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Roxie grins. “Hello, lawyers!” She motions us over. “Long time no see. Come, sit with us.”

When I finally look at Liz, my heart lodges in my throat. She looks amazing, better than I remember. Her hair is styled in a way where the top is pulled back but the lower portion is down. She wears a little makeup and a lavender top that complements her fair skin and tawny hair.

She looks at me with awe and hope and so much longing that it takes everything I have not to toss my food and kiss her hard, far harder than appropriate for the lunch hour in Qpik cafeteria.

“Hey Joe,” she says quietly. “I... It’s really good to see you.”

“You too, Liz. You look amazing.”

“She looks amazing all the time,” Roxie chimes in. “Not that she made a special effort today or anything.”

Liz shoots Roxie a murderous look, and Roxie laughs. “I know when I’m not wanted, so I’m gonna scram. Trey, you coming with me?” She grabs her tray in one hand, Trey’s suit sleeve in another, and pulls him away from the table.

“This is a Tom Ford and you’re wrinkling it,” Trey protests as he lets himself get dragged away.

My eyes follow the two until they’re seated across the room, mostly stalling because the truth is I’m terrified to face Liz.

Finally, I turn and look her in the eye. “May I sit?” I ask.

“Of course. Yes. Please.” She says and I can tell she’s blushing.

“God, you really look amazing.”

“Thank you. So do you. I’d never seen you in a suit before.”

I smile. “Yeah, not exactly lounging attire. I have some client meetings this afternoon.”

“So what are you having for lunch?”

“No idea,” I admitted. “I just grabbed whatever. I was really nervous.”

She smiles. “Me, too.” The fork she’s holding trembles.

We look at each other for a long moment. I scan her face, her hair, her lips. She seems to do the same. The pull between us has gotten even stronger, and I didn’t think it was possible.

“Trey said you wanted to meet in a way that wouldn’t be a big deal,” I say.

Liz frowns. “Leave it to Trey to spill everything. How am I supposed to be all alluring and mysterious now?”

I laugh. “Trust me, you could not be more alluring or mysterious than you already are. It’s a problem, honestly, given there are like two hundred people in here right now so I have to behave.”

She blushes and looks down. “I was thinking, maybe you and I could start over. Slowly. Very slowly.”

My heart thunders. I can feel whooshing in my ears. “What would that mean?” I ask.

“A lunch here and there. Coffee. Some dinners. Like normal people date. Before falling into bed.”

I smile. “Elizabeth Jensen, are you asking me to be your boyfriend?”

“Not yet.” Liz grins. “But I am asking if you’d like to spend some time with me. Get to know each other a little more.”

I finally release a bated breath. “I would love that.”

Liz beams at my words. “Okay. Good. That sounds great.”

“So let’s start over.” I hold out my hand. “I’m Joe Larson, a lawyer with Qpik. Age 34. Taurus. From Duluth, Minnesota. One brother, in the Navy. Excellent parents. Divorced two years ago from a woman named Kim, to whom I’d been married for ten years and who decided to finally tell me she’d never wanted to have kids even though she’d known the whole time that would be a deal breaker. I love the Vikings, good barbecue, ice fishing, and law. Perfect gifts for me are beard oil, beer, and all manner of sexual favors. I am partial to gorgeous Vikings fans who drive small but surprisingly sturdy blue cars.”

She shakes my hand, blushing and grinning. “Pleased to meet you, Joseph Larson. I’m Elizabeth Jensen, and many people call me Lizzie, but I honestly like Liz better. I’m an accountant with Qpik, but only for another month or so until the woman I’m subbing for gets back from maternity leave. I am 27. Cancer. From St. Cloud, Minnesota. Two brothers, Mickey and Bobby, who happens to date your colleague Trey. By the way, I don’t know if you’ve ever seen them together, but they’re so adorable, it’s unbearable—” I smile, and she continues. “I have loving parents whom I miss, but whom I’m also trying to escape because ever since I’ve left I’ve realized that what they’ve been wanting for me and my siblings might not have been the healthiest thing overall. Currently hiding in a sublet by someone named Melanie whom I don’t know but who’s a friend of my cousin Chloe’s. Broke up with my fiancé with whom I’d been for seven years, and have yet to truly miss, but about whom I have a lot of conflicting emotions. I love the Vikings, homemade cooking, swimming, and math. I’m thinking of switching careers. Perfect gifts for me are anything frilly and girly, a gift card to Sephora, and any sexual favor from you after we’re done going slow. I’m partial to bald godlike men who show me just how sturdy my blue car really is.”