“It wasn’t a conscious decision not to tell you. Dad was rushed to the hospital and after that I went into crisis mode. Work, Dad and Sasha took up my time and you and me, well, we were so new. It wasn’t fair to ask you to hang around waiting when I knew I’d be tied up for weeks.”

“Months,” she said, appreciating his thoughtfulness. “And now?”

“Now we set a date and a time and we meet no matter what. In between, we talk.”

“I like the sound of that.”

Alice had almost stood Dan up on Thursday, but she’d been so wired on lust she’d gone anyway and imagined Dan was Tim. She wasn’t proud of it. To be honest, she felt a little queasy whenever she thought about it. She promised herself she’d never do it again.

Now, she hugged herself. After tonight, she wouldn’t need to do it again. After tonight, she’d tell Dan their time together had been fabulous, but it was over. Online dating was over. She had Tim. She was part of a couple again and the world sparkled around her. Just thinking about Tim made her giddy and she couldn’t resist another twirl.

“Ouch.” She collided with someone, her shoulder crashing bone on bone.

“Whoa!” Hands gripped her upper arms, steadying her. “Alice?”

For a second she thought the deep and familiar voice was Dan’s, but Dan had blue eyes and right now green ones full of questions were looking at her. Her mind finally caught up—Dan was at work in the bay. This man was wearing a suit and tie. She blinked and checked again. “Harry?”

“I didn’t realize that, on top of your many skills, you were also a whirling dervish.”

“Sorry. I had an overwhelming urge to twirl.”

Bemusement filled his smile. “In the main street?”

“Why not? When you’re happy you should celebrate. I did a twirl check and the coast was clear until you stepped out of nowhere and out of context.”

“The bookshop is hardly nowhere and you’re as out of context as me.”

“This is the second time I’ve bumped into you outside of the bay. I wonder what the odds are?”

He grinned and his eyes sparkled. “Probability’s my catnip.”

“Really? Numbers are so not my thing.” She didn’t know a lot about what Harry did for a living, other than he was “in IT” and did contract work from home. “What brings you into Bairnsdale?”

“I had a prospective client meeting earlier. And I was just looking for a fun science book for Hunter. You?”

“Doctor’s appointment,” she said without thinking.

“Everything okay?”

His smile had faded and Alice kicked herself, realizing he was remembering doctors’ visits with Helene. She waved her hand airily trying to compensate. “All good. Just an oil check.”