“Want to get together to prepare two more blog posts tomorrow?” Anja asked.

A part of her wanted to nod enthusiastically. Yeah, the part called libido. But she knew it was more than that. She genuinely enjoyed Anja’s company, and somehow that was even worse.

“Hey, if you want to have a real day off, that’s no problem,” Anja said when Susanne took a while to answer. “We can do it on Monday or—”

“No, that’s fine. We can do it tomorrow.” She was an adult, after all, not a teenager who couldn’t control her hormones.

“All right. Just call whenever you want. Other than water volleyball in the morning, I don’t have any plans.”

That conjured up visions of Anja in a bathing suit or, God help her, a bikini. She tried to swat the thought away, but like an annoying fly, it returned immediately. “Will do. Good night.”

“Good night. Drive safely.”

Before Susanne could do something stupid, like try for another hug, she turned on her heel and jogged down the stairs.

Just as she reached the front door, someone on the other side prepared to unlock it.

Susanne opened the door and held it open for the couple in their sixties. She had seen them before and knew they lived on the same floor as Anja. She gave them a polite nod.

Instead of returning the nod and walking past her, the woman paused and stuck out her hand. “I’m Regina, and this is my husband, Volker. I thought now that you moved in with Anja, we’ll be seeing more of each other, so we should introduce ourselves.”

Susanne had already extended her hand when she realized what Anja’s neighbor had just said. Her fingers went limp in the woman’s enthusiastic grip. “Oh, no, no, I haven’t moved in. I’m not… We’re not a couple.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.” Regina hastily let go. “I thought…” She gestured upstairs. “Since you spend so much time at Anja’s…”

“We’re working. We…” Susanne snapped her mouth shut. She didn’t owe them an explanation, and why did she care what they thought? She just hoped Anja had closed her apartment door already and wasn’t still standing in the doorway, where she might be able to hear their conversation.

Volker patted his wife’s shoulder. “Well, it’s nice to meet you anyway.”

“Uh, likewise. Have a nice evening.”

“You too.” They squeezed past her and climbed the stairs.

Susanne stepped outside and let the door close behind her. God, that had been awkward. But then again, there were worse things than being mistaken for Anja’s girlfriend. If things were different, she could see herself… She cut herself off before she could finish the thought and marched to her car without looking back.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13