Page 8 of I Did Before I Do

I rolled over and picked up my phone. After shutting off the alarm, I saw an unread text.

Kenzie.

It was so good to see you last night! I know everything sucks, but I’m glad you’re back in town. Let me know when you’re free, okay?

I’d missed her a lot.

I’d wanted to talk to her since I got back, but embarrassment had kept me from reaching out. Nobody wants to admit their engagement failed.

But now that she knew I was back in Richland, it didn’t matter.

I texted back.I’m glad we bumped into each other. I’ll text you later and we’ll make plans. I definitely want to get together ASAP. I’ve missed you and I need to talk some of this crap out.

She’d reply later, when she had a chance. I wasn’t worried. Besides, I had to get ready for work.

* * * * *

When I walked into the office, everyone greeted me a lot more warmly than they had the day before. We weren’t a huge office—two lawyers, four paralegals, two secretaries—but everybody was friendly.

More than friendly, as I’d found out last night. A lot of the people who worked at Hills & Bridges didn’t seem to have friends outside of work. A lot of the previous night’s stories had been about get-togethers within the office. Happy hours, holiday parties, birthdays, all of them were spent together.

It was kind of cute.

But also kind of horrifying.

That was definitely not what I thought I wanted. Still, I wasn’t mad that I’d gone. It was nice to feel a little more like part of the team.

The day went quickly, with a lot more chatting. I left my office door open, and when lunchtime rolled around, I ate with the rest of the team instead of sitting alone in my car. We laughed at lunchtime, rehashing some of the stories from the night before.

I hadn’t meant to spill some of the details from my college days, but apparently I had. While I hadn’t been adventurous when it came to sex, I’d gone to plenty of parties and proven myself as an expert drinker. My tolerance was a lot lower than it had been in college, but I could still hold my liquor with the best of them.

And apparently, that wasn’t all I’d put out to my coworkers.

Maddie came into my office after lunch, walking around the desk to hand me some papers. “So, you said you’re single, right?”

I hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I mean, I just got out of a relationship, but I’m definitely unattached.”

“Right, well, Jay was asking about you. Whether we thought it was a good idea for him to ask you out.”

Jay?

No. There was nothing wrong with him, but he wasn’t what I had in mind. He was professional, and nice, and… boring.

Really, really boring.

And dating somebody I worked with? What would we even talk about? We’d literally see each other all the time, seven days a week.

Never. No. I couldn’t go out with a guy like that.

“I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship,” I replied. “I mean, I’d go on a date or two, maybe, but I don’t want to settle down yet.”

Maggie looked surprised by that. “Really?”

“Well, yeah. I was with the same guy since high school.”

She blinked in surprise. “Wow. He must’ve been a good boyfriend.”

He had been.

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