by Cindi Madsen
A giant red building that resembled a barn loomed in front of them, the sign declaring it America’s oldest carousel.
“When I moved from the West Coast to the East Coast,” Vanessa said, “Martha’s Vineyard and this carousel were on the top of my to-do list. I added them to my list of places on Quest Obsessed long before this trip was a twinkle in Mr. Barton’s eye.”
Since Danae and Vanessa had practically raced to the entrance, they were waiting for the rest of the team.
“You look fabulous, by the way.” Danae swept her arm up and down her colleague’s asymmetrical jumpsuit with a slit in the sleeve. It showed off Vanessa’s toned arms, and the white fabric complemented her bronze skin. If Danae attempted that outfit, she’d look like Casper the Friendly Ghost.
“Aww, thank you.” The bangles on Vanessa’s wrist clanged together as she swept a corkscrew curl out of her eyes.
“White is a bold choice, too. I’d definitely spill food or drink on myself if I wore an ensemble like that.”
Vanessa laughed. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”
“I think you’re new enough not to have seen some of my disasters. Once—I don’t even know how it happened—the coffee pot exploded on me. Like I lifted it to pour myself a cup of joe and the next thing I know, shattered glass and steaming coffee down my shirt and pants. I’d worn light pink that day.”
Vanessa brought up her hands to cover her mouth. “No.”
“Oh yes. Bonus, it was my second week of work. I didn’t know what to do. Mark came in while I was on my hands and knees doing damage control and helped me clean up the mess.”
The rest of the team caught up, and while their looky-loo pace was sometimes hard for Danae to deal with, she was in a good-enough mood that she was happy for them to look their fill. Perhaps she didn’t have to power walk everywhere on this trip. Maybe. If they were on schedule.
The group entered the building together and walked over to where the carousel was spinning, the vintage organ providing the soundtrack. The period artwork painted across the top added to the classic feel, as if they’d stepped back in time.
“Aww, look at all the happy kids,” Danae said.
“See how they’re reaching for that mechanical arm?” Vanessa pointed, raising her voice and addressing the entire team. “There are these brass rings you try to snag, and if you get one, you win a free ride.”
“Along with bragging rights,” Mark added with a smile. He scuffed his shoe against the wooden floor. “I might’ve been the reigning champ of my family when I was a kid. My parents brought us here a lot during our summer trips with our cousins. There were six boys, so as you can imagine, we got a bit rowdy, despite threats from our parents.”
Danae cocked her head and studied Mark. He could be opinionated and stubborn—traits she also had in spades—and don’t even get her started on how he said he would add items to his calendar and immediately forget, but she could hardly imagine him as a rowdy boy. She found she liked the image of little Mark and all his cousins, so carefree, their eyes wide with adventure.
At least Dad let me run wild on the sailboat. Her childhood might’ve ended earlier than expected, but those days building sandcastles and pretending to be a fierce female pirate at sea had allowed her to fully be a kid. They had spurred her imagination and enriched her childhood. Thanks to Dad’s always referring to her ideas as brilliant, she wasn’t scared to take risks, either, which had served her well when it came to out-of-the-box marketing ideas.
The person running the carousel stopped the ride, waiting for the kids to climb off so the next group could go, and Paige yelled, “I call the dragon with the rainbow wings!”
“Not if I get there first,” Franco yelled, and the two of them took off at a sprint, faster than Danae could scold them.
Then she was glad she hadn’t, because she hadn’t seen the two of them that excited for anything on this trip. If they could capture some of that childlike magic she’d just been fondly recalling, they should go for it.
As long as they didn’t shout out the company name.
“This looks amazing on film,” Vanessa said as she clicked away on her phone. Naturally she had cool filters to experiment with, adding more old-timey effects before switching to one with color pops. “The shorter the films, the better these days, so I’ll take a mix of pictures and videos.” She pocketed her phone and backpedaled toward the carousel entrance. “Do me a favor? Can you take a few pictures and videos of me so I can share them on Quest Obsessed and earn my stickers?”
“Of course.” Danae moved closer to the white picket fence that bordered the carousel. Several members of her team climbed atop horses, including Mark. Danae took several pictures, snapping extra of Vanessa for her innumerable apps.
She sensed Josh at her side, and a flutter careened through her. She pressed her forearm against her tummy, as if that would help it calm down. Sure, the guy standing next to her evoked a thrill similar to a carnival ride, but his moods also had as many ups and downs, as last night had attested. Plus, this was a short trip, and a work one at that. Clearly, her self-control needed to get its act together.
“Come on, Danae.” Franco beckoned to her. “You, too, Josh.”
Paige parroted his request. Even though she hadn’t won the race, Franco had let her take the first ride on the colorful dragon. Vanessa and Mark, on two buckskin horses, added their pleas for her to “come on already.”
“It’s for kids,” she shouted back, earning a mock dirty look from Vanessa.
“Don’t give me that lame excuse. I’m older and therefore wiser…”
Luckily, the carousel carried Vanessa too far away to continue the discussion.
“I’ll go if you go,” Josh said, his voice drifting into her ear and vibrating its way to the center of her chest. “Destiny awaits. I’m pretty sure that’s the horse’s name, by the way.”
An unexpected laugh slipped free. “I’d hate to mess with Destiny. I hear she’s an ornery one.” If putting space between them required a spin on the carousel, Danae supposed it was the lesser of the two complexities. “Fine. I’m in.”
Josh led her to the end of the short line to wait for the next turn. The ride slowed, and the conductor told them to go ahead and pick out their horses. Franco and Paige were switching seats so that he could get a turn on the dragon.
Unlike previous carousels Danae had ridden when she was a girl, several of the horses had realistic hair instead of painted manes. The conductor announced that the ride was about to start, and the two of them rushed to mount their noble plastic steeds. As she climbed atop her horse and glanced at Josh, the childlike excitement she’d been reminiscing about ignited and spread until her entire body tingled with it.
Usually she did a better job at resisting dares, but the way Josh issued them, with a combination of encouragement and witty taunting, made her want to oblige. If anyone asked, though, she’d be going with “team bonding” as her reason for giving in.
The kid a couple of horses in front of her tipped to the side, far enough that she was afraid he’d topple over. She opened her mouth to call to Mark for help, since he was astride the horse beside the young boy. Then she realized that the kid was reaching for one of the rings on the mechanical arm.
Danae squinted one eye closed, afraid to watch, and afraid not to. The boy’s finger barely nicked the edge of the ring…and came up empty. She didn’t have to see his face to imagine his disappointment.
The younger girl behind her shouted in victory as she snagged one of the rings. She had three piled on top of her horse’s ear, and while Danae knew that life wasn’t fair, it still dug at her.
During the next turn, she watched the kid again, silently urging him to snag a brass ring without getting bucked off, so to speak. She didn’t trust the flimsy “seat belt” to hold him.
He stretched out
his arm, his stubby fingers grasping and grasping…
Get it, get it.
“Dang it,” she said when he missed for the second time.
“Everything okay?” Josh asked. “Or is Destiny acting up?”
Danae patted her horse’s neck. “Not with me. I know how to grab hold of destiny and make it work for me.”
“Let me guess, with a ten-point plan.”
As they rounded the bend, the mechanical arm in sight, she stood in the stirrups, hoping they could hold her despite the fact that she was well beyond kid age, height, and weight.
“See that boy a few rows in front of us? He’s been trying to get that brass ring, and he’s already missed twice. I feel so bad.”
Sure enough, he stretched out his fingers once again, and she leaned to the side of her own horse, as if that would help.
The kid’s mom was trying to assist him this time, but she was also struggling to keep a hand on a toddler with golden curls on the horse in front of him.
Mark climbed off his own horse in a flash. He asked the mom and the kid a question, and when they both nodded, he gripped the kid around the waist and gave him the few inches’ boost. The boy’s happy shout bounced over to her, and happiness pinged her insides.
“You got it!” she shouted, adding a clap, and the boy twisted in the plastic saddle and held up his brass ring trophy.
Danae smiled at Mark, who ensured the boy was securely on his horse and then returned her smile. Instead of climbing back on, Mark simply leaned against his horse and gripped the pole as the ride began slowing.
After the breakup, she’d purposely focused on her frustrations with Mark so she wouldn’t miss him so much. Between the way he’d apologized last night, his remark about her mom, and how he’d noticed the kid struggling and jumped to help, she was remembering everything that had drawn her to him in the first place.
Even the story she’d told Vanessa about the coffee pot. Mark had come in, and she’d launched into a rambling explanation. Before she’d even finished her spiel, he’d squatted next to her, placed his hand on her shoulder, and told her it wasn’t a big deal.
Then he’d grabbed a roll of paper towels, told her to be careful so she wouldn’t cut her fingers, and helped her clean it up. That’d been the first glimmer of attraction, and things had blossomed from there.
She’d doubted her instincts when it came to dating and relationships since the breakup, but maybe she hadn’t been completely wrong about Mark, even if it hadn’t worked out.
As they climbed off the carousel, she quickened her pace so she could talk to Mark. “That was very nice of you.”
“I couldn’t handle watching him miss one last time. Everyone deserves bragging rights and a free ride.”
“Guess that rowdy boy grew up to be a generous gentleman.”
As they went to step off the carousel, Mark extended a hand and helped her down. “That means a lot coming from you, considering you’ve seen some of my not-so-generous moments.”
“Not true. Even with”—unexpected emotion clotted her throat—“everything that happened with us, you’ve remained courteous and professional, and I appreciate it. Even if I might not have at first.”
“Trust me, it wasn’t easy. And sometimes—”
“That was amazing,” Vanessa said, hooking her arm in Danae’s. “The pictures and the videos, and ahh, I feel like a kid again.”
Mere steps in front of them, Franco glanced over his shoulder and then loudly faux-whispered to Paige, “What’s next? I’d ask Danae, but I’m afraid she’ll yell at me for not reading the itinerary.” The entire team laughed. After a few days of wondering if she could pull off team bonding, it buoyed Danae’s already happy mood to the next level.
She turned to Paige and Vanessa, crossing her fingers that they were feeling the bonding vibes as well. “Any publicity and marketing opportunities there? Even if it’s just networking?”
“I’ll look into it,” Paige said.
“Awesome. Next up is a short walk down Circuit Street, and then we’ll cut across Tabernacle Avenue and check out the real-life gingerbread houses. From there, it’s only a three-minute walk to The Sweet Life Café, where I’ve booked us a late lunch. Not only is it one of the top-rated restaurants in town, I called ahead and made sure they had vegetarian options for Paige, gluten-free dishes for Franco, and that they’d consider opening an hour early to accommodate our group.”
Then she’d present the five-year plan she’d worked so hard on to everyone. The nerves she’d kept at bay rose up, even as she assured herself that it would be fine. The last few meetings had gone much better than the first.
It was just that this one was the big one. The high she’d experienced from today’s bonding time slowly leaked out of her, every breath tightening instead of expanding her lungs.
To combat her apprehension, Danae did what she did best. She dug her planner out of her bag and began studying the notes she’d made for her presentation while silently chanting, Please, please let it go well.
Chapter Eleven
When it came to getting through to Danae about living in the moment, it felt like one step forward and two steps back. Having every minute of a day arranged made Josh scratch at his throat, but she obviously found it comforting. Currently she had her nose buried so far in her planner that she was missing out on the little shops buzzing with tourists, the blue sky overhead, and the leafy green trees that provided welcome patches of shade.
Maybe the houses and businesses they were passing weren’t the “gingerbread houses” she had on her bullet-pointed list, but there was a lot of beautiful architecture. For instance, the charming inn to their right, with its balconies and turret and greenery climbing up the sides.
“Hey, look,” Josh said, stepping closer to her so that the family of four would go through the gap he’d opened up instead of slam into Danae, who probably wouldn’t even notice. “It’s the Lazy Frog. Danae, maybe you want to stop in and see if you can find tips on how to take some extra leisure time—it says ‘dedicated to leisure’ right there.”
Several members of her team chuckled. Unfortunately, he didn’t get so much as a glance from Danae, much less the smile he’d hoped for. Already he’d failed at remaining uber professional. It wasn’t really his style anyway. Plus, they’d connected yesterday, and he couldn’t just throw that away. Instead, he was attempting to walk closer to the friendly line rather than the flirty one. Vetoing the latter didn’t mean he didn’t want to continue to chat or push her to have more fun on their outings.
Danae’s brow furrowed as she glanced up, as if she were surprised to find other people nearby. “Did someone say something to me? I’m just brushing up on my notes for my presentation, so I…” Her lips moved as she continued to skim down the page, lost in her planner yet again.
Evidently, Josh’s powers of persuasion needed to be recharged—or maybe he’d used them all up getting her on the carousel. So he zipped his lips and continued walking along. Only problem was, frustration churned through him, growing stronger with each step.
Was it his imagination, or had things changed once she’d gone after Mark at the end of their carousel ride?
Worse, why did it matter so much to him?
With their cluster bobbing and weaving their way through the crowd, Josh ended up next to Franco at the tail end of the group. He opened his mouth, only to shut it. By the third time he’d almost spoken, only to think better of it, he rebuked himself for being a wimp and asked the question he’d been dying to ask since their walk to the Flying Horse Carousel.
“Hey,” Josh said, keeping his voice low. “Did Mark and Danae used to be…?” The words snagged in his throat. “Were they married? Earlier he said something about her mom when we were joking about mothers-in-law.” He shrugged, stopping short of saying he’d caught a strange energy between them, but not one th
at quite fit ex-spouses. After all, he and Olivia very rarely spoke, and while they could now be civil when their paths crossed, he couldn’t imagine working in the same office. “I was going to ask Danae, but…”
Franco’s eyebrows arched so high they blended into his dark hair. Then he glanced at the woman Josh had just inquired about. “But she’s studying her planner like it’s a playbook and her team’s in the Super Bowl.”
“Exactly.”
“Well, they weren’t married. But they did date for the better part of a year. At first it was hush-hush, although most of us at the office suspected it—that was back before Vanessa was part of the team. Anyway, a lot of us thought they would get married eventually, but about six months ago, things seemed super tense. Finally, they admitted they’d broken things off, but were determined to remain professional, and I’ve been impressed at how well they’ve pulled it off. That whole friends-with-your-ex thing so rarely works out.”
Considering Mark kept finding ways to be near Danae, Josh wondered if the guy didn’t want to be more than friends again.
Which was fine. Even if Josh were willing to attempt a relationship—which was a big if—he could never be in one that didn’t allow room for spontaneity or adventure.
As everyone was finishing what had been an amazing lunch, Danae wiped her fingers on the white cloth napkin draped across her lap, and then placed it over her plate. The café was as incredible as the reviews claimed, its dark wooden floors, blue-and-copper floral wallpaper and matching blue trim creating a charming atmosphere that gave her a much-needed boost.
So far, the day was on the right, positive trajectory. Now to keep it going. “While everyone’s finishing up, I wanted to dive into the subject of increasing sales this coming year.” She shifted her plate aside and withdrew her trusty planner. Instead of diving right into her presentation, she was doing as Mr. Barton suggested and listening to her team, too. “Anyone have any ideas they’d like to share?”
