally returning my call.

“Hello,” I answer, trying hard to make my voice come out strong and professional, and not squeaky with excitement.

“Hello,” he answers. “I emailed you Georgina’s itinerary for the day of the concert as you requested. She arrives in Dogwood Grove in the early afternoon.”

I got the email this morning.

“That’s great,” I say. “But it’s a four-hour drive, without traffic. That's a long day. Wouldn't she be more comfortable spending the night in our fine hotel? It’s right in the center of town, so she would have no traveling time, and Mayor Anderson would like to gift her two nights all-inclusive.”

“We looked at your hotel. It’s… quaint. Not really the sort of establishment Georgina has become accustomed to.”

Since becoming famous four months ago?

“Georgina is a small-town girl. I’m sure she’ll feel right at home.”

“She’s grown accustomed to finer things,” he says, his voice flat. “But there is a nice resort in a town near you. Clearview. If you could get us the same deal there, I might be able to sway her to the simpler side of life.”

The Clearview resort costs four times more than our hotel. And it’s not in Dogwood Grove.

“I’ll look into it,” I say. But I already know the mayor’s answer to that.