Page 7 of Unexpected Packages

“We do, every Tuesday. I live about two hours away, but on Tuesdays I have to be in town, so we always have drinks and dinner before I grab the train back home.”

“That’s nice.”

Her drink was put down in front of her and another one on the napkin next to her. It looked like rum and Coke, but I didn’t ask. I was impressed, not a girlie kind of drink, nice.

“Are you here alone?” she asked as she eyed me appreciatively.

“My buddy just left. I was gonna finish my beer and then head out.”

“Oh, well, maybe you’ll still be here when Lexi arrives. You can meet her. Do you live close by? She lives only a couple blocks away.”

I bit my tongue so that I wouldn’t laugh. “Yeah, I live close by.”

“Then you should stay and join us. I keep telling Lexi that she needs to meet more people. All she ever does is work.”

Oh, I wasn’t going anywhere. “Maybe I’ll stick around and say hello.”

The two of us made small talk for a few minutes, and she told me about the nursing classes she was taking. She came back to town to do her internship, and I listened patiently while I kept one eye on the door.

A few minutes into our conversation, I saw Lexi outside the front window. “Will you excuse me for a moment? I want to hit the head.”

“Sure.” She smiled broadly at me.

I disappeared before Lexi could see me, afraid that she would bolt the moment she did. She was guzzling her drink when I came out of the bathroom, and I smiled to myself. Oh, I liked a woman who enjoyed her liquor. I wondered how many it would take to get her to loosen up.

I slipped back into my seat, and Clare turned to me. “You’re back. I’m sorry, I never even asked your name.”

Lexi peered around her friend, our eyes clashing, and her mouth dropped. “You!”

Her friend’s head snapped around quickly, and then she looked back at me. “Do you two know each other?”

“Briefly,” I replied and held my hand out to Clare. “I’m Alex Miller, the one that opened her package yesterday.”

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