That Thing You Do (Whispering Bay Romance Book 1) (Volume 1) by Maria Geraci Page B

it’s all up to you . I know I’m asking a huge favor here, because this is your job and you’re on a tight schedule. I get that. I really do. But all I needis one night. Just one more day so that I can spend tonight in the building and write my story.”
    “Allie—”
    “Don’t say no. Because I really need this. And because…because you owe me.”
    She blinked.
    Then he blinked.
    And then no one said anything.
    Because you owe me . Talk about hitting an all-time low!
    The trickle of perspiration running down her back was now a river. It was barely eight-thirty and already humid, but nowhere near hot enough for her to be sweating like this.
    She followed Tom’s gaze to all the waiting men, at the big machines primed and ready to tear down the building. What she was asking was not only impossible, it was impractical. Expensive. And crazy. She was asking him to put his job on the line. And for what? For a girl heknew back in high school. A girl he’d used as a rebound fling. A girl he hadn’t seen or talked to or probably even thought about in over twelve years.
    He was going to laugh in her face and say no. And Allie couldn’t blame him.
    “You know, I wouldn’t ask for your help if I didn’t need it.” Those words wouldn’t change anything, but at least it allowed her to save a bit of pride.
    He frowned and shook his head. “What did you just say?”
    Great. He was going to make this even harder for her.
    “You heard me, Donalan. I need your help here.”
    Instead of answering, he turned and shouted to a nearby group of workers, “Hey! Turn down the radio.”
    The men all stared back with blank expressions.
    Okay, that was a little freaky.
    “What are you talkingabout? There’s no radio,” Allie said.
    He whipped around. “What do you mean? You don’t hear the music?”
    “What music?”
    He closed his eyes for a second and shook his head as if to clear his thoughts.  “Did you just say you need my… help ?”
    She frowned. Tom wasn’t faking this clueless routine. There had been a time when Allie could have read his mind, they’d been that close.It might have been over a decade since she’d last seen him but no one changed that much. Maybe after all these years of working construction sites he’s gotten hit on the head one too many times by a rogue ply board.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    There were dark smudges under his eyes like he hadn’t slept well. What had he said last night? That he’d been “patrolling” the senior center?
    He took off his hard hat and squinted up into the sun as if searching for something.
    “Donalan, you’re kind of scaring me here. You look tired. Maybe you should go lie down.”
    This seemed to pull him out of whatever trance he was in. “I’m fine.”
    He didn’t seem fine, but he also seemed irritated by her questioning. “All right, so are you going to help me or not?”
     “Okay,okay.” He threw up his hands in surrender. “You win. I’ll give you twenty-four hours.”
    “You mean it?”
    “Of course I mean it.” He glanced around apprehensively. After a few seconds, he let out a big breath and muttered, “Thank God.”
    Allie wasn’t sure what God had to do with it. Or what had just happened. Not that she was complaining, but this sudden reversal of his seemed almosttoo good to be true.
    “Twenty-four hours,” Allie repeated, wanting to make sure she’d heard him right. Because honestly? Tom still looked a little disoriented. “This building is staying intact for the next twenty-four hours. You promise?”
    “Yeah,” he said. “But you have to promise me something in return.”
    Was he serious? She’d promise him just about anything right now. Well, almostanything. “Name it.”
    “This is it. No matter what happens. Ghost or no ghost, and I can pretty much guarantee it’s going to be no ghost, but one more day, that’s all the time I can give you because tomorrow the building comes down.”
    “Sure, sure! I promise. No