Page 112 of Girl in the Water

Get back to me on that later.

And she signed off with an icon of a madly waving penguin.

“Hey, beautiful.” Bobby took Daniela’s hand as soon as she stepped through the apartment building’s front door. He twirled her around. Gave a wolf whistle. Then he pulled her in and kissed her.

He had a firm body—from golf and tennis, both of which he was teaching her. He was lighthearted and fun, and he unabashedly, unapologetically wanted her. Which he proved by deepening the kiss, pulling her tighter into his embrace, and then whispering into her ear, “We don’t have to go out for dinner. We could order in, hang out on your couch, and watch Netflix.”

She knew what that meant. And part of her even wanted it. But every time the opportunity came up, she felt she wasn’t ready.

She kissed him back.

I’ll have to be ready soon.

They’d been dating for three months. He was a great guy, but he wasn’t going to wait forever.

She tugged him toward his blue Prius parked by the curb. “Come on. You promised me the roast duck. Don’t think you’ll weasel out of it.”

He grinned back, his hair in golden spikes, his blue eyes sparkling with happiness. “I wouldn’t dream.”

As he drove to the restaurant, he reached over and took her hand. “I’ll have to go to the Montreal office.”

They both worked for the same law firm, Bobby as a junior attorney, Daniela as an assistant. She’d entered law school after all. She liked the law. Especially human rights law. The cases were international, interesting, required plenty of investigation. She was challenged and got to use her skills.

She’d already assisted on a case in India that resulted in a dozen child brides being given back to their families so they could finish growing up and going to school. And she’d assisted on a case of sex trafficking from Mexico to the US, to make sure that the victims’ rights were protected.

She was happy. She was becoming a person who helped others.

She could have been happy at CPRU too, but it’d been a job she’d applied for to prove a point to Ian. No more of that. Law school and the new job had given her the new start she’d needed. She felt content. She felt that she was in the right place for this point in her life.

Maybe even with the right man.She smiled at Bobby. “How long will you have to be in Montreal?”

He groaned. “A full month. I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Next week. Want to cook me a good-bye dinner?”

She kept her smile. “One good-bye dinner, coming up. And then when you get back, I’ll cook you a welcome-home dinner.”

“I love you, you know that?”

She could almost,almost, say it back. The words were on the tip of her tongue, but by the time she was about to release them, Bobby was pulling into a parking spot. They were at the restaurant.

During dinner, they talked about cases, people at work, plans for the summer, the possibility of Bobby trading his car in for a newer model, if he could get promoted from junior attorney.

“Either a newer car,” he said, holding her gaze, “or I could switch to a larger apartment.”

He took her hand on the table. She let him play with her fingers. Was he getting ready to ask her to move in with him?

Was she ready to say yes?

“Or maybe just an apartment closer to work,” she said. Rush-hour traffic was the bane of both of their existences.

The duck tasted great. They had a fun time together. Bobby was gentle, attentive, and he loved her. When, postdate, he asked to come up to her place, she said yes.

She made two decaf cappuccinos.

He flipped through the TV channels and settled on a basketball game. As she brought over the cups and set them on the coffee table, he reached for her and pulled her onto his lap.