It's Never too Late

But she wasn’t really Adele. And now more than ever, she’d better not forget that.

* * *

“YOU SAID YOU’VE never been engaged.”

The little round table separating her and Mark didn’t put enough distance between them. She could still make out the flecks of darker blue along the rims of his irises in spite of the dim lighting in the bar. She could see him so clearly she felt as though she was slowly becoming a part of him.

Or he was becoming a part of her.

Either way, this had to end. “I haven’t been.”

“What about friendships? Have you had any that were long-lasting?”

She’d asked for this by asking him so many personal questions over dinner. Going out with him had been a bad idea.

She thought of Will Parsons. She’d kept in touch with him for twenty-five years. She’d come running when he’d called, saying he needed her.

“Yes, I’ve had long-lasting friendships.”

“In Colorado?”

Her chest tightened. “I’m not sure what you’re asking,” she said, more because she didn’t want to answer than because she wanted clarification. “I had a best friend in high school, Trudy Whalen. She’s in Florida now, married to a cop, and we keep in touch.”

“I was referring to male-female friendships. You know about Ella. I just wondered if there’d ever been anyone special in your life.”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

His eyes were only inches away—seeing far more than was safe. “I don’t know. I’m not a virgin, or anything,” she assured him, telling herself the conversation was no big deal. “I just...I don’t know. There’s always been a bit of a disconnect. I’m sure it’s me.”

She could admit it to him. They weren’t a couple. And weren’t going to be one.

“I’m not.”

She sipped her wine. In too big a gulp. Her head was already spinning, although she hadn’t even finished half a glass. His beer wasn’t finished yet, either. “You have no way of knowing that.”

“Probably not, but you’re so compassionate, so...open...to accepting me and Nonnie into your life. That doesn’t sound like someone with a disconnect.”

“Being neighborly is very different from being...intimately...attached.”

“Of course it is, but the ability to connect comes from the same source.”

He was confusing her with his odd conversation. Probably because she knew she couldn’t engage on a real level. “Maybe.”

“I have to be honest with you, Addy. I think I’m falling for you.”

No.

“I don’t mean to scare you, or make you uncomfortable,” he said, his gaze locked with hers. “It doesn’t change anything. I understand you aren’t looking for a relationship and neither am I. I just need you to know.”

She nodded. And a little bit more of her gave way to a little bit more of him.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

MARK COULDN’T SLEEP. Home from his nondate, not long off the one glass of beer he could have while driving, he’d hoped to fall into bed and catch a few hours of shut-eye before he had to be at the plant.

Thursday was Jon’s first day of work. Mark wanted to be there. Not that he had anything to do with the janitorial department, or would oversee Jon in any way. He didn’t need to be present, but he wanted to make sure the guy had no problems getting his locker and learning the lay of the land.