“That’s such a coincidence. I’m planning to have a party in the fall so Eve can showcase her catering. I hope you can come.” She felt awkward emphasizing the “you,” even though it was a totally normal sentence to say. Since the smile hadn’t worked, she casually stretched out her heeled foot and touched his shoe with hers.

He moved his foot away, but at least he looked up. “Well, you go first then. Maybe your friend can cater my party as well—although I was thinking more along the lines of a well-stocked bar.”

“Good food makes it classier.” She leaned forward and twirled a strand of hair.

“True.” Tim nodded, not seeming to react at all to her flirtatious gestures.

“Although it’s the company that makes the moment.” She held Tim’s gaze, but doubted that qualified as flirtatious enough for her eavesdropper.

“It’s an unbeatable combination.” He smiled at her and put down the cases.

Hmm, maybe her neighbor was right and she did need to flirt more. She took a sip of her tea, unsure of where to go next in the conversation. Flirting with a work colleague was hard. And she wasn’t sure what more to do. There was the hair flip, the leaning forward, the standing closer, the meeting glances, the teasing … but that’s not the kind of relationship they had.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Did you decide to join your college friends on the hiking trip in August?”

“I decided not to. I’ll go home briefly to see my family, but other than that, I’m going to power through all this work. If I scheduled something, I’d be afraid that I’d have to cancel it. Or work through it, which wouldn’t be worth it.”

“That’s always so frustrating.”

“Yeah, you can never find adequate Wi-Fi, you’re seen as ‘no fun’ because you’re working, you’re grumpy because you’re working, and it’s not worth the stress. But I’m planning a hiking trip with them in Canada, in the spring. I’m looking forward to that.” He stirred his coffee and looked pensive. “And if I don’t make partner, who knows, maybe I can reassess my priorities up there.” He looked intently at her.

“You’re not thinking of giving up being a lawyer, are you? You’re good at it.” She couldn’t imagine Tim not being a lawyer. And she couldn’t imagine not being a lawyer either.

“Probably not, but I don’t really want to stay around as a senior counsel if that’s the consolation prize. I haven’t done all this work for that.”

She had to agree. She also didn’t want to watch others make partner, especially after seeing how bitter that had made Kevin. Tim’s phone buzzed, and he picked it up immediately.