Page 7 of Never Kiss Your Neighbors

After I’ve been working for about half an hour, a text comes in from Ana. “Hey, can I stop by?”

“Sure. It’s just me here right now, of course.”

“See you soon.”

Ten minutes later, she arrives with Community Bean iced lattes for each of us and a box full of treats from the bakery case, some for us to have now, and extras for Jessie and Marissa to enjoy later. She also brought something for G, who’s greeting her so enthusiastically, his whole back half is wiggling side to side.

She slides her hand into the outer pocket of her tote bag. “Can I give him a biscuit?”

When I say yes, she dangles a bone-shaped treat in front of him, which he politely accepts before trotting off to his bed to enjoy it.

Ana sets her bag on one of the chairs at the dining table. “I had a doctor appointment this morning, and thought I’d stop by before I go to work.”

“Everything okay?”

She scrunches up her face. “Yeah, just a routine pap test.”

I give her a sympathetic smile over my shoulder as I get two small plates out of the cupboard. “What a way to start the day.”

“Right? When I spread my legs in the morning, a cold speculum is not what I want up there.”

Spending so much time with Jessie, it’s not often I hear any mention of sex, and sometimes I forget how spicy a conversation with Ana can be when there’s no kid around to overhear.

“I’d ask how you and your guys are doing, but since they’re my bosses, I’m not sure it’s appropriate for me to hear the kinds of things you’d tell me.”

Ana pouts, like this would never occur to her. “Oh, well. I’ll spare you the details and just tell you that things are great. They’re still trying to get me to come back to Community Bean, but I think it’s best if I keep my new job.”

Moving my laptop aside, I sit back down at the table across from where Ana’s taken a seat. “Would it be too much to see them both at work and at home?”

“No, I wouldn’t mind that at all, but I’m not sure I’d be as productive if I worked with them. Knowing I could go into their offices and scratch the itch anytime I thought of them … that’d be dangerous.”

For some reason, this comment reminds me of the men I met in the grocery store this morning. Sure, they were odd, but with those bodies, they could be excellent itch scratchers.

Maybe it’s time for me to think about dating again.

Ana’s looking at me funny.

“What?”

“You had an interesting expression on your face. What were you thinking about just then?”

“I did?” My first instinct is to keep these kinds of thoughts to myself, but considering how confusing the entire shopping encounter was, I’m tempted to see if Ana will be able to make sense of it.

I tear off a piece of chocolate croissant and toy with it as I launch into the story, from the ancient Roman factoid, to the juggling, all the way up to the woman asking to take a picture with the two men in the parking lot.

“But you don’t know who they were?” Ana looks puzzled.

“Not a clue. We didn’t even introduce ourselves. The second guy mentioned that the juggler’s name was Cam, but that’s all I know.”

“Why didn’t you give him your number when he asked?”

After a sip from my drink, I say, “I don’t really date. It’s not easy as a mom.”

“Why? You have a built-in babysitter, not to mention me on call, and Derek and Jansen. Jessie loves them.”

“I would never ask my bosses to babysit.”

“They love Jessie as much as she loves them. We’d be happy to come over and watch her anytime.”

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