He started to reach for the doorknob, then paused and looked at her. “So, we’re good?”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he meant, but it seemed safe enough to smile and say, “We’re good.”
He kissed her quickly, then drew back to smile at her. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Call me in the morning and we’ll make arrangements. I have to go into the lab for an hour or so, but I’m free after that.”
After he left, Catherine sank bonelessly onto her couch and picked up Norman, stroking him mechanically.
For an affair that was supposed to be “just for fun”—just a lighthearted fling—this was beginning to feel entirely too serious. Too many of her emotions were becoming involved, and she could not even define most of them.
Maybe she had better start paying attention to Julia’s pessimistic warnings and cynical advice, after all.
“What are your plans for Thanksgiving?” Karen asked during dinner that evening, addressing the question to both Julia and Catherine.
Julia answered first. “I’m flying to Miami to spend Thanksgiving with my parents. We’re all going to Colorado for Christmas with my brother, so it looks as though my holidays are booked.”
“What about you, Catherine?” Karen inquired.
Catherine shrugged. “Since my parents aren’t going to be in the country, I haven’t made any plans. I’ll probably just spend the day relaxing.”
Karen shook her head emphatically. “There’s no need for you to spend the day alone. I’m thinking about cooking a big, traditional Thanksgiving dinner now that I finally have a kitchen big enough to accommodate everything. It’s silly to cook that much just for Wayne and myself, so I’d like to invite a few people to join us. Bonnie and Chris, of course, and you.”
Catherine wasn’t usually enthusiastic about spending holidays with other people’s families, but this was a group she wouldn’t mind so much. “That sounds nice.”
Her expression turning speculative, Karen asked, “How would you feel if I inv
ite Bill James?”
Catherine scowled. “Karen—”
“Well, this is his first Thanksgiving since his mother died. He doesn’t have any other family, so he’s going to be alone for the holiday.”
“Since when do you know so much about him?”
“I run into him in the hallways fairly often, since he does some research in my department. He and I happened to be in the coffee shop at the same time last week, and we shared a table for a few minutes while we had our coffee and muffins.”
“And all you talked about was the upcoming holiday season?” Catherine asked suspiciously.
“Your name might have come up.”
Catherine groaned.
“It was no big deal,” Karen assured her hastily. “He just mentioned that he knew you and I are good friends and he asked how you are. I said you’d been really busy with work and he said he’d already figured that out because he’s hardly seen you lately. And then he said he hoped your schedule would slow down enough so that you can have dinner with him again soon.”
“And you encouraged him to call me, didn’t you?” Catherine accused.
“I might have said something like that.”
“Karen—”
“What? You said he’s a really nice guy and you had a good time with him at Dr. McNulty’s retirement party.”
“He is, and I did. But that doesn’t mean I want to go out with him again.”
“Right,” Julia murmured. “Why would you want to go out with a mature, settled guy with a real job and a solid future?”
“Okay, here’s the rule,” Catherine said, turning on Julia. “You don’t talk about Mike—even indirectly—tonight, and I won’t remind you that you slept with Buzz Stewart.”