“I don’t have to worry about you having a fling with that robot thingy, do I?”

She laughed. Vickie never thought of herself as the melting type, but she was definitely melting right now. Into him. For him.

“I’ve got a contractor who’s keeping me pretty busy these days.” She shrugged playfully. “Let’s get this thing over to Zoey’s. It’s been a long day.”

He opened the passenger door to his truck, then helped her get up into the four-wheel drive vehicle with at least some of her dignity intact. She’d changed into embroidered denim capris and a blue knit top after getting home from Mary’s. She wasn’t sure if it was appropriate furniture-moving in a pickup truck attire, but it was the closest she could come up with.

Gordy hopped into the driver’s seat. “The sooner we get this delivered, the sooner we can come back and, uh...rest.”

Vickie just snorted in response. What he had in mind had nothing to do with resting. And that was just fine with her.

The past few weeks had been unlike anything Vickie ever expected to have happen at this stage of her life. Gordy was staying at her place nearly every night now—sometimes after working there all day. He’d bring a change of clothes, then shower before dinner. And after dinner, they’d sit by the water and watch the sun set, usually with him drinking beer and her sipping wine.

They’d talk. About his two sons and five grandchildren. The closest son lived in Buffalo, while the other was in Vermont. The Buffalo son had driven down with his family to take Gordy to brunch earlier for Father’s Day. They talked about his late wife, Kathy. Vickie remembered her from school as a sweet girl, who’d apparently been a wonderful, supportive wife. She’d died of cancer when the boys were in college. And they talked about Vickie’s marriages.