Free Warm Hearts by Barbara Delinsky

intercom beeped, jarring him from his thoughts. He jabbed at the button on the speaker phone. “Yes, Marge?”
    â€œMiss Wills on line four. Are you in?”
    He wished he weren’t, but he’d already put off the persistent Miss Wills twice today. “I’m in,” he said with a sigh, then switched off the speaker, pressed line four and lifted the receiver. “Hi, Jocelyn.”
    â€œDoes Marge hate me?” came the soft female voice.
    Brendan had to smile. “Of course not.”
    â€œI think I annoy her when I call.”
    â€œOnly because when I’m not here she has to make excuses, and too often I’m not here.”
    â€œI keep missing you,” Jocelyn said with such genuine sadness that Brendan felt more than a twinge of guilt. Jocelyn Wills was a very lovely woman whom he’d dated on and off in the past few months. He liked her, but that was all, and when he’d sensed that her feelings had grown deeper than his, he’d tried to cool it.
    Jocelyn wasn’t taking the hint. With the license granted the modern woman, she called him often. She even showed up at his apartment, “just to say hello.” He wouldn’t have minded the impromptu visits if it wasn’t for the fact that, when she put him on the spot that way, he felt like a heel if he didn’t ask her out. Inevitably he did. Inevitably he felt worse afterward. He knew that he should be more honest about his feelings, but he couldn’t hurt her. She was sweet and innocuous. She’d been living in the capital less than a year. Her circle of friends was small. She was lonely.
    But when she said things like “I keep missing you,” the best he could do was play dumb to the double entendre.
    â€œThings have been hectic here. We’re trying to tie up all sorts of loose ends before people start taking off for summer vacations.”
    â€œHave you made your own plans yet?”
    He squeezed his eyes shut and made a good-going-Brendan-you-jerk face. “Not yet, Jocelyn. I’m still waiting to see what the others plan to do.”
    â€œWhy? You have seniority over most of them. Tell them when you’re going away and let them plan around you.”
    â€œIt doesn’t work that way. With seniority comes greater responsibility. Besides, I can be more flexible than those who are trying to coordinate plans with their spouses and kids.”
    When Jocelyn didn’t answer immediately, he knew precisely what she was thinking. She’d invited him to spend the last week of July with her at her family’s place on Martha’s Vineyard, and he’d been putting her off as tactfully as he could. No doubt she was hurt to have to play twentieth fiddle to his colleagues.
    â€œI have to let my family know whether we want the house. My sister wants it the same week.”
    â€œLet her have it,” Brendan said as gently as he could. “I honestly don’t think I’ll be able to get away for more than long weekends here and there.”
    â€œBut you need the time off. When was your last vacation?”
    â€œMarch.”
    â€œThat doesn’t count. You went to a conference.”
    He didn’t bother to say that he’d taken several days for himself when the conference was through. He hadn’t felt he’d been dating Jocelyn long enough to merit a joint vacation, or so he’d told himself at the time, but even back then he must have known that his feelings for her were finite. He wasn’t a prude. If he’d wanted her, he’d have had her join him in a minute. But as pleasant as she was, she didn’t excite him.
    On the other hand, he could seriously consider kidnapping Sweet-and-Sexy and whisking her off for a month. Martha’s Vineyard, Bar Harbor, Hilton Head … hell, he could take a suite at the nearest Marriott and be happy.
    â€œWell,” he said with a sigh that had nothing to do with vacation