Page 80 of Too Good to Be True

“Nice to meet you. I’m Nick, and this is Stacy.”

Stacy smiled politely but didn’t speak. She could have (and probably should have) corrected Wendy’s assumption that she lived there too, but she didn’t.

“I think you’ll enjoy living here. It’s close to everything, but it feels private too.”

Nick nodded.

“Well, have a nice day.”

She waved and then took off running down the sidewalk. Stacy was impressed by her pace, especially for someone who might be in her fifties.

“She seemed nice,” Nick said after they’d climbed into his car.

“She thinks I live here too.”

“Nothing wrong with that.”

She eyed him closely and saw he meant it, although she couldn’t match his enthusiasm. “What if she runs into Fran and mentions she met me?”

“The chances of that happening are slim.”

“Which part, that she’ll run into Fran or that she’ll mention me.”

“Both, either. Hell, I don’t know!”

He hadn’t yelled, but he was obviously exasperated. If her age didn’t scare him away, her incessant worrying probably would.

“Sorry for being such a worrywart.”

Sighing, he reached over and placed his right hand on her thigh. “I understand you have some concerns, but if people found out about us, I doubt it would be as bad as you think.”

“You’re probably right.”

She directed him to the nearest IHOP, and a few minutes later, they pulled into the parking lot. As usual, the place was hopping, pun intended, and Nick had to circle the lot before he found an empty space.

As they were walking to the entrance, he started to reach for her hand, but then he dropped his arm to his side. She felt both relieved and disappointed, knowing her worrying was the cause of it.

When they entered the restaurant, Nick gave his name to the hostess, and they settled in to wait. Given the number of people in the vestibule, they were forced to stand close, and when he subtly slid an arm around her waist, she didn’t flinch.

She’d already scoped out the area and hadn’t recognized anyone. Then she chided herself for acting so paranoid. Troy was a sprawling, heavily populated community. The chances of running into someone she (or they) knew at this place and at this exact time were slim. Then she remembered when she’d run into him at Bed Bath & Beyond. Still, she pushed her worries aside and focused on the warmth of his body next to hers and the fact that she was about to eat pancakes!

Fifteen minutes later, the hostess called, “Nick. Party of two. Nick.”

They maneuvered through the crowd of hungry people and followed the hostess to a table in the front-left corner of the restaurant. From there, she’d have a view of the door, which was both good and bad. She’d be able to see people coming and going, but they’d be able to spot her too.

A waitress appeared while they were perusing the menu and, in her case, worrying. “Coffee?”

“None for me,” Nick replied, “but she’ll have some. I’ll just have water.”

“Sure. Be right back.”

After the waitress left, Stacy studied him over the menu. Despite her fear of being seen, she liked being here with him. It felt natural, as had lovemaking, showering together, and everything else they’d done thus far. If only she could get over her fears…

“What are you having?” he asked as he set down his menu.

“I’m going with the short stack and a side of bacon. How about you?”

“I’m going all out with the farmer’s omelet and a side of pancakes. Someone worked up my appetite this morning.”