“He was twenty.”
“Still, he wasn’t completely mature or he wouldn’t have let you go.” She smiled. “I liked him. He seems intelligent without being annoying about it.”
Nina knew that was a reference to Andi’s parents, who were both brilliant. “I’m not going to be dating Dylan.”
“Why not? You’re single. He’s single. What if the flame still burns?”
“There’s no flame. There’s not even ash. I’m sure Dylan is a great guy.” After all, he’d stopped to help her long before he knew who she was. Which meant he’d been willing to have a stranger drip on his expensive leather seats. “But I’m not looking to get involved with him.”
“You never date,” Andi started. “It would be fun for you to go out. I’m not trying to be pushy, but why not—”
“You are being pushy. I can find my own guy.”
Her boss shook her head. “I’m just trying to help.”
“I appreciate that, but you can let this one go. Dylan and I are long over.”
In the end, it wouldn’t matter, Nina told herself. Dylan hadn’t called, wasn’t going to call and she didn’t want him to call. Problem solved.
Andi’s smile faded. “You’re my friend and I want you to be happy. Your whole life is work. Either here or dealing with the store. You take care of everyone all the time. It’s exhausting, and I’m just watching. I thought maybe a good-looking guy might be a nice break.”
“I agree with the theory, but not with the guy.”
Andi’s smile returned. “You’re saying if a handsome stranger swept you off your feet, you’d be open to it?”
Nina thought about how long it had been since someone had shown interest in her girl parts. “I’d be begging.” A safe statement considering how few single men there were on the island. It was a family place. Most visitors came as part of a couple.
“Then I’m on the lookout for a handsome stranger,” Andi told her.
There was a loud bang as the upstairs door slammed. Andi sighed.
“That’s Carrie’s bedroom door. She’s running late again.”
Nina couldn’t remember a morning when the teen hadn’t been running late.
Sure enough, there was the sound of someone rapidly descending the stairs, followed by a loud, “Mom? Where are you?”
“Back here,” Andi called.
Carrie, fourteen and still gangly, burst into the break room. She flung herself at Nina and hung on tight.
“Morning,” Nina said, putting down her coffee and hugging her back. “I heard you’re late.”
Carrie grinned at her, then turned to Andi and hugged her. “I know, I know,” the teen said cheerfully. “I need to get up earlier. See you guys later.”
With that, she was flying toward the front door.
When Andi had moved to the island, she’d bought the large Queen Anne that now housed her practice. She and her contractor, Wade, had fallen in love. Carrie had been a bonus, settling into her new life as a stepdaughter.
The front door slammed. Andi sighed. “I need to have Wade check the hinges. One day she’s going to pull that door out of the frame.”
“I think it’s a little sturdier than that.”
Andi glanced at the clock. “Nearly showtime. Are we still on for Pilates after work?”
“I have my stuff in the car.”
“Great.”
With that they went into the hall. Andi turned toward her office, while Nina went up front to make sure the computers had booted up correctly. Out the window she saw Carrie climbing into the SUV next door. Deanna, Andi’s neighbor, took her girls to school every morning, and Carrie joined them.
Shared responsibilities, Nina thought. Balance. She understood the concept, even if she didn’t get to practice it much. Maybe in her next life she wouldn’t be the one who had to hold it all together.
* * *
“Point your toes, Andi. A little higher, Nina. Now slowly roll back down and breathe.”
Nina collapsed back on the mat. The way her stomach muscles were protesting, a slow roll to the starting position wasn’t an option. She was hot and sweaty and knew she was going to be sore in the morning. Had it really been that long since her last Pilates class?
She placed her hand on her rib cage and told herself that layer between her skin and the bones was necessary padding. Or maybe she should start walking on her lunch hour. The weather was going to get nice in the next few weeks. She could take advantage of that. Become fit over the summer.
She rolled to her side and struggled to her feet. Andi was already up and smiling, as if the class hadn’t been difficult at all. Nina gasped for breath as she finally gained her balance.
The workout room had an entire wall of mirrors. She made the mistake of turning sideways, taking in both her butt and her stomach. It seemed that extra ten pounds she’d been carrying since puberty had morphed into fifteen. She thought of the last of the brownies she’d consumed the previous night and vowed not to replace them. And she would start coming to mat class twice a week for sure.
Too weak and sore to change back into street clothes, she shoved her bare feet into her sensible, white athletic shoes and shuffled to the parking lot. Andi walked with her, practically bouncing with extra energy.
“I’m feeling so much better,” her friend said. “I’m glad that trimester is over. Now I have my energy back, and I’m eating. I love being pregnant.”
“You look great,” Nina murmured, trying not to sound surly. It wasn’t Andi’s fault that she was tall and thin and beautiful. Even with a baby on the way, her stomach was still flatter than Nina’s. Talk about unfair.
“And I’m sorry I guilted you into coming to Pilates with me today.”
“No, you’re not.”
Andi grinned as she paused by her SUV. “No, I’m not. Thursday?”
“I’ll be here.”
Nina got into her car, grateful to have it back from the auto repair shop. One fuel injector doodad later, her wheels were running and her checkbook was lighter. Not her favorite kind of compromise, but stuff happened and Mike had to earn a living, too.
She started the engine and thought longingly of heading home. Only she’d just hired Cindy and she needed to check on her progress.
She drove down to the main road that circled the island, then turned left. As she sped north, she saw a familiar BMW coming in the other direction. Dylan.
She thought of how she looked—hot and sweaty and not in a sexy kind of way. Her workout clothes weren’t the least bit flattering, and she was pretty sure she smelled. But it turned out not to be an issue. Dylan simply gave her a wave and kept on going. The truth was clear. Whether or not he was single, he sure wasn’t interested in her.
Something she could live with, she told herself. It wasn’t that she desperately wanted to spend time with him. She supposed the deep-in-her-heart fantasy was that he would come crawling back, so she could dump him as heartlessly as he’d dumped her. Not mature, but at least somewhat honest.