Page 70 of Dance with Me on New Year's Eve

“The kind of friend I didn’t want.”

“Of course, yeah.” I added softly, “Still, it can’t have been easy losing the best friend you’d ever had. That’s huge, Jeff.”

He touched the sleeve of his sweater over his forearm. “It was. But nowadays, I don’t need close friends or have time for them anyway. I don’t miss it.”

“I’m kind of the same,” I lied. Because it was actually my social anxiety that kept me from making many friends—not a lack of time. And not a lack of need.

Before he could ask any questions I wouldn’t want to answer, I searched my brain quickly for a new subject. “Lila is great, you know. And I have to admit, you’re a great dad to her,” I blurted out, feeling my cheeks heat up.

His eyes met mine for a long moment before he spoke softly. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” I replied, offering what I hoped was a friendly smile.

His warm gaze stayed on me for a few more seconds before he looked down at Lila, sleeping with her head on his lap and snoring softly. He gently ran his fingers over the strands of hair that escaped from her ponytail. “I should probably go carry her to her room.”

“Oh, I should—it’s probably time to go home anyway,” I said while hastily rising to my feet and nearly cursing at the numbness in one foot. I wiggled my toes and bent my feet as I waited for the feeling in my foot to return.

“That’s fine,” he said, a note ofsomethingin his tone. Was it reluctance or relief? He rose to stand in front of me. “Thank you for coming.”

I offered a warm smile. “Thankyoufor inviting me and cooking and … all of this. It was really generous.”

His brows furrowed. “Generous?”

“I mean, you know. Everyone felt bad for poor Roxy, so …” I trailed off and shrugged.

“That’s not—”

“It’s OK, really.”

“Listen, it’s really—"

“Let’s not end a nice holiday with arguing. Deal?” I smiled wistfully.

He stared at me and shifted one foot in front of the other. “Deal. Goodbye, Roxy.”

For some reason, my preferred name sounded different on his lips. Different how? I couldn’t decide, but it wasn’t differentbad. But I had to get out of there because I was obviously tipsier than I realized.

“Bye, Jeff.”

After walking the short distance home in a daze and just barely dodging the neighbor Jenna going into the elevator, I entered my apartment and threw my keys and purse on the kitchen counter. As I removed my coat and shoes, I tried to resist the urge to go open my laptop and check to see if Danny was around. I’d already learned it wasn’t a good idea to talk to him while under the influence.

But after changing into my pajamas, I found myself opening the chat on the computer. He was offline but had left a message.

CastGamer55:I hope you had a niceThanksgiving, Mindy.

I smiled like an idiot and typed back a similar response. He was thinking of me today! Even though he said he’d be busy all day with family.

Still smiling, I went to brush my teeth and wash my face. When my phone buzzed, I hurried to my bedside table where I’d left it. Scanning the text message, I found myself smiling again, but I was too tired to think about why.

Jeff:You forgot to bring home leftovers.

Roxy:You forgot to offer.

Jeff:Fair enough. Have a good night, Roxy.

Chapter 18

“Anything else you’d like us to know? Or any more questions about the marketing role?” Jeff asked as the last interview of the day was concluding.

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