Evening Stars. Susan Mallery

ago. I never think about him.” Or she hadn’t until this past weekend. Which was his fault. If he hadn’t stopped to help her, she would have been completely fine. And happy not to have him on the brain.

      Because he’d never called back. Not that she wanted him to. She didn’t. She wasn’t interested. But she would have enjoyed having him call so she could have told him that to his face. Or at least his ear.

      “He’s single,” Andi announced. “I asked if he was seeing anyone.”

      Nina leaned against the counter and clutched her coffee. “You didn’t.”

      “Why not? I’ve never met him before. Asking questions is a part of polite conversation. He didn’t have a date, so I asked if he’d left someone special behind, and he said no. It was a natural bridge to ‘Are you seeing anyone?’ He said he wasn’t.” Her smile was smug. “So it’s a clear field.”

      Nina held in a groan. “I don’t want a clear field. I’m not interested. What part of ‘it’s been decades’ doesn’t make sense to you?”

      “It’s been only one decade and you were both young.” Andi pulled the mug out of the microwave and dropped in her tea bag. “Oh, and his parents mentioned that they’d been instrumental in your breakup. They feel bad about that.”

      Nina felt a tic starting under her right eye. “You talked about me?”

      “Not a lot. But I think it’s interesting, don’t you?”

      “That my boyfriend let his parents dictate his love life? No. That’s not interesting.” Not that she was surprised by the admission. Dylan’s parents hadn’t worried at first. Nina would guess they’d assumed, once he got to college, the relationship would naturally end. But it hadn’t. He’d come home on weekends, and they’d spent breaks together. By the summer after his second year of college, the elder Harringtons had been pressuring them both. Nina hadn’t been about to give in, but Dylan had finally ended things with her.

      Which she supposed she could accept. What had really hurt was he’d tried to make it her fault. He’d said... She reminded herself it didn’t matter what he’d said.

      Andi pulled out the tea bag and set it in the sink. “He was a kid.”

      “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