Page 13 of Too Good to Be True

“It was nice of her to take me in and give me a job, but I don’t want to take advantage. Plus, I miss having my own space.”

I bet he does. How can he invite a woman over with Fran looking over his shoulder? Why am I even thinking about this?

“Here you go. Turkey Reuben for the gentleman and ham and swiss for the lady,” the deli worker said as he set down their plates.

“Thank you,” they said at the same time.

Once again, she thought of Cole, who’d often skipped such niceties.

“Where in Florida did you live?” she asked as she cut her sandwich in half. The deli was known for its humongous portions, and she usually took half home for leftovers.

“St. Petersburg. Just a few blocks from the beach.”

“Mmm. The beach sounds so good right now,” she said, keeping her gaze down. She finished cutting her sandwich and then opened her bag of potato chips. When she finally looked up, he was gazing at her with an amused expression.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He picked up his sandwich with both hands and took a large bite out of it.

When he closed his mouth around the bread, she thought about it closing around a part of her anatomy instead and had to look away.

“Do you miss it? Florida, I mean?”

“I miss my parents and friends, but it’s not like I won’t be back. This move is only temporary.”

She swallowed her bite and dabbed her lips with a napkin. Fran hadn’t mentioned that his job would be temporary, but it made sense. Why would he want to stay in Michigan when he could be frolicking on the beach with girls in bikinis? He’d just come here to gain more experience before returning to his life under the sun.

“Have you always lived in Michigan?”

She nodded, suddenly wishing she were more worldly. While she liked to travel, she usually only went on vacation once or twice a year, and she hadn’t been anywhere exotic. Ultimately, she was a homebody, content in her little corner of the world.

“I guess it never occurred to me to live anywhere else,” she mused.

“Nothing wrong with that if you’re happy here.”

Happy. Hmm. Happiness was an elusive concept. Generally, she felt content, and she found happiness in simple, everyday things. Could she be happier? Sure. Were there things missing in her life? Absolutely. Was this the right time to be analyzing it? NO!

“Did you leave anyone special behind? Besides your family, I mean.”

A smile broke out on his beautiful face, his full lips stretching over white teeth with nary a food stain in sight. She instantly regretted asking. It was too personal a question for a business lunch with Fran’s nephew.

“Nobody that I couldn’t live without.”

Interesting. She took another bite of her sandwich, deciding that was the end of it. Apparently, Nick wasn’t done, though.

“What about you? Anyone special in your life?”

She finished chewing and then took a drink of diet soda. Nick had ordered iced tea, and she wondered if he found it ironic that she was drinking Diet Coke while munching on greasy potato chips.

“No,” she replied, hoping to shut down further questions. It was inappropriate to discuss her messy divorce and/or lackluster dating life with her student. He didn’t need to know about the miserable blind dates, awkward conversations, and length of time since she’d last had sex.

“Well, I guess we have something in common, then.” He smiled again and then sipped his iced tea.

She watched his lips close around the straw. Lucky straw.

“Besides working together, that is,” he added.

The reminder caused her to glance at her watch. “Speaking of work, we need to get back soon.”