Page 26 of The Best of Friends

“Here and there. Australia. Asia. For the past few years, I’ve been living in Milan.”

“Doing what?”

His dark eyes flashed with interest. He leaned toward her as he spoke. All the signs were there. The question was, did she care?

The only thing wrong with Jonathan Mooney was that he wasn’t Nigel. Other than that, he was successful, intelligent—and based on how much he was spending on his daughter’s birthday present, still wealthy. More important, he was a distraction when she needed one, and any contact with him would seriously annoy her mother. No, annoy wasn’t the right word. It would crash around her like a meteor and drive Elizabeth crazy.

All the better, Rebecca thought.

“Can you keep a secret?” she asked.

“Certainly. Who are we keeping it from?”

“Everyone, but most especially, my parents.”

“Intriguing.” He took the finished lattes and handed her one. They started walking.

“I design jewelry. The pieces I recommended are mine.”

“That’s the family business,” he said. “Why don’t Blaine and Elizabeth know?”

“For a lot of reasons that aren’t particularly interesting. You won’t say anything?”

“Of course not.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry to hear about your divorce.”

He shrugged. “It happens. I was too busy with work; she was too busy with her garden and charity work. We grew apart.”

“Did you remarry?”

“No. I’ve dated some. That was interesting, after over twenty years with the same woman. The rules have changed.”

“Not all that much.”

He laughed. “They have for me. Women have changed as well. They’re much more powerful and interested in their careers.”

She glanced at him. “Does that intimidate you?”

“Actually, I like it. I dated the obligatory inappropriate young women for a while before realizing that I enjoy conversation with my eye candy.”

“Who are you seeing now?”

“No one.”

She leaned in and linked arms with him again. “I find that very hard to believe.”

“The last woman I was with worked more hours than I, which I could understand, but when she was home, she was still at work.”

“Kind of like dating yourself?”

He laughed. “Almost, although she was much prettier.”

“And now?” she asked.

“Now, I’m looking.”

She stopped and faced him. He was nice enough. Not a challenge, and her heart certainly didn’t beat any faster when he was around. Maybe that was a good thing—it had been working plenty hard all those years with Nigel.

---