perfectly acceptableâin fact, a nice lunch is a good way to get to know the people youâre working with. It doesnât have to be a man-woman thing.â
Angela looked at her long and hard. Then she nodded. âRight. It doesnât have to be. But this is.â
Megan lowered her head and groaned. âWhy is this happening?â
Angela waited until she raised her eyes again. âYou really like him. I mean, you really, really like him.â
âWhy are we talking about this?â
âBecause you need to talk about it.â
âNo. I donât.â
âYes, you doâand you said he didnât ask you out?â
âHe didnât. I donât believe he will. I believe heâs going to think it over, the way Iâve been thinking it over, and decide that itâs a terrible idea for him and me to everâ¦get together.â
Angela frowned. âWait.â
âWhat?â
âWell, what did he do to let you know he was interested? I mean, if taking you to lunch doesnât count. If he didnât say anything or do anything, if he didnât come on to youâ¦â
âOh, please. You know how it is, the little thingsa guy does, theâ¦electricity in the air, when thereâs attraction.â
Angela made a face. âIâm a single mom with almost no free time. I wouldnât know a date if it fell on me. I work for a pediatric dentist who, as I just pointed out, is sixty and very married to his wife of forty years. Letâs just say Iâve forgotten, okay? Refresh my memory.â
âArrgh.â
âCome on. Fill me in.â
âHeâ¦um, well, in the restaurant, he put his hand over mine when I told him about how my birth parents diedâand then he didnât take it away. I had to kind of slide my own hand out from under it. And earlierâ¦that first moment when I walked in his office. Oh, Ange.â Megan put her hand against her fast-beating heart. âYou should have seen his face. Shocked. Amazed. Awestruck. Thrilled. Excited. All of the above. And I felt the same way. But I covered it. Pretty well, I think. I was the soul of professionalism.â
âOh, I know you were.â
ââ¦Until those last few moments outside the restaurant, before he sent me home in the limo.â
âHe gave you his limoâto come all the way to Rosewood from Manhattan?â
âFarther. To Poughkeepsie. I went on up to the office. I tried to give the driver a big tip, but he only shook his head and said that Mr. Banning had already taken care of it.â
Angelaâs eyes were saucer-wide. âWell, okay. Iâm convinced. I mean, his limo⦠â
âExactly.â
âSo what happened? On the sidewalk, before the limo?â
âOh, I donât know.â Meganâs cheeks were flaming. She pressed her hands to them to cool them a little. âIt was justâ¦I just knew he was going to kiss me. And oh, did I ever want him to do that. He grabbed my hand again. And, same as in the restaurant, he didnât let go. I considered just, you know, kind of throwing myself against him. But I controlled myself. Thank God for that.â
âAnd youâll see him again next Monday?â
âYeah.â
âAnd if he asks you out thenâ¦?â
âHe wonât.â
âGo with me here. What if he does?â
âWell, Iâll have to say no, of course.â
âWhy?â
âOh, come on. You know why. Because it wouldnât be fair to Carly. Because it would be so cruel.â
âMegan. The fact is, Carly and Greg are divorced. Not separated. Not getting a divorce. They are no longer married and they arenât together in any way. Theyâre through.â
âBut Carly hopesââ
âItâs not your fault what Carly hopes. Greg hasnât been on Danbury Way since she threw him out of Tara.â The rest of the houses on the