A Million Little Things. Susan Mallery

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      “It’s Mason. Let me go let him in.”

      She headed for the kitchen and reached for the screen door on the slider. Mason looked up at her and meowed again, his tone implying he’d been trapped outside for days.

      “You’re not as charming as you think,” she told the cat.

      He sauntered in and headed directly for Steven. Most men she knew didn’t like cats. Chad had always avoided Mason as much as possible and had complained about the ever-present cat hair. By contrast, Steven held out his fingers to be sniffed. When Mason rubbed the side of his face against Steven’s hand, Steven scooped him up and held him close.

      “Hey, big guy,” he said, offering chin scratches. “How are things in the cat world?”

      “You like cats?”

      Steven smiled. “I like all animals, but cats have that cool factor. Dogs are all about the pack. Cats make you earn it.”

      “And Lulu?” she asked, her voice teasing.

      Steven shuddered. “I don’t know what to make of her. It’s not the weird spots and wild hair I mind so much as the wardrobe. My mom spends way too much time planning what that dog’s going to wear.” He set Mason on the floor. “I’ll admit it. I’m a guy who doesn’t get dog fashion.”

      “A forgivable flaw.”

      “I’m glad you think so.” He nodded toward the hallway. “Want to show me the problem stairs?”

      “Right this way.”

      She started to get the step stool so she could pull them down, but he waved her away. “I can reach.”

      He drew down the stairs, and then pushed them up in place. After doing that a couple of times, he ran his hands along the edges.

      “The wood is warped,” he told her. “Probably from age and a couple of our wet winters. When wood swells, it doesn’t always go back to its original shape when it dries out. A little sanding should take care of the problem. I can do it for you, if you’d like.”

      “Really? That’s all it is?”

      She was aware of them standing close together in the narrow hallway and did her best to keep from nervous babbling. And failed. “I’m so happy to hear that. Did your mom mention I got trapped in the attic when the stairs slammed shut? I didn’t have my cell phone with me and kept thinking I was going to die up there and Mason would eat my liver. I would end up being one of those sad stories you read about on the internet.” She made air quotes. “Single woman dead for eight months before anyone noticed.”

      Steven pushed the stairs back up into place before he turned to her. “Single? I thought you were involved. With that guy you were always with. What was his name?”

      She wrinkled her nose. “Chad. We broke up a few months ago.” No way she was going to mention the stupid sex. It was one thing to confess all to Pam, but that wasn’t the sort of thing one admitted to a guy like Steven.

      “You still dealing?” he asked.

      The question surprised her. “No. It was my idea. I realized I’d wasted way too much time on him.”

      “Good.”

      A single word, but there was something in the way he said it. Or maybe it was how close they were standing or how tall he was. Zoe was once again reminded of her lack of Lulu-like fashion and possibly uncombed hair.

      “I can fix the stairs,” he told her. “Go back to my place and get a sander. It won’t take long.” He smiled. “Or we could go grab a drink and I could get my sander another time.”

      Her bare toes curled just the tiniest amount. “A drink would be nice. Give me five minutes to change.”

      She darted around him and headed for her bedroom. Once the door was closed, she allowed herself a three-second victory dance, then ripped off her shirt and shorts.

      She stared at the choices in her closet. Since working at home, she hadn’t had to worry about what to wear. She mostly wore jeans or shorts with a T-shirt. She didn’t want to put on any of her sensible teaching clothes, which left her eyeing her date dresses.

      “Not a date,” she whispered. “But still nice.”

      She settled on a red short-sleeved dress with a flattering V-neck. The style was simple—a modified A-line that followed the curves of her body. The color was deep and good for her. She slipped it on, then raced into her bathroom.

      She applied mascara, blush and lip gloss, then brushed out her hair. She had a natural wave to her dark hair. Most of the time she fought it, but right now she didn’t have time. She added a little volumizing spray, then went back into the bedroom where she put on hoop earrings and slipped into four-inch taupe heels.

      She walked back into the living room and found Steven on the sofa with Mason. The cat was stretched out, kneading a pillow while Steven rubbed his face. Both males looked at her. Mason gave her that slow I-love-you blink while Steven quickly rose to his feet. His eyes widened slightly.

      “You look great.”

      “Thank you.”

      “That was fast.”

      “I didn’t do that much.”

      He motioned to the door. She picked up her bag and led the way, carefully locking the door behind her.

      “Olives okay?” he asked.

      “Sounds perfect.”

      Olives was a martini bar near the business district in town. While tourists sometimes wandered in, the place was mostly frequented by locals. Zoe hadn’t been in ages. Back in the day, she and Jen had often gone there for drinks and to talk.

      Steven parked his Mercedes SUV and walked around to her side to open her door. The polite gesture surprised her until she reminded herself that not every guy was Chad, and wasn’t that nice to know.

      Once inside, they found a small corner table. Their server came over. Zoe ordered a lemon drop while Steven chose a vodka martini.

      “You didn’t say shaken, not stirred,” she said when their server left.

      “Bond and I are different kinds of guys.” He leaned forward and smiled at her. “What are you up to these days? Last I heard, you were teaching at the same school as Jen, but you left.”

      “I did. I’d been working part-time as a manual writer. They offered me a full-time position after a particularly difficult week of teaching, so I said yes.”

      Which was all true, if not the complete truth. She’d also quit her teaching job on the foolish assumption that she and Chad were going to be married and starting a family. Working from home would have given her time to be a stepmom to his kids. But none of that had come to pass and she was living her post-Chad life now.

      “What’s the best part about what you do?” he asked.

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