“I was … we were working.” He turned red in the face, and she smiled big.
“Yes, we must be careful now that we’ve signed a dating memo.”
“It’s a professional conduct memo, thank you very much. And speaking of, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
Oh, here it came. Felicity. Rebecca turned the sink water on full blast and washed her hands. She wasn’t in any hurry to talk about Felicity or dating memos. She pulled the tray of cookie dough toward her and started pounding it out.
“Felicity found me after the wedding.”
She pounded a little harder. “I know. I talked to her in the parking lot. What’d she give you?”
“An Amazing Spiderman comic book from 1968. I used to collect them.”
“Is it valuable?”
“No, it’s probably only worth about twenty bucks. But she held onto it for me. That’s the problem.”
“What’s the problem?” Rebecca stilled her hands.
“She held onto … hope.”
“And do you have any to give her?” She swallowed, trying to keep her face neutral.
Jay’s eyes narrowed as he studied her. “Why, are you jealous?”
“Why would I be jealous?” She turned away from him and preheated the oven with her knuckles since her fingers were greasy with cookie dough.
***
Jay mentally slapped himself in the face for even that little bit of hope. They were friends, nothing more. And once she found a guy worthy of her, he’d step aside, this time a lot less bitter.
“When I start dating someone again, I’ll keep her far away from the office,” he said.
“Sounds sensible.”
Rebecca was still facing the stove, and he wondered if the topic made her uncomfortable. He hoped not. He still needed her advice. “How do I tell Felicity it’s not going to happen?”
“You mean you haven’t told her?” she whirled around and looked at him. “What did you say when she gave you the gift?”
He squirmed. “It was Christmas Eve. It didn’t seem the right time to remind her of office memos or tell her I don’t love her anymore.”
Rebecca frowned. “You have to tell her on Monday. It will hurt, but then she can move on. However, I wouldn’t say, ‘I don’t love you anymore.’ Those words would crush just about anyone.”
“So, how would you word it?”
Rebecca stepped forward and gripped his arms. Using her best Jay voice, she said, “Felicity, you are a wonderful person, but there’s never going to be anything between us again.”
“Um, you just greased my elbows.” Jay held them up for inspection and Rebecca laughed.
“I swear I didn’t do that on purpose.”
“Sure.” He stepped closer and swiped a handful of cookie dough off the tray.
Rebecca’s eyes widened and she ran around the island counter, gripping the edge. “Jay, don’t you dare. This is my favorite sweater.”
“Then you should probably go get one of these T-shirts on and come back and see me.”
“Or … you could put down the cookie dough and we could wash up your elbows.”
