Page 16 of Too Good to Be True

“Oh. Sounds good.”

“Great. See you both later.” Kelsey shot Stacy a satisfied look and then breezed out the door.

If Stacy hadn’t known better, she’d have thought Kelsey had her eye on Nick, like half the women in the office. However, Kelsey had a major crush on her brother’s best friend, Hudson. Kelsey had probably invited Nick for Stacy’s benefit, though Stacy had insisted she wasn’t interested.

They’d discussed the topic ad nauseam, Kelsey listing the pros and Stacy countering with the cons. After Nick left for lunch, she recalled their last such discussion.

“He’s hot, smart, and sweet. Oh, and did I mention hot?”

“Only a dozen times,” Stacy said. They’d been talking on speakerphone so she could paint her fingernails at the same time. “He’s also eight years younger than me, and he’s Fran’s nephew.”

Ignoring the age gap, Kelsey said, “Other people in the office date.”

“Other people aren’t related to Fran. Besides, why would Nick be interested in me when he could have someone younger, like Britney?”

Britney had been making flimsy excuses to pop into Stacy’s office every so often in hopes of seeing Nick. After conducting business, she’d engage him in conversation, smile big, and then sway her hips as she walked out. Nick mostly handled it with aplomb, although, one day, after she’d left, he’d leaned forward conspiratorially and said, “Does she always act like that?”

“You’re only seven years older, and why should that matter? In fact, isn’t that what you said at our last book club meeting?”

Like Stacy needed the reminder. Since then, she could hardly wait to get into bed at night and delve into the older woman/younger man romance novel. The hero, Jason, was undeterred by their age gap, while the heroine, Samantha, was still holding out.

Stacy couldn’t blame her. Sure, some women aged gracefully; however, men still preferred the younger ones, didn’t they? She’d read a magazine article about it once. It had something to do with fertility and men wanting to spread their seed to keep their bloodline going. She’d scoffed at the scientific reasoning. To her, it was much simpler than that. Younger women had better hair, better skin, less sagging, and less baggage. Still, Kelsey tried to convince her otherwise.

“Maybe he has a thing for older women, kind of like you do for younger men.”

“What?!” Stacy’s hand shook, and the nail polish brush skimmed across the side of her finger, leaving a bright pink streak behind.

“Don’t try to deny it. Look at your celebrity crushes. They’re all younger than you.”

“That’s just a coincidence.”

Kelsey laughed. “Why can’t you just admit it?”

“Because…it sounds…”

“Forbidden? Wrong?”

“I don’t know. Maybe to some people.”

“Who cares? If the two people in the relationship are okay with it, that’s all that matters.”

“Maybe, but there’s another reason why it’s a bad idea.”

“What is it?”

“He’s moving back to Florida.”

“When?”

“I don’t know for sure. He made a comment that he’s only here temporarily.”

“Even better.”

“Huh?” Stacy’s hand slipped again, leaving another pink streak on her skin.

“You can have a fling with a sexy younger man with no strings attached. Some women would jump at the chance.”

Stacy paused, her nail polish brush extended in mid-air. “But I’m not—”