I’ve been a widow longer than I’d been a wife. And Brian’s gotten the hang of Brian without Decker. He’s a different person now. He’s his own person now—not just Decker’s friend and frat brother. As time goes on, things change. And real life has an arc to it, remember?

Alfred’s? Brian asks in a midday text.

I grab my purse and slither out of the office without telling anyone. The post-urn me has put a priority on people over numbers, and right now, Brian wants to share a pastry—and a kiss, if I’m lucky—and so I’m there. I’m totally in.

In his signature scrubs, Brian sits in the same spot on the patio that we met at a month and a half ago, except his hair is a little longer now and I’ve seen him naked by this point. Both are a plus to me. He’s sipping from a cup and there’s another one set on the table, which I’m assuming is for me. He’s always thoughtful.

“This seat taken?” I ask as I pull out the metal chair from under the table.

“Careful, the chair is—”

“Hot as hell!” I finish his sentence as I scorch my thighs, my favorite pastime.

“Sorry. Tried to warn you,” he says with a smile flanked by two deep dimples.

“How’s your day?” I ask, taking a sip of my crème brûlée latte. It’s cooled to the perfect drinkable temperature, just the way I like it.

“Good, except I’m so damn giddy about us these days it’s hard to concentrate.”

“Really?” I blush at the thought that I don’t need to verify the authenticity of the things he is saying. I just know them to be fact.

“I don’t think I realized how long I’ve been mesmerized by you. I just came to a place of acceptance that the most we would ever be was Whole Foods hot bar acquaintances. Now, it’s like, I’ve won the lottery. Just this morning I was testing this kid’s knee-jerk reflexes. He kicks me square in the nose and I just start laughing. I didn’t even care my nose started gushing blood, I was just...happy. Anyway, can I take you to dinner tonight?” Brian asks.

“Sure. What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing. Just that I want to date the hell out of you.”

Brian leans across the table and kisses me on the lips for the second time since getting to Alfred’s. His kisses feel so good that I lean his way and claim one more before both of us need to get back to work.

“Deal. And also... I really want to try Twisted Fork in Universal City, so I hope Italian sounds good to you.”

When I get back to the office, my phone rings with a number from the San Francisco area. I answer.

“Charlotte? It’s Warren Holmgren. Are you sitting down? I’ve got some great news for you.”

I deleted Warren’s number when I knew Brian had his hand in setting up our meeting. Although it was annoying to find out my interaction with Warren wasn’t as organic as I would have hoped, I forgave Brian for puppeteering the thing. At the end of the day, it was a thoughtful and resourceful move on his part that showed he was actually paying attention to me when I was talking about my tech passion and hopes for the future. Regardless, I haven’t followed up with Warren since, so the fact he’s calling me out the blue and sounds as excited as he does right now is beyond me.