Page 56 of Too Good to Be True

Stacy froze.

“Yay!” Britney said in her cheerleader voice.

Nick laughed.

“Do you want to drive together?” Britney asked, sounding both hopeful and seductive.

Stacy strained to hear his answer, but other voices drowned his out. She stood there for a moment, wondering if Nick might poke his head in and ask her to come too. It sounded like Britney was the ringleader tonight, but she hadn’t invited Stacy, or her friends, as far as she knew. It was no surprise, since Britney obviously wanted Nick to herself. It sounded like she was going to get her wish.

Soon the voices drifted away. Stacy waited a few minutes to make sure the crowd had dissipated, and then she emerged from her office.

She ran into Kelsey on the way out of the building.

“Hey,” said Kelsey. “I thought you left already.”

“Nope. I was just reviewing my presentation.”

“Or were you avoiding Nick?”

Stacy hadn’t told her friend about Nick’s confession. She’d said only that she was embarrassed about what had happened at Jared’s party and decided it would be best not to socialize with Nick outside of work. Kelsey hadn’t bought it at the time, but since then, Stacy had shared that she was going out with Eric. She’d hoped that would be enough to quell Kelsey’s curiosity, but apparently, it hadn’t been.

“I was working.”

“You know he went with Britney to TGI Fridays, right?”

“It wasn’t just Britney. I heard—”

“Ah-ha! Gotcha!”

They paused next to Stacy’s car, which was one of the few remaining in the parking lot. The lot was never so empty as on Friday’s after four thirty.

Stacy narrowed her eyes. “What about you? Where are you off to tonight?” They usually told each other about their weekend plans, but Kelsey hadn’t said a word.

“Jared invited me over to have pizza with him.”

“Just him, or Hudson too?”

“I have no idea if Hudson will be there.”

“But you hope so.”

Kelsey sighed. “Even if he is, nothing’s ever going to happen.”

“That’s what I keep telling you about Nick.”

“Why is life so complicated?”

“If I knew the answer, it wouldn’t be.”

“Well, enjoy your date with Eric.”

“Enjoy your pizza with Hudson.”

They gave each other encouraging smiles and then got into their cars and drove away.

Since Kelsey had mentioned pizza, Stacy picked one up on the way home. She polished off two slices with a glass of wine, and as she was boxing up the leftovers, it started to rain.

What began as a light sprinkle soon turned into a serious downpour. Glancing out the patio door, into the backyard, she remembered getting caught in the rain with Nick. She envisioned him dragging bags of brush through the grass, water running in rivulets down his muscular arms and wetting his dark hair.