Page 35 of Secrets, Scandals and Baby Shoes

“Sorry, Luce. It’s Keype.”

“That’s all right.” Lucy paused the movie. “It must be important. I’ll be here.”

Elliot swiped to answer the call and stepped into the living room so he wouldn’t bother Lucy. Lucy ate another bite of popcorn, took a sip of her ginger ale, then got up, stretched, and went out to the balcony. The lights of New York glittered below and in front of her, as well as a stretch of Central Park in the far distance.

It was hard to believe how much had changed in the weeks since she and Elliot had returned from their California trip. Since then, Elliot had rented this apartment, a beautiful midtown one-bedroom. He and Lucy had reorganized their office and started working together better than ever, bringing their collaborativespirit to the rest of Borderless’s work. Elliot was still working for Keype, but he worked remotely outside of office hours.

When neither of them were working — and even when they were — they spent every free moment together. They watched movies, went for long walks, cooked and ate dinner together, and reminisced about their college days. Lucy felt happier than she had in years, though she wished Dominic could have been there. Surely, if he’d seen how happy she and Elliot were together, he would have been happy for them, too.

Lucy heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Elliot stepping onto the balcony. His phone was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Luce. Sorry about that.”

“Is everything okay with Keype?”

“Yeah.” Elliot smiled, though it looked forced. “It’s hard to run a company from a distance, but it seems to be working.”

Lucy’s stomach flipped. “Do you need to visit Chicago or something? Just to make sure everything’s running as it should be?”

“Maybe I should.” Elliot wrapped an arm around Lucy’s waist. “But I don’t want to leave you. Not yet.”

Immediately, her worry turned to warmth, which spread through her heart. “I don’t want that either.”

“Then let’s think about something else.” Elliot gave her a quick kiss. “How about we go out for dinner?”

Lucy hesitated, so Elliot tugged on her hand. “We can talk about Borderless some more…” he said enticingly.

Lucy giggled. “All right. Let’s go.”

They ate at a dim sum restaurant, where they shared a selection of small plates between the two of them. They sat at a small corner table that was constantly being refilled with new delicacies, and both sipped on strong jasmine tea out of small enamel cups.

“This is just like college dinners,” Lucy said.

“How so?” Elliot grinned at her, and Lucy’s heart melted at the boyish expression that was so dear to her.

“Just think about it. Instead of Cheetos and pizza, we have steamed buns and rice paper dumplings,” Lucy explained. “And instead of ginger ale, we have tea. And instead of eating on the floor of your room, we’re eating at a table in a restaurant.”

Elliot chuckled. “So, basically, it’s just like college — except that it’s completely different.”

“Exactly.” Lucy grinned. “Or, maybe the better comparison would be that it’s like the Chinese restaurant where we ate in college. It didn’t have dim sum, but at least it was a restaurant.”

“Cheers, then, to a dinner that’s just like college.” They clinked their teacups together.

“You know,” Elliot said as he took a sip of the tea. “It really does feel like we’re back in college, in a way. Not this dinner. But being with you again does bring me back to our younger days.” He smiled.

“I feel the same way,” Lucy agreed. “I remember, back in college, the world always felt so open and full of possibility, like we could really change things for the better and make the future we wanted. I feel that way again.”

“Me, too,” Elliot admitted. “I love running Keype, but it isn’t as exciting as the work we do at Borderless.”

“And Keype probably doesn’t let you visit many vineyards,” Lucy added with a wink. Elliot grinned.

“You’d be surprised. I’ve attended a few cybersecurity conferences in beautiful places, like Barbados and Vale. Although you’re right. I don’t think I’ve been to one at a vineyard yet.”

“See? Borderless wins every time. Though I have to admit something embarrassing.” Lucy blushed. “I’m still not sure I understand what Keype does.”

Elliot chuckled. “We keep companies’ data safe.”

Lucy rolled her eyes. “I knowthat,but how?”

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