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She grinned. “Exactly.”
“All right. What else?”
“Let’s see. No inappropriate touching. Or kissing, of course.”
“Of course.”
One side of his mouth pulled up, and she knew he was fighting a smile. He was taking this much better than she thought he would. Maybe this could work after all.
“Is there anything besides no kissing or date-like behavior that’s off the table?” he asked.
Beth shook her head. “Not that I can think of. If something comes up, I’ll let you know.”
“Fair enough.”
They’d covered almost six blocks when Beth turned left to head toward the local farmers’ market. She rarely bought anything, but she liked to stroll through the stalls to see what the vendors were selling—especially the ones hawking baked goods.
She knew the moment Drew realized where they were going. “Do you come to the market a lot?”
Beth shrugged. “I try to get here once a week. It’s good to check out your competition once in a while.”
“Ah. Good idea.”
As they strolled through the stalls, Beth wondered what was going through Drew’s mind. She’d laid out their friendship, and on the surface, he appeared to be content with the arrangement. But was he? She knew he wanted more. How long would he be happy with what she was willing to give before he became fed up with her and moved on?
“May I ask you a question?”
They were passing by a vendor who was selling a variety of apples. “Sure. And you don’t have to ask permission. We’re friends. You can ask me whatever you want. If I don’t want to answer, I’ll tell you.”
He nodded. “How long have you been a . . . a . . .”
Beth smiled. “About six years.”
“So you were in your early twenties?”
She chuckled. “Are you fishing for my age?”
“Maybe.” Drew’s eyes sparkled with mirth.
“I’m not like some women. I have no issues telling my age. I’m thirty.” Beth glanced over at him. “And you?”
“I’m twenty-eight. My birthday is next month, though.”
“So you’re a young thing,” she said, teasing.
“Not that young.”
Beth nodded.
“Does me being younger bother you?”
“Not at all. Why would it?” Beth asked.
“I don’t know. Just thought I’d ask.”
“Are you asking as a friend, or are you asking if it would bother me if we were more than friends?” She was fairly sure she knew, but she wanted him to spell it out for her.
“I’m curious if it would make any difference if this thing between us did develop into more. Eventually,” he hurried to add.
