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Chapters (68)
  1. Partner Pursuit
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Contents
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Re: Whitaker retirement party
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Friday, New York City
  26. Chapter Twenty-Two
  27. Chapter Twenty-Three
  28. Chapter Twenty-Four
  29. Chapter Twenty-Five
  30. Chapter Twenty-Six
  31. Chapter Twenty-Seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-Eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-Nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-One
  36. Chapter Thirty-Two
  37. Chapter Thirty-Three
  38. Chapter Thirty-Four
  39. Chapter Thirty-Five
  40. Chapter Thirty-Six
  41. Subject: Deposition of Plaintiff in James case
  42. Chapter Thirty-Eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-Nine
  44. Subject: Mentors Found
  45. Chapter Forty-One
  46. Chapter Forty-Two
  47. Chapter Forty-Three
  48. Chapter Forty-Four
  49. Jake: While you’re stuck at work, think about this: I thought you might want to do a yoga session while I’m surfing in Santa Teresa. Should I book?
  50. Chapter Forty-Six
  51. Chapter Forty-Seven
  52. Chapter Forty-Eight
  53. Chapter Forty-Nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-One
  56. Chapter Fifty-Two
  57. Chapter Fifty-Three
  58. Chapter Fifty-Four
  59. Chapter Fifty-Five
  60. Chapter Fifty-Six
  61. Chapter Fifty-Seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-Eight
  63. Chapter Fifty-Nine
  64. Chapter Sixty
  65. Chapter Sixty-One
  66. About the Author
  67. Acknowledgements
  68. On any top-ten list of best Sunday plans, today’s brunch with my former crush and his new girlfriend would rank number eleven … hundred. Times five. But I couldn’t say no. We’re still friends.

Etiquette suggests I give you a welcoming gift. Here are some homemade cookies and take-out menus for seafood restaurants.

Best,

Audrey

She chuckled. Now … how to deliver it?

She could leave it by the front door of his building, but lately, packages were being stolen. And it would be devastating to think he’d declined to reply, if he had in fact never even received it. She’d leave it in his backyard. She could throw it over the fence, but crushed cookies would not look appetizing. She could slip through the hole in the fence, but what if he saw her in his backyard? Meet your new deranged stalker neighbor. Maybe leaving the cookies in the foyer was the best bet. No, she didn’t want that uncertainty. With some sort of hook, she could lower them down from her balcony into his garden.

She found a large paperclip and fashioned it into a hook shape. Then she tied a string around it. She put the tin into a Trader Joe’s paper bag and taped on it a handwritten sign saying “Welcome to the neighborhood.”

Her balcony was close to the property line. She attached the hook to the paper bag handles and gently lowered the bag over the side. The bag swung out, but landed on the pavement outside his door. But she couldn’t maneuver the hook out. She pulled this way and that way; the hook did not want to leave the bag. She dropped the string. Not quite as smooth as she’d hoped—he’d know how the bag arrived—but at least the bag was well-positioned right in front of his sliding glass door, with its welcoming sign. Mission accomplished. Now off to work.

Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Audrey packed up her briefcase Sunday morning. Biscuit was barking in the backyard. She glanced out the upstairs glass sliding door. The blue summer sky beckoned. A thin woman with straight silky brown hair, luminescent pale skin, and large brown eyes was sitting at the rustic wooden picnic table in Jake’s garden, drinking from a coffee mug and flipping through a magazine that looked like Vogue. The table was set for two, with placemats and even flowers. Jake walked out with muffins and a pitcher of liquid resembling strawberry smoothies.

He was dating someone! What if she’d slept over and they’d opened the curtains this morning and both saw the bag with its huge “Welcome to the neighborhood” sign?

She texted Eve: Are you up? SO SO embarrassed! Need to talk!

Eve: Coming.

She opened her door, waiting for Eve. Eve emerged from her apartment, putting her fingers to her lips, and closed her door softly. “Pete’s still sleeping. What’s the crisis?”