Hide and Seek. Samantha Hunter

checked the drawers, her desktop, under the blotter—and found her password scrawled on the back of a restaurant receipt, buried in a sentence reminding her to make reservations next time.

      It was clever—anyone else looking wouldn’t have any idea, thinking it was just a note on the back of a receipt, but Nathan spotted the acronym that formed with the first letter of each word, and added in the amount of the bill at the end—presto. He turned on her computer—the password worked, and he quickly shut it down. No time for that now.

      Poking around a bit more, he found nothing else. Had he really expected to? Jennie wasn’t stupid; she wouldn’t leave evidence lying around. A thorough search through her computer files might expose something more. Still, he couldn’t repress his relief that at least so far, he’d found absolutely nothing to substantiate the claims against her.

      He heard the water shut off and hurried into the kitchen, whipping open the refrigerator door and in the process nearly sending the items inside flying out.

      Luckily, he was swiftly able to throw an assortment of foods on the table—fruit, cheese, jam, some bagels and half of a grocery-store Danish she had left. He found the coffee on the counter, started a pot. He could hear Jennie shuffling around in the bedroom, drawers opening and closing. A few minutes later she walked into the kitchen, fresh in her white satin robe.

      “This looks wonderful—thank you.”

      “Let me get the coffee—it’s almost done. Black, right?”

      She looked up, her gaze curious. “How did you know that?”

      “It’s how you took your espresso last night. And I’ve seen you drink black coffee at the office, remember?”

      She shook her head, and laughed. He’d have to be careful. She was always “on”—it was a hazard of the job.

      “I’m not used to anyone noticing things like that. Or being so sweet.”

      “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to cook anything.” He meant that more than she could know.

      “This is great. I don’t always eat breakfast. Much of the stuff I buy goes to waste, so it’s nice to share it with someone.”

      They sat, and suddenly the easy banter disappeared, and things felt a little awkward. Nathan wasn’t sure what changed. They silently ate their breakfast. Finally, Jennie’s shoulders sagged, and a sigh escaped her lips.

      “What’s wrong, Jen?”

      “Nothing…I don’t know. It’s been amazing, last night, now, sitting here with you, but—”

      “Too much too fast?”

      “I don’t know. I like being with you. I want this, but I’m not sure I can promise you anything more than this, Nathan. And we should make that clear before things get any more…involved.”