Page 21 of Too Good to Be True

“If you have plans, I’ll just reschedule.”

She thought about her boring peanut butter and jelly sandwich in the employee refrigerator. “I don’t have plans, and yes, I’ll drive you. But you don’t have to buy me lunch. I brought a sandwich.”

“Please. It would make me feel better since you’re doing me a big favor.”

Buckingham Square was only two miles up the road, so she didn’t consider it that big a favor, but he looked so sincere that she found herself nodding.

“Great. I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.” She was trying to convince herself as well as him, but she felt a twinge of worry. She’d come to grips with having to spend so much time with him at the office, but car rides and lunch dates were a different story. It’s not a lunch date! Still, she couldn’t blame him for wanting to move out of Fran’s house, and she’d do her part. You’re a big girl. You can handle this.

The rest of the morning passed quickly, and soon it was time for lunch. They’d just stood up when someone knocked on her door.

“Come in,” Stacy called.

Kelsey and Paige came in, their purses slung over their shoulders.

“Hey. We’re going out for Thai. Do you two want to join us?” Kelsey asked.

Stacy and her friends went out for lunch once or twice a week, depending on their schedules. Naturally, they’d asked today, when she and Nick already had plans.

Nick looked at Stacy as if waiting for her to respond, and Kelsey and Paige studied them both with interest.

“Or if you already have plans—” Paige said.

“Actually, we do. I needed a ride, and Stacy was nice enough to offer me one.”

Kelsey and Paige’s eyes went wide, and Stacy shook her head at them. Nick picked up on his blunder and quickly filled in the gaps.

“I’m going to look at an apartment at Buckingham Square.”

“Great!” said Kelsey. “You’re lucky they have a vacancy. That place is pretty popular.”

“I gathered that, so I wanted to jump on it as soon as possible.”

Jump on it. Stacy turned away to get her purse so she wouldn’t have to see her friends’ smirks.

“Well, I hope you get it. If you do, I’ll have to introduce you to my brother and his friend, who live there.”

“That would be great. I wouldn’t mind meeting some more people around here.”

“Getting sick of us women already?” Paige teased.

Stacy had turned back around and was waiting not so patiently for her friends to leave.

“Never,” he said smoothly, his gaze shifting to Stacy. “Ready to go?”

She nodded, and the four of them went out to the parking lot together.

Once she and Nick were in her car, she felt relieved to be away from her friends’ knowing looks and innuendoes. Nick had to have noticed too, but he was probably used to all the attention.

She kept her eyes on the road while she drove to the apartment complex, and a few minutes later, she’d pulled into the entrance.

Nick directed her to the leasing office, and she parked in a visitor’s space.

“I don’t think it’ll take that long, but do you want to come in with me?”

She could have opted to stay in the car and scroll through her phone while she waited, but that didn’t sound appealing. Like it or not, she’d taken an interest in his life, and she was curious about what the apartment looked like.