“I’ll be there. Should I bring anything?”
“Just yourself.”
When the call ended, Paige stared at her reflection in the dark screen. The woman looking back at her wasn’t the curated version perfected by flattering lighting and filters. The woman looking back at her was flushed, fluttery, and a little nervous.
This was a version of her she hadn’t seen in a long time. Maybe not ever.
She set her phone aside, and went back to folding, unable to keep from smiling.
It wasjustdinner. With a very handsome former intelligence officer. Who made her laugh. And looked at her like she was absolutely worth his time and attention.
Who wouldn’t be flushed and fluttery?
Paige glanced toward her closet, mentally considering a dozen outfits at once. That hum of anticipation in her chest was a sure sign that she wanted this. That she was ready.
No matter how much it still frightened her.
She arrived a few minutes before six. Graham’s home was exactly what she’d expected. Tidy but lived-in, warm lighting, framed photos from foreign places she didn’t recognize, and books stacked in deceptively neat piles that made the slight chaos seem controlled. It felt like him.
The meal he’d cooked was unsurprisingly delicious. As per his usual, he seemed to downplay his skills. The roasted lemon chicken and vegetables tasted like something she’d once paid good money for in a restaurant.
“You’re a man of many talents,” she said. “But you definitely undersold this. It’s really good.”
“I like to keep expectations low,” he replied, pouring her another splash of wine. “Undersell, overdeliver, I believe is the phrase.”
He was doing that all right.
They moved to the living room after she helped him clean up. They settled onto his plush sofa, side by side, with a bowl ofbutteredpopcorn between them. Graham handed her the remote with a wry look.
“Your choice. I trust your cinematic judgment.”
Paige scrolled until she found a favorite cute rom-com, one he professed he’d never seen. Couldn’t go wrong with Matthew McConaughey, though, could you? Graham didn’t give her grief for her selection, either, which earned him major points.
The movie was halfway through when his phone shuddered on the coffee table. He glanced down, and the change in his expression was immediate. His eyes widened in happy recognition.
She paused the movie.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s my son. I should take this, we weren’t able to have our usual call this morning.”
“Of course.” Paige didn’t mind. She ate another handful of popcorn as he stepped into the kitchen.
She didn’t mean to listen, but snippets carried into the living room.
“Are you sure?” Then, “No, no. That’s…that’s good news.” After a brief pause, “Tomorrow? Yes. I can do that. I’ll get a flight up. No, no problem at all.”
His tone was calm, but Paige recognized the undercurrent of surprise. And something weightier.
When he returned, he ran a hand over the back of his neck as if soothing himself.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
He sat down beside her again, a bit slower this time, his mind clearly working through whatever he’d just been told. “Andrew is good. He had news. He’s…well, he and his girlfriend are apparently expecting a baby. Early next year.”
Paige’s breath caught, then bloomed into a smile. “Graham, that’s wonderful news!”
“It is,” he agreed, but his smile was a little thin. “Her parents are coming in for the gender reveal. That’s a thing now, you know.”
“So I’ve heard. Are you okay? You don’t seem completely happy about this. Do you not like her?” Paige could just tell by looking at him that there was something else going on.
