Laura nodded. “I’ve never seen him so lovesick before. Miss Doris said she doesn’t know whether to hug him or put him out of his misery.”
“Don’t tell me that!” Sydney said. She didn’t want to cause Matthew pain. “What am I going to do to make this right?”
“Show him that you understand how he feels,” Laura advised. “He took a risk even though he wasn’t sure whether it would make him lose his only chance or make him king of the world.”
“So that means I should take a risk? Just go up to him and ask for a second chance?” Her stomach twisted as she imagined how badly that would go.
“No, you have to do something really bold. Make it very clear that you want him,” Laura explained. Her eyes widened as she decisively set down her wineglass. “You know, Matthew has acted out some of your fantasies...”
Sydney’s breath caught in her chest. “I don’t like where this is going.”
“Right, Laura,” Isabel said, warming up to the idea. “It’s only fair. Is there any fantasy that Matthew might have? Something that you can act out for him?”
Sydney felt her skin heat as she recalled Matthew mentioning one of his fantasies. All it required was a trench coat and a brazen attitude. She had neither.
“I think she knows one,” Laura whispered to Isabel.
“I...I...” She already felt vulnerable. She wasn’t sexy enough to follow through on Matthew’s fantasy. What if she got it wrong? What if she ruined it? “I’m not sure about this...”
“Even better,” Laura said. “Matthew put himself out there for you. Why won’t you do the same for him?”
“Because he’s not happy with me right now,” Sydney said. “He’s going to reject me.”
“No, he won’t,” Isabel promised. “He’s going to be so thrilled that he won’t remember what you argued about.”
“This is where our book club selection comes in handy,” Laura said excitedly. “Follow the suggestions outlined at the end of the How to Seduce a Man book and he won’t even remember his name.”
* * *
“OH, THIS WAS a bad idea,” Sydney said, her wobbly voice echoing in the empty corridor as she stepped out of the elevator. She slowly faced the mayor’s office suite. How did she get herself into these situations? Why did she listen to her friends?
After today, she was placing a ban on all book club experiments.
Taking a deep breath, Sydney rolled her shoulders back and marched through the doorway. Her spindly heels clicked against the floor and she was afraid her feet were going to fly right out from under her. That would be disastrous especially since she wasn’t wearing anything under the cherry-red raincoat.
She wished she had practiced the bold walk a little more, but her friends refused to waste any more time, declaring it a stalling tactic. Of course it was a stalling tactic! There was a lot riding on her surprise meeting with Matthew. If she botched it, she wouldn’t get another chance.
She walked up to the desk in the reception area and offered what she hoped was a breezy smile to Matthew’s assistant. “Hello, Tanya.”
“Sydney.” Tanya slowly took in Sydney’s appearance and her gaze rested on the raincoat’s short hem that revealed Sydney’s bare legs. “You know it’s not going to rain this week, right?”
“So I’ve been told.” Sydney kept her smile. “You would not believe how many people are aware of the weather forecast.”
“Well, Seedling is an agricultural community. Are you wearing anything under that?”
“Of course,” she lied.
“If you say so.” Tanya glanced at her calendar. “I don’t have you on the schedule today.”
“My mistake, Tanya,” Matthew said, standing at the threshold of his office door. “I forgot to mention it to you.”
Sydney turned at the sound of Matthew’s voice. Her heart did a tumble as she spotted him. He wore his usual flannel shirt, T-shirt, jeans and boots, but his smile was missing. She saw the shadows on his face and there was no spark in his eyes as he looked at her.
The hope pressing against her skin shriveled. He didn’t even notice that she was acting out his fantasy. Or, worse, he just didn’t care. The raincoat rubbing against her thighs felt even shorter and she resisted the urge to pull down the hem.
“Matthew,” Tanya said with a touch of annoyance. “How many times—”
He raised his hand as if he was giving a pledge. “I know, I know. I’ll do better. Why don’t you come inside, Sydney?”