Once again, Nate found Krissa in the kitchen in the morning, reading the paper and drinking coffee. She looked like she’d just come from a funeral. Or had a really bad cold. Still gorgeous though, luminous green eyes surrounded by long thick eyelashes, glossy dark hair falling over her shoulders and down her back.
She wore plaid flannel shorts and a gray T-shirt. Pretty ugly clothes. Bare toes tipped with pink polish rested on the rung of the stool and the way they curved around it fascinated him, made him ache with tenderness. Her small toes almost looked like a child’s and reminded him of the reason for her unhappiness.
“Good morning.” She looked up, then quickly away, as if she was embarrassed.
“Morning.” He knew where the coffee mugs were now and helped himself. “You okay?”
She nodded. “I’m really sorry about last night, Nate.”
She was apologizing—to him! “No need,” he said curtly, not looking at her.
“Yes. I was rude. I was just…”
“I know. Derek told me.”
“He did?” Her eyes widened and her lips parted. “Oh.”
“You sound surprised.”
“Well…he…yeah.”
“He’s my friend.”
“I know.” She folded up the newspaper and pushed it over to him. He found the sports section, but it was damn hard to read the small print with dark glasses on. He gave up.
“What do you want to know?” She dragged the paper back to herself. “Baseball? Dodgers?”
He stared at her. She flipped open the paper and her eyes moved up and down. “Dodgers five, Marlins two.”
“How’d you know…?”
“I remember. You were a big baseball fan. Remember when the four of us drove to L.A. for a game?” She smiled wistfully. “That was fun.”
He said nothing. He remembered. It had only been a couple of weeks before Lauren’s car crash. It had been fun—two happy couples, carefree and innocent. He and Lauren had just found out they were going to be parents. A surprise, but a good one. They hadn’t even told anyone.
“Thanks.” His voice came out scratchy and he cleared his throat.
“I really liked Lauren. She was a sweetheart. So funny and kind. So loyal.”
Nate choked on his coffee. “Yeah, right.”
She gave him a look, eyebrows raised.
“How about the Angels? Did they win? I think they played Tampa Bay.”
She turned her attention back to the newspaper. “Lost. Eight-six.”
“Damn.” He sipped more coffee. “Don’t you ever work?”
“Yes. I work from home. I have some things to do for a presentation I’m doing next week. But I should be able to get that done this morning. After lunch, I need to go shopping.”
“Ah.”
“For groceries.” She smiled.
“Oh. Can I come?”
She lifted a brow. “You want to come grocery shopping?”
