It took only a few minutes to pull on cold-weather clothes and hurry out my front door. I checked the lock, three times, and then I was down the stairs and out the building’s main door. Cold air channeled by the buildings whipped across my face. Ducking, I shoved my hands in my pockets and hustled down the two-block walk to J.J.’s.

The first person I saw inside was Kurt. We’d not seen each other since my birthday party, and again it struck me as odd that he was here.

He looked up as I entered. His smile was slow to warm up, like a bulb flickering, but then he beamed out full wattage. He rose. I moved toward him easily, as I’d seen Clare do a million times while they were dating.

I leaned in, kissed him lightly on the lips. It wasn’t a sexual kiss, but a peck shared by friends. “What brings you back here?”

“Other than you? The fries. The beer. I like the place,” Kurt said. “Why’d you reach out?”

“I’ve been digging out from a backlog of files and realized I need to see other humans. I thought about you.”

He pulled out a chair, glanced toward the door. “Have a seat?”

I rested my hand on the back of the chair and noticed two menus on the table. “Are you expecting someone else?”

“I may have been stood up,” he said easily.

“You don’t sound too torn up about it.” I sat, placed my purse in the chair beside me.

“The ego is bruised, but I’ll survive.” When a waitress came to the table, he ordered another beer and a club soda for me. There’s an advantage to having a history with someone. They know where all the bodies are buried, so to speak.

“Who was the lucky girl?” I removed my jacket and felt his gaze drop to my breasts. Men always noticed them.

“A work associate,” he said. “But it looks like she had a better offer. Already a half hour late.”

“And if we’d both showed up at the same time?”

He grinned. “I’d have picked you.”

I laughed. “Good to know.”

“You’re never boring, Marisa. And maybe I subconsciously picked this place hoping I’d run into you. It was good seeing you on Friday.”

“It was nice.” Also, odd and kind of disturbing.

The waitress brought our drinks. I sipped and found the soda lacking. My nerves could have used a little calming. Beer would have been so nice. “Now that I have you, mind if I dig up the past?”

He stared at me over the rim of his iced mug, took a long drink, and then finally nodded. “Sure.”

“Richards.”

He winced. “Ouch. Not the blast from the past I was hoping for.”

“I’ve seen him a couple of times this week.”

He picked up his beer mug and paused. “Okay.”