Page 11 of Fate and Fortune

She threaded her way through the tables, stepping around a kid in a baseball cap and a server balancing a stack of plates. She passed by the Winslow table without looking directly at them, though she felt the charge of their presence.

In the corridor by the bathrooms, she paused, hand on the door, and looked back. Sam Winslow was laughing at something his sister had said, head tilted back, the mask of composure cracked just enough to let real light through.

He really was an incredibly handsome man. And…his expression when he looked at his family… It was one of care and gentleness. It was clear that he loved his siblings, and from their expressions, the feeling was mutual.

As someone who had grown up close to her brother, she appreciated the sibling bond. Sadly, she wasn’t close to her parents, but they didn’t seem to be bothered by that at all.

Pushing open the restroom door, she stepped inside and let it click closed behind her. The fluorescent light buzzed overhead. She set her purse on the counter and gripped the edge of the sink, staring at her reflection in the spotted mirror.

She’d never be the kind of woman who had all of her shit together. No one had ever described her as graceful or intimidating.

Leigh Gabler was just that…intimidating.

Washing her hands, she dried them on a scratchy brown paper towel and put on a smile she didn’t quite believe. Her brother would buy it as long as she didn’t overdo it. She didn’t want him or Tara to worry more about her than they already did.

Alli pushed open the ladies’ room door and stepped into the corridor, shoulders squared and head down, crashing into an incredibly firm male body that smelled amazing. When she looked up, she was mortified to see that she’d crash-landed right into Sam Winslow, her hands on his muscular chest.

His hand came up to steady her at the shoulder, just as she snatched her hands back. His touch was warm and then gone too quickly.

“Easy there,” he said with a smile. “Are you okay? I’m sorry. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going, I guess. Too much on my mind.”

She blinked at him, running his words through her brain more than once.

“No, I’m sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going either.”

He stepped back, giving her space. His shirt sleeves were still rolled, forearms lightly tan, and there was a faint scrape on one knuckle. Now that she was closer, she could see the fatigue around his eyes. With his father so ill, he probably hadn’t been sleeping well.

For a second, Allison thought about telling him she had an interview at his office this week. It was right there, perched on her tongue. But the look on his face, preoccupied, polite, but mostly exhausted, made her swallow it immediately. This wasn’t about her.

Instead, she said, “I’m sorry about your father. I hope he’s getting good care.”

He met her eyes, surprised but not unpleasantly. Had she made a social faux pas by bringing it up? Damn, she didn’t want to upset him.

“Thanks. He’s in the ICU, so…” He let the sentence hang, then gave a half-smile. “Best care in the state, or so they tell me.”

“I’m sure they’re right,” she said.

They stood like that for a moment, two strangers in a corridor too narrow for small talk. He looked at her again, a closer, more assessing glance this time, and she wondered if he recognized her from the table by the window. If he did, he gave no sign.

“Anyway, I am sorry. Are you sure you’re okay?” he queried as he stepped around her.

“I’m fine,” she assured him. “No damage done.”

“Well, have a nice evening.”

“You, too.”

He nodded once and then headed toward the main dining room and back to his family. She hurried back to her own table, where Tara and Brian were debating what to watch on television when they returned home. He wanted to watch a recently released thriller movie, and she wanted to watch the next episode of a comedy she’d been following.

“You settle it,” Tara said when Alli sat down. “Thriller or comedy?”

“Neither,” Alli sighed. “You guys can watch what you want. I’ll be on my laptop, applying to more jobs, hoping to become a productive citizen and not a burden to society.”

“You have the interview,” Brian protested. “You’re going to find a job.”

If the woman who had been in the bar earlier was what they were looking for, Alli didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting that job.

It was officially back to the drawing board.