I wore my favorite dark gray slacks and cream colored silk top for my first day back at my old job. Just because I was going back in time didn’t mean I had to dress like it. Besides, wearing something that made me feel professional and attractive would at least make the day start out better.

Gus greeted me warmly as I walked in the front door.

“Good morning, Aria,” he said, smiling at me.

“Good morning, Gus.”

“If you get hungry later, the missus made banana bread. I’m happy to share.”

I’d forgotten how good Mrs. Gus’s banana bread was. It was almost reason enough to come work here on its own. Today was already a better day than yesterday.

“That sounds great. Thank you.”

He just grinned and waved me on to the stairs so I could go up and start my work.

I stopped by Jaqui’s office and said hello. She showed me where I was working and gave me the password to the WiFi in the building.

“Here’s your work space,” Jaqui said, bringing me to a small office on the top floor. It was already warmer up here than on the lower levels, and it was only the beginning of spring. It was one of the downsides of working in an historic old building. The heating and cooling weren’t always efficient.

Boxes filled the room except for a small table, where a scanner attached to a laptop sat waiting for me. One small window let in the light from outside. I sighed. This was going to be my life for a while.

“It won’t be too bad,” Jaqui promised. “Want to get lunch with me today? My treat? And Gus brought his wife’s banana bread.”

“Lunch sounds good,” I replied, staring at the sheer amount of work I had in front of me. This was going to take forever to scan everything. So much for a paperless society. “Oh, wait. I might have someone bringing me lunch,” I said quickly.

“Oh yeah?” Jaqui grinned. “Is he cute?”

I thought about Henry’s green eyes and the way he smiled.

“Yeah. But he’ll probably forget. So, if he does, I’m all yours.”

“Sounds good,” Jaqui said. She pointed to the stack of boxes closest to the table. “I need you to start with these ones. We’re backlogged and I’d like to catch up a little bit before moving onto the new stuff.”

“Okay,” I said, glad to at least have a starting point.

“Once you finish those, then you can move onto the Paradisa stuff,” she said, motioning to the rest of the room. “And I’m supposed to remind you, none of this may leave this room. It’s confidential and the US Government will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law, yada yada yada. You know the legal disclaimer on all this stuff.”

She said it nonchalantly, but it made my blood run cold. I was going to be doing exactly that for my stepmother.

“Got it,” I replied, hoping that my smile looked normal rather than guilty. I hadn’t even done anything yet and I felt bad about it. I needed to come up with a way out of doing this for her. I had to.

“I’ll leave you to it then,” Jaqui said. “If you need anything, you know where to find me. Hopefully I don’t see you for lunch.”

She winked and walked out of the office leaving me with boxes of boredom.

The first few boxes were all unrelated to the Paradisa trade deals. Most of the documents were several months old and pertained to other countries, so I didn’t have to worry about delivering them to my stepmother.

My watch read that it was ten ‘til noon. I was going to give Henry until one to show, then I would go find Jaqui. I hoped that he would come. I hoped he wouldn’t forget. Just thinking about him made me smile.

My phone chirped on the desk beside me as I started in on my third box. I picked it up without thinking and groaned.

---

Anything interesting?

-Audrey

---

If this was going to happen every day, I was going to go crazy. Not only was she making me do something I didn’t want to do, she was going to hound me every step of the way?

Luckily, today I didn’t have to debate the morals of what I was doing.

---

Backlog today. Nothing useful.

---

I texted back. I couldn’t help the smug smile that crossed my face. Hopefully, I could just do backlog forever. I didn’t want to give my stepmother a single thing if I didn’t have to.

---

You can’t do backlog forever. I expect results.

---

I stuck my tongue out at her message and put my phone away. It wasn’t my fault that she wasn’t getting what she wanted. She was the one who put me here.

I sighed and opened up another box. I knew that the backlog wouldn’t last forever. I would eventually get to the Paradisa files and I would have to give her something. It was that or lose my career and my father’s reputation. I didn’t want to think about it. Maybe I could avoid it forever if I really tried.

A knock on my door got my attention. I looked up to see Jaqui in my doorway. I glanced at my watch. It was exactly noon.

“You have a visitor downstairs,” she informed me, her voice sing-song and light. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned at me. “I think he has lunch for you.”

This day just got even better.

I stood up so fast my knees knocked the table and I nearly tipped the scanner onto the floor. Jaqui giggled as I made sure everything was safe on the table before moving out from under it.

“I have to say, you didn’t tell me just how cute he was,” Jaqui said as I grabbed my purse and headed out of the office. “Plus the accent? Hot. Super hot. Where is he from?”

“I’m not actually sure,” I admitted as we went to the stairs. “I only met him for a few minutes.”

“I think it sounds Paradisian,” Jaqui said thoughtfully as we clattered down the stairwell. “It’s not quite English sounding, but it’s not Irish or Scottish either. And definitely not Australian.”

“Just how much did you talk to him before coming to get me?” I asked, giving her a side glance.

She grinned. “Just enough to make sure he was good enough for you.”

“Uh huh.” I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing to have Jaqui talking to him.

“He seems pretty smitten with you,” Jaqui said. “Do you think he has a brother? Or a friend.”

I thought of Andre. He seemed like Jaqui’s type. “I can ask.”

“Please do,” she said, holding the bottom door of the stairwell open for me. “And have fun. I want details when you come back.”

I grinned at her. I had missed working with her. It wasn’t work with Jaqui. It was hanging out with a friend when she was around. She followed behind me, wanting to catch another glimpse of my handsome suitor before going back to her office.

I smoothed my shirt before heading around the corner and into the lobby where he would be waiting. My heart fluttered in my chest and my palms went sweaty, but in a good way. I was excited to see him again.

He stood in the middle of the entrance area before security, looking calm and comfortable despite the evil eye Gus was giving him. I nearly forgot how to breathe. He was even more handsome than I remembered, and I’d been sure I’d been exaggerating his good looks in my memory.

He wore fitted jeans that accentuated his lean figure and a dark suit jacket that broadened his shoulders. The dark color accented the reddish blonde of his hair and the blue of his eyes. He stood with one hand in his pocket, looking like some sort of magazine model.

He smiled as soon as he saw me and my heart sped up to insane cardio level. That smile would make anyone’s knees weak. It certainly was making mine turn to Jell-O. How in the world had I talked this guy into buying me lunch? I had to be dreaming.

“Hi,” I said, coming closer. I was unsure of what to do. Where we supposed to hug? Shake hands?

He held out his hand and greeted me warmly. I was grateful he knew what to do, because my brain suddenly didn’t have any blood. All I could think about was his smile, not what I was supposed to be doing.

“Are you available for lunch now?” he asked, releasing my hand. I wished for a moment that he would just keep holding it. That we could walk out on the street hand in hand, which was a silly thing to want from someone I’d known less than fifteen minutes.

“I am,” I told him. “What did you have in mind?”

I noticed then that he didn’t have any food with him. He had said he would bring me lunch, but unless he was hiding the noodles in his coat-sleeves, there wasn’t any food here.

“I know that I said I would bring you lunch, but I was hoping I might convince you to come with me to lunch,” he said, a slight blush crossing his cheeks. I wondered for a moment if he was as nervous as I was, which would be silly. He had nothing to be nervous about, looking the way he did.

“I have an hour,” I said, smiling shyly.

“She actually has two,” Jaqui called out from the corner. “It’s a new hire thing.”

I looked over at her and she winked. Knowing Jaqui, if I got her Andre’s number, she’d let me have the rest of the day off. There were some perks to working at a job that didn’t need to be done immediately. I never could have done this in my other job.

“I guess I have two hours,” I said.

He grinned and it lit up the room. My stomach fluttered and I could feel a blush heat my cheeks. How in the world was I going to make it through an entire meal feeling this flustered? It felt like a first date.

I was suddenly really glad I had worn my favorite work outfit. It was close enough to first date clothing that I didn’t feel under-dressed. I at least knew that I looked good today.

He offered me his arm and I felt like a true lady as he escorted me out of the building.

“Have her back in two hours, young man!” Gus called out after us, his arms crossed and expression grumpy. I loved him for it.

A lovely spring day awaited us outside. I’d been cooped up in my office scanning documents and hadn’t realized how beautiful it was out. The sun was warm, contrasting the cool breeze that threatened rain later.

Henry pulled out a ball-cap with a large blue R embroidered on it and pulled it down over his hair. He looked almost like a different person with it on, but he at least had the sun out of his eyes.

An older woman with her grand-kids in a stroller walked past us and smiled. “Ah, young love,” she murmured as she passed and I blushed.

I liked that she thought we were a couple.

“What were you thinking for lunch?” I asked, holding onto his arm as we walked along the sidewalk. I didn’t want to let go. I liked the way he felt next to me and under my fingers.

“According to my phone, there is a highly rated Greek restaurant, an American diner, and a place that sells grilled cheese,” he replied. “I’m not sure how there is a restaurant based solely on grilled cheese, but it’s close.”

“Do you like grilled cheese?” I asked, knowing what restaurant he was talking about. It was a cute little restaurant that did a creative spin on the American classic sandwich. It was one of my favorite lunch spots.

He lowered his head closer to mine. “To be honest, I’ve never had one.”

“What? How have you never had a grilled cheese?” I asked, astonished. “How did you survive as a child?”

He chuckled. “It was never served. I did love macaroni and cheese, though. And pickles.”

I giggled. “Then we are going to go pop your grilled cheese cherry,” I told him. “And they have a great mac and cheese if you hate the sandwich.”

“Do you like this place?” he asked, looking down at me with those blue eyes. Today they were the color of the sky just before nightfall. Dark and blue and beautiful.

“I do,” I told him. My favorite is called ‘The Young American.’ It’s cheese, tomato, and bacon on sourdough bread. Sometimes I have them add avocado and roasted red peppers, too. It’s delicious.”

“That sounds amazing,” he agreed. “I thought grilled cheese was supposed to be boring. That’s why it’s a kid food.”

“Traditionally, it’s just toasted white bread with melted cheese inside. Which is delicious, if a bit simple,” I agreed. “I actually really like all the extra ingredients. It feels decadent, but comforting at the same time. Like being home and still traveling.”

Henry grinned. “I like the combination. Let’s try it.”

He let me guide us down the street. The restaurant was only a few blocks away and I could practically get there blindfolded, I’d made the walk so many times.

I smiled back at him as we walked side by side down the street. My hand still rested on his arm and I could feel the flex of the muscles underneath as he moved.

“So where are you from that you didn’t have grilled cheese as a kid?” I asked, mostly to distract myself from his closeness.

“You don’t know?” he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. “I thought you might have guessed by now.”

“Jaqui thinks that you’re from Paradisa,” I told him. “I’ve never met anyone from there, so I don’t know what the accent sounds like exactly.”

“Jaqui is a good guesser,” he replied. “I am from Paradisa.”

The way his accent wrapped around his homeland made it sound rich and warm. There was love in the way he said where he was from.

“Are you just visiting? Or are you coming to stay in America?” I asked, pulling on his arm to have him cross the street with me.

“Just visiting,” he replied. He glanced at me as we resumed walking on the sidewalk, as if he was trying to figure me out.

“Business or pleasure?” I asked him, feeling like I was playing twenty questions, but I wanted to know more about him. He dropped my arm and stopped walking, pausing in the middle of the sidewalk. He just looked at me, his blue eyes unreadable. The wind ruffled the red-gold hair peeking out under his hat.

“What?” I asked, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “Did I say something wrong?”

He shook his head and smiled. “No. You’re perfect,” he told me. “I’m just not used to so many questions.”

“I can stop, if you want,” I replied, feeling a blush cross my face again. “My dad always said my curiosity would get the best of me.”

“No, it’s wonderful,” he replied, giving me a smile. “I’m here for business.”

“So, you’ll leave then?” I tried to keep the disappointment out of my voice. “You’ll be going home? How long are you staying?”

He looked over and gave me a cocky grin. “Why? You think you’ll miss me?”

I did my best to shrug. “I just met you. How could I miss you?”

The confident smirk didn’t leave his face. “I plan on staying here for at least a month. I might be able to stay longer. If the conditions were right.”

My heart did a little flip flop. I could try and make those conditions even better. I hadn’t known him for very long, but I certainly wanted to. I wanted to know him a lot longer.

I cleared my throat, feeling the blush settle on my cheeks. “The restaurant’s just over there,” I said, trying to keep from getting ahead of myself. I didn’t even know the guy’s full name. I couldn’t start planning our life together just yet.

“What does the R stand for?” Henry asked as we crossed the last street to the little sandwich shop.

“The R?” I asked, confused.

“Aria R?” He repeated. “That who you told me to ask for.”

“Oh, right.” I nodded, remembering that I had told him to ask for me at the security desk that way. “It’s Ritter. Aria Ritter.”

“Aria Ritter,” Henry repeated. The way his accent curled around my name made my belly heat. There was warmth and sexuality to it that I’d never heard before. When he said my name, it sounded exotic and beautiful.

“And what’s yours?” I asked him. “You never did give it to me.”

“Henry Prescott,” he replied, ducking his head politely. It was a good name, even if it didn’t seem to suit him.

“Well, Henry Prescott, it’s very nice to meet you,” I told him.

He chuckled and opened the door to the grilled cheese shop, holding it open for me like a gentleman. Again I was struck by his politeness. It had been a while since anyone had held a door open for me on a date.

The restaurant was small, but smelled amazing. The aroma of thick, crunchy bread, melty cheese, and all sorts of meats filled the space. The sandwiches were all made to order along a tall counter, and tables and chairs were tucked into every available corner. There was some patio seating too, now that it was finally getting warmer.

Luckily, we beat the lunch rush. Given the close proximity to the White House, this place was usually packed with tourists and assistants grabbing lunch for their politician bosses. Today was our lucky day. There were only a few people in line ahead of us, giving Henry enough time to look over the menu.

“I’ll have the Young American with roasted red peppers added,” I told the clerk when it was our turn to order.

“The Classic for me,” Henry said politely. “And an order of loaded tots to share.”

The clerk nodded and took Henry’s card before I had a chance to even get my wallet out.

“You don’t have to pay,” I told him as the clerk returned his card. He smiled at me as he pocketed it.

“I said I was buying you lunch,” he replied, his eyes bright. “I did knock you over, remember?”

I thought about the grass stains on my slacks yesterday. They’d come out easily enough, but I wasn’t going to complain about him buying me lunch. “Alright, then.”

We walked along the counter, following the progress of our sandwiches. His hand went to the small of my back as we shuffled along. All my attention went to the way his fingertips hovered on the silk of my shirt. It was all I could think about. I wanted him to touch me more.

I glanced over at him from the corner of my eye. He was busy watching his sandwich being made. He frowned slightly, watching as they put it on the grill. His brows came together as he studied how they made a grilled cheese sandwich.

It was adorable.

Don’t get attached, I warned myself. He’s just here on business. He's going to have to leave eventually.

But I didn’t really care. I didn’t want to miss my chance with him simply because I had been too afraid to give something a chance. I liked him. He said he was going to be here a month, maybe more. Even though the idea of losing yet another person in my life terrified me, I wasn’t about to shut myself away in my office.

The only way to find my way in the world was to take chances. Henry was a risk I was willing to take.

“Do you want to eat outside?” Henry asked as we waited. “It’s warm today, but we can eat inside if it’s too cold.”

“Outside is wonderful. It’s been so warm. It feels like a shame not to enjoy the nice weather.”

He nodded and picked up the tray with our sandwiches and deftly carried it out to the patio. We sat under an umbrella, but still in the sunshine. The slight breeze was just cool enough I was glad I wore long sleeves. Summer was on its way, but not here yet.

He balanced the tray on one hand and carefully settled the plates on the table.

“You must have done this before,” I teased him as he settled into his chair. He frowned slightly and I pointed to the plates. “The plates. Were you a waiter?”

He chuckled. “No, just lots of watching others. And natural grace, of course.”

I giggled as he winked at me. “Natural grace, huh? Just like how you ran into me was graceful?”

“If you were paying attention, you would have noticed that it was a perfect tackle. My coach would have been proud,” he replied, picking up his sandwich.

I picked up mine and took a bite. Delicious cheese with the sweet hints of pepper filled my mouth. It was perfect as usual. I looked over, curious to see what Henry thought of his first bite.

He took a delicate bite, one that looked almost proper. I half expected him to get up and grab a fork. He chewed carefully, evaluating the flavors.

“I think my childhood self missed out on something,” he told me. “This is delicious. I would have eaten this every day.”

I grinned and took another bite of my sandwich, glad that I had picked a restaurant he liked. There was nothing worse than suggesting a restaurant and having your date hate it.

“So, what sport do you play?” I asked, taking another bite of food. He looked up surprised. “You said your coach would be proud.”

“Oh, right.” He swallowed. “I play rugby.”

“Rugby?” I quickly racked my brain trying to remember which ball was used for that game. I could honestly say that I’d heard of it, but that I’d never seen it played. Or even met anyone who actually played it.

“You can look me up,” he said, smiling as he ate his meal. “I play for the Paradisa Royals.”

That must be what the R on his hat stood for.

“Is that a professional team?” I asked, pulling out my phone. If he told me to look him up, I wasn’t about to wait until later.

“Semi-professional,” he admitted, taking a large bite of his sandwich. “This is delicious, by the way. I don’t know if I mentioned that.”

I giggled as I googled his name. Henry Prescott.

Several team images popped up of the Paradisa Royals. Henry’s grinning face stood out from among the team. Most of the images had him covered in mud.

“Looks rough,” I replied, scanning through his results. It seemed like Henry Prescott was a good player. He was obviously not the best player on the team, but a well-loved one.

Everything seemed pretty normal about Henry Prescott. Most of the information on him was about his rugby career. He appeared to be one of the secondary players, but important to the team. There was more, but it all seemed to focus on his rugby skills. I was going to have to do a little sleuthing on him later.

“Have you ever been to a game?” he asked.

I shook my head. “Nope. I can’t say that I have.”

“Maybe I’ll take you to one,” he said, reaching over and popping a tater tot into his mouth with a grin.

“Maybe you will.” I grinned back. I could definitely go for another date with him. I liked the way he smiled at me and the way it made my whole body react. He was like sunshine for my soul.

“Then I’ll need to give you my phone number,” he said. He grinned and held out his hand. “I’ll put it in your phone.”

I pulled up the contacts screen and handed it to him. He quickly added his name and number, making sure to keep my phone screen where I could see what he was doing. He hit save, and handed it back to me.

I took my phone back and pulled up the text message screen. I wrote my own name and texted it to him.

“And now you have mine,” I told him, putting my phone back in my purse. He grinned and reached for another tater tot.

His knee bumped mine under the table, though he seemed not to notice it. The heat from his leg sizzled across my brain and I nearly lost the ability to speak. He certainly had an effect on me.

I was used to flirting. I was used to going out on dates, yet somehow, Henry had me feeling like a high school girl out with the quarterback of the team.

I reached over and took a tater tot as well, more to distract myself than hunger. It was crunchy and salty in my mouth. “Are you in DC for a game?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m out this season.”

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “Did you have an injury?”

He shrugged and shook his head. “Work and duty come first,” he told me.

“What kind of work do you do?” I asked.

“It’s a family business.” He waved his hand through the air. “It’s not very interesting to be honest. Lots of travel. Politics. International trade.”

“International trade can be interesting,” I responded, trying not to think of the reams of paper waiting for me back at the office. “Sometimes.”

“If you say so.” He picked up another tater tot and chewed it carefully. “And what about you? What do you do at the Trade Representative Office?”

“Nothing important.” The words tasted bitter coming out.

“Do you want to do something important?” he asked, his blue eyes going to mine. When he looked at me like that, the world held still.

“I do,” I said softly. “I always have. I want to make the world a better place.”

Henry nodded and then frowned slightly. “You said your last name is Ritter? Like the Ritter Child Safety Law that’s posted in the back of all the taxi cabs?”

I smiled at my father’s legacy and nodded. “Yup. That was my dad. The success of it turned him into a senator.”

Henry looked impressed. “So you’re a senator’s daughter?”

“I was,” I told him. I looked down and fiddled with a crumb on my plate. Somehow I’d devoured the entire sandwich. “He died a while ago. A heart attack.”

“I’m so sorry.” Henry reached across the table and took my hand. It warmed me straight to the core.

“Thanks.” I tried to shrug away the empty ache that always filled me talking about my dad’s death. “Anyway, he’s probably the reason I want to become a senator myself.”

“So, you have political aspirations,” Henry said, releasing my hand.

“I guess. But, it’s more that I want to follow in his footsteps. I want to live up to the Ritter name and continue on his good work. He wanted to make the world a better place, and so do I.”

Henry appraised me for a moment, leaning back in his chair. The sunlight dappled on his across his face. He must have shaved that morning because he didn’t have stubble yet, but my fingers itched to touch him and find out. It took some willpower not to stare.

“What about you? What do you want to do with your life?” I asked, wanting to take the attention off of me and learn more about him.

“Me? I’m following the family business,” he replied. “Just like you.”

I smiled. “Is your dad a senator too?”

He chuckled. “Not quite.” His eyes went distant. “He died last year. We’re all still adjusting. My older brother has most of the responsibilities, but I’m doing my best to help.”

“I’m sorry,” I said, echoing his words to me. I reached out and took his hand this time.

“Something we have in common,” he said softly. He looked down at my hand, rubbing his thumb over my fingers.

“You said you have an older brother,” I said, wanting to change the subject. Death wasn’t a great first date topic. “Any other siblings?”

“A younger brother, too,” he said, a smile replacing the sadness in his eyes. “Liam is the oldest, I’m the middle, and Freddy is the youngest.”

I tried to imagine two more men that looked like Henry. If they were as attractive as he was, they could all go into Hollywood and make millions. The idea of three blue-eyed handsome men was rather breathtaking.

“What about you?” he asked. “Any siblings?”

I thought about Anastasia. She could barely remember my name half the time. “I have a stepsister, but we aren’t close. I don’t really have any other family. My mom died when I was little and my dad remarried when I was sixteen. After Dad died, we didn’t really have much in common anymore so I rarely see them.”

And I was talking about death again. And my terrible stepmother. Good job me. Time to change the subject.

“Have you been in DC long?” I asked, choosing something that hopefully had nothing to do with dead parents.

“I just got here last week,” Henry replied. “It’s a beautiful city.”

I smiled. “Have you seen the sights yet?”

He shook his head. “Not really. I saw the Washington Monument the other day, though.”

He grinned at me and I chuckled. “I’m not sure you actually saw it. You were kind of busy running into me.”

“Then I’ve already seen the best part of the city,” he informed me with a knowing smile.

My cheeks heated and glanced down at my hands. The compliment warmed my chest. How was it that a simple compliment like that could make me so damn happy?

“You want to get out of here?” I asked. “I still have some time. I can give you a quick tour.”

“Sure,” he said, a thrill filling my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was at his words or his touch that had my heart doing a happy tap dance.

He grinned and squeezed my hand as he stood up. We carefully deposited our empty plates at the designated spot and stepped out to see the sights.