Abby stared at her for a long moment, then gave a quick smile. “See ya later.”

Nic watched as she walked away, disappearing behind a hedge. She tapped the steering wheel, feeling a sense of loss. It was suddenly too quiet, the truck too empty. With a twist of her wrist, she turned the music up loud and pulled away. She was no longer in the mood for the gym but drove there anyway. It was her Sunday routine. Two hours. Then off to do what little shopping she needed. Home to shower. Relax a bit before heading out again. Routine. Nearly every Sunday was the same.

This one felt different, though.

She hit the phone icon on her console. The music died as her call list came up. A call list of three numbers. Her uncle, Eric, and Addison. With a sigh, she pushed Addison’s name.

“Hey, Nicky. What’s up?”

“Yeah, hey. Listen, do you mind if I bring a friend to dinner?”

There was a long silence, and she pictured the quizzical look on Addison’s face.

“I don’t mind at all.” Then, “Anyone we know?”

“It’s…it’s Abby. I ran into her last night at the bar.”

“You did? That’s great.”

“Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “She kinda spent the night with me.”

Addison laughed. “Kinda?”

Nic laughed too. “Okay, yeah, so I just dropped her off at her apartment. She mentioned that she’d like to meet you sometime, so I thought maybe tonight…”

“Absolutely. We’d love to meet her.”

The enthusiasm in Addison’s voice made Nic shake her head. “No, no, no. I know what you’re thinking. This is not a date or anything. We’re not seeing each other. Nothing like that.”

“Of course not. You don’t date. Remember?”

“Right. So don’t forget that.”

“Uh huh. See you about four, Nicky. Burgers.”

The line went dead, and she shook her head again. Mistake. This was most likely a mistake. Maybe Abby wouldn’t go. Maybe she already had plans. Hell, maybe she wouldn’t even call her.

But as she sat in her truck, staring at the entrance to the gym, her mind went back to last night, this morning. In bed, yes. But not only that. Just being in Abby’s presence, looking into her eyes, watching her smile—all things that made her just a little bit happier inside.

“Oh, hell,” she murmured. She picked up her phone. Maybe she should add Abby to her favorites. She picked up on the second ring.

“Hey you. What a surprise.”

Nic found herself smiling at the sound of Abby’s voice. “Hey. So, I was wondering, if you don’t have plans, maybe you’d want to join me for dinner tonight. Well, not really tonight. About four, actually.”

“No, I don’t have plans. I would love to.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up about a quarter to four. Will that work?”