“Don’t get me wrong. Your cooking is literally the best I’ve everhad. Don’t tell my mother I said that.”
Amanda laughed. “Your secret is safe with me.”
“I’m just saying that so you understand exactly how next levelthe sex is.”
She didn’t disagree, even if it felt strange to say so out loud.“I’ll still make you breakfast.”
“A woman of many talents. I love that about you.”
Quinn insisted she didn’t want Amanda to go to any trouble, sothey settled on a vegetable omelet and toast. They sat at the island, side byside, bumping shoulders and playing footsie while they ate. It made her feelgoofy and far younger than her forty-nine years.
When the conversation turned to getting together again, she foundherself saying, “Would you be interested in coming to dinner if my kids werehere?”
Quinn, to her credit, didn’t seem taken aback. “Absolutely, but Idon’t want you to feel obligated.”
“I don’t feel obligated. But same. If that feels like a big dealand you’re not ready to go there, it’s totally fine.”
Quinn shook her head, but then said, “I’d like that.”
“Do I get to ask why you were shaking your head then?” She wantedQuinn to be honest, because as much as she liked the idea, it wasn’t somepressing thing. At least not yet.
“Just the fact that my sister was poking at me about when she’dget to meet you.”
As much as she liked the prospect of Quinn meeting Cal andDaniella, she liked the idea of Quinn telling her family about her even more.“And what did you tell her?”
“First, I told her she was nosy and pushy, because she is. Butthen I told her soon, assuming things continue to go well.”
Amanda laughed, at both the honesty and the authenticity of thestatement. “Fair assessment.”
“Right? You’d think it would be less complicated at our age.”
“Ha.” She had a flash of coming home after their first nighttogether, to Mel making breakfast.
“I’m glad we’re on the same page, though.”
An excellent point. “So, which should we do first?”
“Your kids. Definitely.” She angled her head. “Just don’t tell mysister I said so.”
Amanda tapped a finger to her lips, then pointed at Quinn. “Yourealize that’s the second secret you’ve asked me to keep from your family thismorning.”
She covered her mouth with her hand. “It is, isn’t it? That’s notgood.”
“Since I’m pretty sure you’re only half serious, it’s more cutethan concerning.”
“Less than half. My mother is lovely and my sisters—well, one inparticular—harass me on principle. But we’re all very close and the harassmentis a sign of affection.”
“That’s sweet. I always wanted siblings.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You’re an only child? But you’reItalian.”
She shrugged. “I know, right? I thought it was against the rulesor something, but here I am.”
“Your parents realized they couldn’t improve on perfection?”
Amanda laughed. “It was more that my mother didn’t want tosacrifice her career. She was too much of a traditionalist not to have anychildren, but one was enough.”
“What did she do?”
“Chemist. She’s retired now. My parents moved to South Carolina acouple of years ago.”
“Whoa.”
“I know, right? She was the only woman in her graduate programand one of only a few in her undergraduate class.”
“That’s awesome.”
“She was horrified when I announced I wanted to go to culinaryschool.” It had been difficult at the time, but now she could smile at thememory.
“Did you ever win her over?”
“It helped when she learned professional baking is a verymale-dominated field.”
Quinn chuckled. “Of course.”
They finished breakfast. They showered. They might have tumbledback into bed for an hour before getting dressed and Quinn reluctantly left forwork. Amanda couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such an indulgentmorning.
She liked that Quinn brought this out in her. The sexual energy,sure, but it was more. Quinn helped her slow down, focus more on the momentthan her running to-do list. It helped that she was taking essentially amonth-long vacation, obviously, but even then, old Amanda would have found athousand things to do for the kids or around the house. She thought of themillion or so times over the years Mel told her to just fucking relax already.And yet it was Quinn, without commanding it once, who actually got her to doit.
* * *
Quinn drove into town and pulled into the small lot next toIthaca Bakery. Inside, business people and college students and senior citizensmilled around, looking at menus and peering to see what bagels were stillavailable. She turned at the sound of her name and found Jacob coming in theother entrance.
She gave him a big hug, convinced he was still growing, despiteturning nineteen that spring. “How’s summer treating you?”
“Not bad. Working my ass off, but making decent money, so I can’tcomplain.”
He’d spent every summer since he was old enough at one of thelocal nurseries. She knew the owner and, by extension, knew he was worked hardbut paid well. “That’s the spirit. Gotta do it while you’re young.”
He rolled his eyes. “You say that like you’re ancient.”
“It’s relative, my man. It’s all relative.”
“I know Mom’s only a few years older than you, but you seem wayyounger.”
“It’s the single and childless thing. It fools people.”
He laughed. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
She thought about where she’d been a few hours prior.“Relationships have a lot to recommend them. I’d like to go on the recordsaying that.”
He gave her a quizzical look. She hadn’t confided the extent ofher broken heart and collapsing marriage, but he was old enough—and sensitiveenough—to pick up on how bad it had been. “You got a bae, don’t you?”
The question, delivered in millennial or Gen Z or whatever he wasspeak, made her laugh. “How about you let me buy you lunch and maybe we’ll talkabout it?”
He nodded affably. Like his mother, he was curious but not pushy.They ordered sandwiches and took the number placard to an empty table. Not thatshe wouldn’t talk about Amanda at all, but she was much more interested in whathe had going on. “Looking forward to the fall semester or no?”
He shrugged and looked down. “Kinda.”
“Not very convincing, there.”
He lifted his gaze, eyes full of worry. “I’m just…I think I mightchange my major.”
“Okay?” She let
