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“Thank you,” she said once they’d sat down.

“No. Thank you for taking me to see the apartment.”

“Anyone else would have done the same.” Especially Britney.

“Well, I’m glad you were there, since I wanted a second opinion.”

He wanted a second opinion, not necessarily my opinion, she reminded herself as she unwrapped her burger.

They were mostly quiet while they ate. When his knee bumped hers under the table, the contact gave her a jolt, but not for the reason he thought.

“Sorry. Did that hurt?”

“No. I’m fine.” She was fine physically, but her emotions were all over the place.

This felt dangerous, the familiarity between them. It was becoming too easy to be alone with him outside of the office. Going to lunch, apartment hunting, even being in a car together. She’d never done this with a male coworker before, and especially not one she was attracted to.

There was no use denying it, at least not to herself. The key was to let him go on thinking she was just being friendly, polite, or doing her job. If he thought she was just sucking up to Fran, all the better.

She could manage her wayward feelings, and he’d never have to know. Someday he’d go back to Florida, and her life would return to normal. All she had to do was keep reminding herself of that.

Seven

The first day of spring. A time of renewal and fresh starts. That was exactly what Stacy had in mind when she arrived at Bed Bath & Beyond on Saturday morning. After scouring their website the night before, she’d come up with a plan for redecorating her bedroom, and she was eager to get started.

She took a shopping cart from the cart corral and carefully set her thermos of coffee on the child’s seat. She experienced a wave of sadness, wondering if she’d ever use the seat for its intended purpose. After all, she might not have many child-bearing years left.

She imagined what her friends would say if they could hear her inner monologue, and she shook off the negative thoughts. Then she went into the bath section to pick out some new towels for the master bathroom. She scanned the rows of neatly folded bath towels until she found the soft lavender color she was looking for. The towels would coordinate perfectly with the gray and lavender bedding set she’d seen online.

After loading her cart with an assortment of towels and a lavender shower pouf, she moved on to the bedding section. She was standing in front of a shelving unit of bedding sets when a woman wheeled her cart down the aisle and paused nearby.

“There’s so much to choose from. It’s overwhelming,” the stranger said.

“It is,” Stacy replied. She wasn’t really in the mood for small talk. Besides, she’d already done her homework and knew exactly what she was looking for. She just hadn’t found it yet.

She turned and wheeled her cart in the other direction to peruse the other bedding aisles. As she turned the corner, she accidentally bumped into another shopper’s cart. It was piled so high she couldn’t see the person’s face. It was probably just as much their fault as hers that they’d bumped into each other, but out of politeness, she said, “Oops. Sorry.”

The shopper peeked around the overflowing cart and smiled with surprise and pleasure.

“Hi, Stacy,” said Nick.

“Hi. What are you doing here?” She realized how inane the question was after she’d asked it.

“Shopping for my new apartment.”

“You got it, then?”

“Yep.”

“That’s great!”

She glanced in his cart, at the black and gray striped bedding set perched atop the pile. “Did you buy a new bed too?” It was a legitimate question since they’d talked about it the other day, but it still felt odd talking beds with him.

He nodded. “I went furniture shopping last night and bought a bed, dresser, and couch. You know, the basics.”

Then he glanced at her cart, with the towels and shower pouf resting on top. “That’s a lot of towels,” he said.

She laughed. “I’m redecorating my bedroom and bathroom. I like to freshen things up every season.”