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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.

“I love cooking, but I don’t know what the right prize is. For now, it’s to be an executive pastry chef. But later on, I don’t know. I just think you have to be open to possibilities.”

“I am trying to be open to the possibility of dating Jake,” Audrey said.

“And I’m proud of you.” Eve hugged her. “It’s hard when jobs require so much sacrifice of your outside life.”

Audrey sighed. “I’m going to need some of those cookies to go. And don’t you dare send any to Jake. Right now, he thinks I make very good cookies.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Friday, New York City

Dear Jake,

I baked these cookies from the recipe in Love in a Cookie Bakery. These cookies are VERY GOOD. They taste best with milk, so feel free to pop by again if you’re out.

I’m looking forward to reading the book too. I gather you weren’t able to find a book called Love in a Law Firm?

Best,

Audrey

Audrey slipped through the fence between their backyards and left the cookies with the note outside his sliding glass door. Then she rushed off to her morning meeting with Mrs. Whitaker to sample salt-free, gluten-free food. Please, let the first caterer be great so they could hire her and be done.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Two

Audrey settled into her lounge chair to spend her Saturday morning escaping into Love in the Cookie Bakery and go into the office around 2 p.m. She hid her romantic comedy behind a law treatise in case her psychiatrist neighbors looked over the fence. She didn’t want them psycho-analyzing her taste in literature.

She was so engaged in the book that she almost didn’t hear Jake ask, from over the fence, “Want to go for a bike ride?”

A bike ride was not in the plans. She had piles of work waiting at the office. But she’d definitely forgo reading for an hour bike ride with Jake.

“Sure. What are you going to wear?” she asked.

“Is there usually a dress code?”

“The last person I met for a bike ride was dressed head to toe in a black bike-racing speedo outfit.”

“No way.”

She just nodded as Jake eased through the hole in the fence.

“A law treatise made you giggle?” he asked. She looked up in guilty surprise as he grabbed the treatise. “Caught you red-handed. So much for Shakespeare. Hope that book is as good as your cookies.”

“You seem to have very good taste in romance novels. Is that based on experience?” she asked.

“Just good at reading the Amazon summaries.” He smiled.

“So, are you going to be dressed in a speedo?”

“Red speedo, but it has a cape as well. Aren’t you holding out for a superhero?”

Recognizing the title of the Bonnie Tyler song, she continued the riff: “Only if you’re faster than the speed of light.”