Standing in the hallway outside his door, she waited for him to answer.
“Give me a minute,” he shouted from the other side.
“No problem,” she said. If he didn’t care that his dinner was growing cold, then she wouldn’t worry about it, either.
The door opened a couple minutes later. He grabbed the sack from her hands and was ready to close the door when she stopped him.
“Eric?” she said, making it more of a question than a statement. She hadn’t expected him to be so young. He had to be around her age, perhaps a year or two older. She couldn’t help but notice he was easy on the eyes. His hair was badly in need of a cut and it didn’t look like he’d taken the time to comb it. He was dressed in sloppy jeans and a T-shirt and had bare feet.
He glanced up as if noticing her for the first time in her pencil skirt and silk blouse. His eyes widened, as if he was as surprised as she was. “Yes. I’m Eric. Is there a problem?”
“No, not at all. I wanted to introduce myself. I’m Carrie, the new concierge. I’m here to do whatever I can to make life easier for you. If you need me to collect packages, or book a reservation, or if anything needs repairs, don’t hesitate to ask.” She bit her lip to keep from suggesting an appointment with the barber.
His gaze briefly held hers. A beep came from somewhere inside his condo. He glanced over his shoulder, then said, “Nice to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my computer.”
“Of course. Have a good evening.”
“You, too,” he said, as he swiftly closed the door.
Well, that was interesting, Carrie mused. Even though their interaction had been brief, she was intrigued. From what she’d observed and what she’d heard, Eric was something of a recluse. As far as she could tell, he collected his mail in the wee hours of the morning when no one else was about. He ordered take-out meals, and the only visitor who’d signed in to see him appeared to be a businessman. The guy had scribbled his name down and the only part legible enough to read was Michael. One visitor, and that was it. Everything else—groceries, laundry, meals—was all delivered.
When she’d gone to meet him, she’d expected to find a senior citizen with a long white beard, not a man in his late twenties or early thirties. There was more to him than met the eye, and Carrie found herself curious about what had led Eric Hudson to hide away in his condo. She’d do a little digging and find out what she could.
Chapter 6
Julia knew if she had a conversation with Eddie it probably wouldn’t go well. Because neither of her stubborn daughters was willing to tell him about Hillary’s engagement, it had been left to her.
She debated with herself all weekend, unsure she even should. The last thing she wanted was to stand between Eddie and their children. Before she left, Hillary made sure Julia accepted the fact that she had no intention of enlightening her father as to her wedding plans. If Julia felt he needed to know, then she would need to reach out. Hillary was content to leave her father completely in the dark.
Julia couldn’t let that happen. If Eddie were to hear the news of Hillary’s engagement from one of their mutual friends, it would devastate him. Eddie might be her ex-husband, but she had no wish to hurt him.
Before making the call, she carefully reviewed how best to tell him without stirring up hard feelings. Which meant not mentioning Hillary’s dictate that Eddie attend the wedding without Laura. Excluding his wife would put Eddie in an impossible situation. To Julia’s way of thinking, their daughter was being unreasonable. She feared banning Laura was the one thing Hillary could do that would keep Eddie away. This would prove what Hillary had said all along—that her father had never really loved her.
It hurt Julia to see her daughters punishing themselves by keeping their father out of their lives. And if it made her own heart ache, she could well imagine what it did to Eddie. She wondered if he had ever considered the fallout when he’d started his affair with Laura. And if he’d had any inkling of the havoc it would cause, would it have made any difference? Silly thoughts, really, seeing that it was all water under the bridge now.
Sunday evening, when she didn’t feel she could delay it any longer, she reached for her phone. It rang three times before Eddie answered.
“Hello.” His voice was gruff and unwelcoming.
He didn’t greet her, although he knew from caller ID it was her. Perhaps he was with Laura and didn’t wish to say her name aloud. Already, her nerves made this harder than it should ever be.