Tim said, “Grace, it’s getting dark. You really shouldn’t be out walking alone.”

I pushed my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose and turned toward the ocean. The sun was low in the sky, but it would be at least half an hour before it sunk below the horizon. I turned back to Tim. “I think I’ll be able to make it back to my car before the sun sets.”

Tim gave me a meaningful look and mouthed, Go with him, then turned to face Mr. Guardia. “Would you mind walking Grace to her car? I’d feel better knowing she wasn’t alone.”

“Happy to,” Mr. Guardia said.

My mind was made up for me.

Chapter 4

“Sorry about that,” I said to Mr. Guardia, as we trudged across the sandy parking lot. He carried my chair, while I rummaged through my beach bag for my car keys.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Daniel replied. “I offered, remember?”

“I know but…” It was obvious this was Tim’s unsubtle attempt at matchmaking. Earlier in the day he’d grilled Daniel about his personal life—never married, no kids, not currently seeing anyone.

When we reached my SUV, I popped the trunk and Mr. Guardia slid my chair into the back. “Can I give you a ride to your car?” I wasn’t trying to extend the conversation; I was merely being polite.

“I biked here.”

“Wow, I’m impressed. How far do you live?”

“Not far,” he said. “Getting to the beach is easy; it’s all downhill. It’s the ride home that’s a workout.”

“You want a ride home then?” I asked, hoping he realized all I was offering was a ride. I hadn’t dated anyone since Jonah died and had no desire to.

Mr. Guardia smiled. “Sure, that’d be great.”

I drove around the perimeter of the parking lot to where the bike racks were located, and Mr. Guardia jumped out. But when he tried to wedge his bike into my trunk, it didn’t fit even with the rear seat laid flat. He finally pulled the bike out of the trunk and leaned it against the bumper of my SUV. “You need a bike rack.”

“I would if I owned a bike.”

“You don’t own a bike?” he asked, incredulous.

“Not anymore.” The last time I saw my bike it was hanging on the wall of my parents’ garage. But that was before my dad died and my mom sold the house. I didn’t know where the bike was now. My mom had probably donated it before she moved.

“But you do know how to ride a bike?” he said.

“Of course, I know how to ride a bike.”

“Good. Now I know what we’ll be doing on our first date.”

I waited until I placed the last load of laundry into the dryer before I called Tim. Since we’d parted a few hours earlier he’d sent me increasingly demanding text messages wanting to know what happened with Mr. Guardia.

“Oh my god,” Tim squealed when I filled him in. “Richard, did you hear that?”

“Yes,” Richard replied, “she’s on speakerphone, remember?”

I laughed, imagining Tim playfully smacking Richard’s arm, something I’d seen him do many times.

“You said yes, right?” Tim asked.

“Yes to the date. No to the bike ride.”

“Why?”

“Why to which one?”

“The bike ride,” Tim said. “Obviously, you should date him.”

It wasn’t obvious to me. Yes, Mr. Guardia was attractive. But a lot of men are attractive. Although we’d chatted all afternoon, I didn’t feel like we had any chemistry. It had been almost two years since Jonah died and my mother was constantly harping on me to “get back out there.” I figured a date with Mr. Guardia would be a low stakes way to dip my toe back into the dating pool. But to Tim I just said, “Because I haven’t ridden a bike since high school.”

“They say you never forget,” Richard called out.

“And you know what else you never forget? S-E-X,” Tim stage whispered.

I laughed then hung up. I was nervous enough at the thought of going on a date again—my first in almost ten years. I didn’t need to be worrying about the possibility of having sex too.

When I arrived at the office the next morning Janelle was already at her desk. “You look happy,” she said when she saw me.

“Do I?” I tried not to smile. I’d woken up this morning from a dream of having great s-e-x with Daniel. I blamed/thanked Tim for putting the thought in my head.

“Good weekend?” she asked.

“Yes.”

Janelle and I got along well, but she didn’t share details about her personal life with me, so I assumed she wasn’t interested in hearing about mine. The exceptions were stories about MJ and Sofia. She always wanted to hear those. For Janelle it was work-related since she still represented them. “I took the kids to see Maria on Saturday,” I added.

Janelle tossed her pen onto her desk and leaned back in her chair. “And how did that go?”

I sat down in her guest chair and told her what I knew, which wasn’t much. MJ had seemed happier on Sunday than he’d been on Saturday, but he hadn’t mentioned his visit with Maria and I hadn’t pressed him about it.

“Do you think he’s changed his mind about wanting to live with her?” Janelle asked.

I considered it before I answered. “No. I think there’s a part of him that’s still angry with her, but at the end of the day, MJ will go where Sofia goes and Sofia was very happy to see Maria again.”

“Sorry,” Janelle said.

I shrugged. I hadn’t expected MJ to change his mind. “In some ways I have the best of both worlds. I still see MJ all the time, but I no longer have to remind him to put his dirty clothes in the hamper and yell at him to go to bed.”

She let out a laugh. “Except for the part about having to pay his tuition.”

“It’s only for a year.” The Winston Academy had assured me MJ would be eligible for a scholarship next year if he maintained a B average. He would’ve been eligible this year, but he’d applied too late; all the financial aid money was already gone.

“That’s more than most foster parents would do. And you’re not even his foster parent.”

I didn’t mind. I considered it a good use of the money from Jonah’s second life insurance policy. “Did you know he calls me his Lawyer Mom?”