“I like him,” she went on. “But let’s be clear—I’m not looking for a new husband. I have no intention of getting married again or even living with a guy. The only people I’m interested in living with are you two and Addie. And with Addie for as long as it works for her. Some days I get the impression we’re crowding her.”

“It’s just the remodel,” Livvie said. “You know how long it takes Addie to make some decisions. And you make them fast.”

“Not this time,” she said. “I talked to Logan on the phone for weeks, maybe a couple of months, before I agreed to meet him for dinner.”

The doorbell rang. Justine felt a jab of panic.

“Okay, look—I just want to introduce him to you so you are completely aware of who I’m going out with. And I’m not going out that much. You are and always will be my priority. You don’t have to like him, you don’t have to approve of him, you only have to be nice to him.”

The doorbell rang again.

“We can be nice,” Amber said. “You better let him in.”

“Right,” Justine said.

“Does Addie know he’s coming over?” Livvie asked.

“I called her and told her. She didn’t seem that happy about it. I promised he wouldn’t stay late.” She smoothed her supershort hair and went to the door.

Logan stood there, two bottles of wine and a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “I was starting to think you changed your mind,” he said.

“No, just briefing the girls.”

He handed her the wine. “Am I allowed in?”

“Of course. Come in.” She stepped aside and said, “Logan, this is Amber and this is Olivia. Girls, this is Logan.”

“You’re my mom’s boyfriend?” Amber asked.

“I am,” he said.

“Well, now...” Justine began.

“Lighten up, Justine, we’ve spent months on the phone and have been out for drinks, coffee, dinner and even a town fair. I didn’t say fiancé, life partner or future wife, but if it takes more to make me a boyfriend...” He whistled. He looked at the girls and winked. “It’s early in the relationship. I might be pushing it to claim boyfriend, but I’m up to the job. Nice to meet you.”

“I’ll pour you a glass of wine,” Justine said. “Red or white?”

He asked for red and then looked at the table. “Nice,” he said, handing the flowers to Amber. Then he looked around the living room, dining room and kitchen. “Just like you described it,” he said. “This looks like a good old house.”

“It’s at least old,” Amber said.

“I live in an old house, renovated and turned into four apartments,” he said. “It’s small but perfect for one person, and I can hear the ocean from my patio.”

“Mom said you’re a cop or something,” Amber said.

“Or something. I was a cop, a detective actually. Robbery. Retired. Now I work as an investigator.” He watched as Amber put the flowers in a vase, then he accepted a glass of wine from Justine. He wandered into the living room and sat on the far end of the sectional. Livvie was wedged into the opposite corner. “Now I do similar work but as a civilian rather than a civil servant. So, which one of you is the senior and which one is the junior?”

“I’m the senior,” Amber said, joining them in the living room. “I’ll graduate this year.”

“Planning on college?” he asked.

“Cal State Berkeley,” Amber said.

“Are you looking forward to it?” he asked.

“I think so,” she said. “I’m glad to be staying in California, but I hope to live on campus eventually. We’re going to need another car. Livvie will still go to our old high school in San Jose, and we won’t be able to ride together anymore.”

“And I’m thinking about the community college for my first year,” Livvie put it. “A lot of people are doing that.”

“Do either of you know what you want to do after college? I had three majors in my first couple of years and still turned out to be a cop, so it’s definitely not required.”

“I have no idea,” Livvie said. “I’ve been saying librarian for a long time because I love to read, but things change. Amber likes clothes.”

“I wish I could find a job wearing them,” she said, making him laugh.

Justine couldn’t have choreographed it any better. He got them talking about themselves first and then before long they were asking him what it was like to be a cop. He spoke freely and openly about some of his experiences while keeping the conversation and stories age appropriate. He told them about a robbery he’d working—the robber had a weapon and forced his way into an occupied home and there was no indication he’d left, yet they couldn’t find him. He was hiding inside the dirty old furnace in the basement and gave himself away, very loudly, when the homeowner turned on the heat. Then there was a bank robbery where the thief made a wrong turn, right into the safe.

“But really my favorite of all time was the thief who led us on a chase and didn’t get very far because he took a turn too tight, drove through a neighborhood backyard wall and landed, car and all, in the homeowner’s swimming pool. I think I have a picture if you want to see.”

They wanted to see and he got out his phone, scrolling through the pictures.

Justine was just about to give up on Addie when she walked in. Introductions were made, and they all sat down so dinner could be served.

Justine didn’t exactly find Addie’s regard for Logan to be cool, but it took ten or fifteen minutes for her to warm up while Justine served dinner. Once everyone was eating, Addie became fully engaged in the conversation.

“When did you two first meet?” Addie asked.

“Hmm,” he said, pausing before answering. “I was doing some work for Justine’s company last winter. I think it was a workman’s comp claim or something like that. Then I was recommended to her for one of her own cases.”

“You worked together?” Addie asked.

“I’m a detective for hire. I investigate everything under the sun, including corporate background checks, bankruptcies, potential hires, anything and everything. So, I met her, found out she was divorced, asked her to meet me for a drink.” He shrugged. “That has to be six months ago or so.”

“Almost five,” Justine said. “We met for coffee, had a few phone chats, went to Carmel for a town art fair... Eventually we had dinner.”

“I have good references,” he said.

“And there were coincidences. He was moving to Carmel, I was leaving the company and taking a job here.”

“My office is in San Francisco, but I usually work in the field. I’m only in my office a couple of days a week...”

“In the field?” Addie asked.

“Research, interviews, surveillance, whatever case I’m working on.”

“Is it like top secret stuff?” Amber asked.

“Nah. Most of the information is easy to find in public records. But public records or not, it’s always privileged. I can’t tell any details. You know,” he said, giving Addie a nod.

Maybe that was the point on which they bonded—Addie also collected personal stories she couldn’t share.

After dinner, Logan helped clear the table, clean up the kitchen and had a cup of coffee. The girls wandered off, Addie chatted with them for a while then went to her room, kind of obviously leaving them alone. It was ten when Logan left. Justine walked him to his car.

“That couldn’t have gone better if I’d scripted it,” she said to him.

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” he said. “By the time you’re my age, the women I date have kids. Usually teens. I hate to sound arrogant, but I think I do all right with teens.”

“You do all right,” she said with a laugh. “That was a very good intro.”

“Some advice?” he said. Without waiting for an answer he continued. “Reassure them that I won’t be sleeping over now. Tell them your holiday gatherings still belong to you. Tell them I have a family, too, even though I don’t have kids. A good first meeting doesn’t commit them. Believe me, they’ll be glad to hear it.”

“But I think they liked you,” she said.

“I appreciate that. They need time even if they like me. And so do you.”

“I do,” she admitted. “But I’ve been honest, Logan. I like you. I love spending time with you. And I’m committed to only one man—I’m the ridiculously faithful type. But I don’t see another marriage in my crystal ball. Nor anything close to marriage.”

He grinned at her. “You’ve been very clear. And I don’t blame you.”

“Still, that was so much easier than I expected.”

He gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Go in now, get the debrief. I’m sure they have opinions and questions.”

“I’m sure,” she laughed.

She went inside and found Addie waiting for her. The girls were not in sight.

“I expected to be questioned about Logan,” she said.

“I think Livvie is on the phone with her boyfriend, and Amber wandered off. So, Logan seems very nice. How long have you been keeping him a secret?”

Justine sat down on the sectional. “I don’t really know how this dating business goes,” Justine said. “I didn’t mean to keep him secret. After a few months of seeing him, I thought I’d better come clean. I’m completely surprised to be dating. Not only didn’t I expect to, I wasn’t looking to.”

“No surprise to me,” Addie said. “You always land on your feet.”

Justine held her tongue. Was that how Adele really saw it? That after what had happened to her, a few dates with a nice guy was landing on her feet? It was going to take a lot more than that to erase the agony of having the man you’d loved and relied on for so long betray you.