Page 37 of That One Heartbreak

“Do it later. I’ll send you the login details. In the meantime, what about this guy? He’s thirty-eight. Works in a bank.” Shana held her phone up. There was a photograph of a non-descript guy in a white shirt. He looked…nice, Kate guessed.

“Does he have kids?” she asked.

Shana blinked. “I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“I’m not sure. But he has a moustache. I’m not sure I like moustaches. Who else is there?”

They went through all of Shana’s choices. Ryan, who ran his own software business and had a three-year-old daughter. Sam who had two grown sons and was in his late forties, looking for somebody to ‘make memories’ with. And Luke who hadn’t stated his job, but his photo was of him sitting in an expensive sports car which put Kate off completely.

“You couldn’t fit Addy’s car seat in the back.”

Shana rolled her eyes. “That’s not what you’d be doing in the backseat,” she teased. “No car seats needed for that.”

Kate wrinkled her nose. “I’m not having sex in the backseat of some stranger’s car. Anyway, it’s probably not even his car. Look at those plates, they’re not West Virginia ones.”

Shana laughed. “You’ve found an excuse for every single one of them. You need to give them a chance before you make up your mind.”

“But there’s no point in wasting their time or mine,” Kate pointed out.

“What if they’re great in bed?”

Kate’s mouth felt dry. “That doesn’t matter if you’re not compatible.”

“I thought you wanted something casual. If you’re looking for Mr. Right instead ofMr. Right Nowwe might need to take a whole new approach,” Shana said, sounding a little too certain for Kate’s liking.

“Like what?” She was getting wary now. And yeah, maybe it still felt a little too soon. Her chest was tight, like somebody was pulling at her.

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it. But why not just choose one of these for next week? Pop your cherry. Get it over with.”

“You make it sound so romantic,” Kate teased.

“It’s more romantic than sitting at home on your own.”

“I’m never on my own. I have three kids.” And didn’t she know it?

“Mom! Somebody’s at the door!” James was leaning out of his window, his Xbox controller in his hands.

“What? Who is it?” she called back up, grateful that she and Shana had been talking in low voices. Not that James would have noticed. He was wearing headphones. The only reason he could hear the doorbell was because she’d put a ringer upstairs.

“No idea.” His job done, James closed the window, presumably going back to whatever game he was playing.

“Stay here, I’ll be right back,” Kate told Shana.

“Oh, I’m not going anywhere until we’ve chosen a date for you,” Shana promised.

Kate let out a breath. She’d worry about that fight later. The dishwasher had finished and was flashing as she walked through the kitchen and into the hallway, almost tripping over Ethan’s shoes. She picked them up and put them in the closet,then opened the door, blinking when she saw Marley Hartson standing on her porch.

It had been a week since she’d seen him at the concert but the time had done nothing to temper her response to him. It was like it was inbuilt now, a reflex reaction to her eyes catching his.

“You’re not in your running clothes,” she said, because she couldn’t think of any other words to say.

Or maybe she could, but they all sounded wrong. Where have you been? Have you been ignoring me?

“Can I come in?” he asked her. “I thought I’d stop by and pick up Addy’s picture.”

“Sure.” She wasn’t going to feel disappointed that Addy was the reason he was here. It was sweet and kind and her daughter would be happy. That was enough. “It’s in the kitchen.”

She turned and walked down the hallway, hearing the click of the door as he closed it behind them both. God, she was pleased to see him, but she really didn’t want him to see how much.

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