A state-of-the-art gymand an indoor pool were just two of the many amenities Heritage On The Harbor Terrace offered its residents. Both of which had played a role in Tory's decision to purchase a condo in the building. While there was no shortage of gyms in the city, she loved that a workout was only an elevator ride away. Except for this past week, ever since Tory moved in, she'd gone down every other day. But with Ivy's wedding fast approaching, she'd put exercising on the back burner and focused on work. Her goal had been to switch off her office light on Friday night and not turn it on again until she returned from Puerto Rico.
The late nights, with multiple cups of coffee and chocolate to keep her awake, had paid off. She'd completed everything on her must-do list, and later this morning, she and Duncan were taking the ferry to Sanborn Island like he suggested last weekend.
She hadn't seen him since Saturday night. After watching three episodes ofLost In Space, he returned to his place. However, they'd exchanged several text messages during the week. Sometimes they were related to their upcoming trip to Puerto Rico, other times they were about nothing specific. She was looking forward to seeing him later today.
Compared to the pool area, the women's locker room was a walk-in freezer, and despite her towel, goose bumps formed on her arms as soon as Tory stepped back inside. Not surprisingly, she still had the room to herself. After all, it was six thirty on Saturday morning. Most people she knew preferred to start their days a little later during the weekend. If she weren't meeting Duncan at eight, she'd still be upstairs enjoying a coffee before coming down to swim.
“Hey, I haven't seen you at all this week. Were you sick?” someone asked as Tory opened her locker.
Tory glanced toward the door. On the few occasions she'd left her home office all week, she'd kept an eye out for Lori Ann but never saw her. “No, I had a lot of work I needed to finish. My boyfriend and I are going away next week, and I didn't want to take anything with me.”
“It's been almost a year since my last vacation. I'm going to see my family in December for the holidays, but that's not a vacation. It's more like an ordeal, if you know what I mean. Hopefully, in January I can get away, though. I have no idea where I'll go,” Lori Ann said, setting her bag down and opening the locker next to Tory. “Where are you and your boyfriend off to?”
“Puerto Rico. A good friend of mine from college is getting married there, and I'm her maid of honor.”
“I've never been, but I've heard it's beautiful.” Lori Ann pulled her T-shirt off, revealing a bright blue bathing suit, and tossed it inside a locker. “Maybe I should go there in January. The weather there will be a lot nicer than here. I hate the cold. I grew up in Miami, Florida. It seldom gets colder than sixty degrees there.”
“This will be my first time there, but Duncan's been.” Hopefully, mentioning Duncan would be enough to pique Lori Ann's interest, because she couldn't think of a way to include his last name in the conversation without it being awkward.
Lori Ann's eyebrows bunched together. “Does your boyfriend live in the building?”
That was easy enough. “Yep, on the fourth floor. You know him. You brought him cookies two weekends ago. They were delicious, by the way. I'd love to get the recipe.”
“Oh, I didn't realize that was you there that night. I have a cousin named Torrance, but everyone calls him Tory.” Lori Ann's frown disappeared almost as quickly as it appeared. “So I always think of Tory as a guys’ name. Duncan's family often visits, so I thought he had a cousin staying with him for the weekend when he mentioned the two of you were about to eat dinner.”
“It's funny how we do that with names. I always considered Jamie a girls’ name until I worked with a man named James, and everyone called him Jamie. Well, when they weren't calling him some less complimentary names behind his back.”
“Yeah, I thought of Jamie as a girls’ name too until I read a book and the hero was a Scottish laird named Jamie. After that, I never thought of it as a girls’ name again.” Lori Ann shrugged half-heartedly. “How long have you and Duncan been together?”
Their story worked with Duncan's friends at the winery, so she'd use it again now. “We've been together since September, but I've known him a long time. We went to high school together, and my cousin Alec is his close friend. You might know him too. Alec used to live in the building. I actually bought his condo.”
“Oh, yeah. I remember Alec. I was wondering why I hadn't seen him around since I moved back to the area,” Lori Ann said. “Where did he move to?”
“Sanborn Island.”
“I've heard of it, but I've never been.”
“Duncan and I are headed there today.”
“I have to admit, I'm a little jealous of you. Before I moved, Duncan and I were close. We saw each other almost every day. I considered not accepting the promotion because it meant leaving Boston, and I knew he couldn't move.” Lori Ann took off her sweatpants and put them in her locker as she spoke. “We stayed in touch while I was in New Orleans. And he never mentioned that he was seeing anyone. Honestly, when I found out my company was relocating me back to Boston, I'd hoped we could pick up where we left off.”
Either Duncan lied last weekend, or Lori Ann was now.
What difference does it make? I'm lying too.
“When I saw him Wednesday night, I got the impression he did too.”
In his text on Wednesday, he mentioned Matt was there. If Lori Ann had visited, he hadn't told her. Then again, who Duncan spent his time with wasn't any of her business. Just like who she saw during the week wasn't any of his. Even if she'd had ten different men over this week, she wouldn't owe him an explanation.
“Oh well, I guess I'm not very good at reading men. It wouldn't be the first time I thought someone was interested in more than being friends and it turned out I was wrong.” Shrugging, Lori Ann slipped a combination lock on the door. “Hey, if I don't see you again before you leave next week, have a nice vacation.”
“Thanks. Enjoy your weekend.”
* * *
Despite the voicetelling Tory to forget about it, her conversation with Lori Ann remained annoyingly foremost in her thoughts several hours later. She saw no reason for either party to lie to her, but clearly, one of them had. Whether it had been Duncan or Lori Ann was anyone's guess. And it should not bother her. But, damn, it did.
“There's just something about the ocean,” Duncan said as they stepped onto the ferry's open deck. “It relaxes me as nothing else can.”