Page 41 of Too Good to Be True

“Oh.” He’d surprised her, and it took a few seconds before she hugged him back. The hug was brief, but when he dropped his arms, she still felt them around her.

“See you tomorrow,” he said.

“See you then,” she replied. He went out, and she stood there until he got into his car and drove away. It was only after she’d closed the door, that she realized what she’d said.

“Damn you, book!”

Eleven

When Stacy went to work the next day, Nick was polite and friendly as usual, but there was no mention of the weekend activities they’d shared. It was almost like the hug had never happened.

It’s probably for the best, she thought as she opened the training binder and got to work.

This time, when Nick took notes, she noticed how he held the pen and the smooth, even strokes of his handwriting.

She thought of that word again, attentive. Attentiveness had been missing from her marriage for a long time. When she and Cole had first met, he’d been very attentive toward her, almost obsessively so. Somewhere along the line, that had changed, and he’d only paid attention to her when he’d wanted something in return. It had felt like they’d been bartering for favors, affection, and maybe even love.

Passionate. In the beginning, Cole had been passionate too, but over the years, his passion had waned. She couldn’t remember when she’d first noticed it, but she’d decided it was a natural progression of marriage. When she’d discovered his tryst, she’d realized that he was still passionate, just not for her. It had been a hard pill to swallow.

Nick glanced up from his notetaking. “Everything okay?”

She wondered how long she’d been sitting there, lost in thought. “Yeah. I just zoned out for a minute.”

He set down the pen. “I don’t know about you, but my muscles are still sore from doing yardwork.” He rolled his shoulders as if to loosen them.

“I was sore too, but I took a long, hot bath before bed, so that helped.”

The air stilled, and suddenly, she was very aware of their aloneness in her office.

He swallowed hard. “I’m more of a shower person myself.”

Nick in the shower. Mmm…

Then someone knocked on her door, and they both sat up straighter.

“Come in,” Stacy called, her voice sounding strained.

Kelsey stepped inside. “Hey, you two. How was your weekend?”

Stacy hadn’t talked to her friend over the weekend, and this was the first time she’d seen her today. She and Nick exchanged glances, which didn’t go undetected by Kelsey.

“What happened? What’d I miss?”

Stacy flapped her hand. “Oh, nothing. It’s just that Nick and I ran into each other at Bed Bath & Beyond, of all places.”

He shifted in his chair, angling his body toward Kelsey. “In the bedding aisle.”

Kelsey’s eyes went wide, and Nick laughed.

“You know how I like to redecorate my bedroom every season,” Stacy reminded her.

“And I was buying some things for my new apartment.”

“You got it, then. That’s great!” Kelsey said.

He nodded.

“Any other exciting news?” Kelsey looked pointedly at Stacy, silently accusing her of not sharing this sooner.