Dinner was over.
We'd finally relaxed with one another, gotten beyond the awkward small talk, and rediscovered the same flow we'd found during our first breakfast together. He saved me from feeling guilty about knowing he had previous girlfriends by talking about them freely, but not excessively. The most recent one had been a nurse, he said. And she was in more of a hurry for a family than he was. In the end, they broke it off while still friends. I noticed he didn't ask me about my previous relationships, which also saved me from having to admit there'd been nobody since the Browning guy.
After we'd finished our dessert and our coffee had grown cold, we sat gazing at one another with half-smiles.
I waited, taking my cues from him.
At last, Mack reached out and enclosed my hand in his
