Passionate History by Libby Waterford

through until she tuned in at the word kiss.
    “It just happened. One day he was calling me Miss Ross and asking me to make copies and the next he was kissing me at the coffee maker. But, oh, my gosh, you cannot tell Mom and Dad.”
    “Wait, who was kissing you at the coffee maker?”
    “Mr. Roberts. I mean, Greg.” Tess blushed.
    “Mr. Roberts, the partner in the law firm? He’s your boyfriend?”
    “He says he feels silly being called my boyfriend since he’s thirty-five, but yeah. We’re in love.”
    She took a moment to process this. Her little sister, age twenty-three, was involved with a thirty-five year old who was her boss, no less. It suddenly put her situation with Aidan into perspective.
    “Wow, that’s…great, Tess. I’m so happy for you.” She meant it.
    “I knew you’d be supportive. Thanks, Bree.” Tess seemed so genuinely content Bree forgot her own turmoil for a moment.
    “Why don’t you want to tell Mom and Dad?”
    “Don’t you think they’d freak out? And I still want to work there. Mr. Baker is like a million years old, and Greg says he doesn’t think he’d mind, but I don’t want to chance it. I’m learning so much.”
    “So you fell in love with another lawyer. Just like Mom and Dad. I think they’ll come around. They know him, don’t they?”
    “Yeah. We’re happy keeping it quiet for now, but I wanted to tell you.”
    “Thanks.” Bree smiled at her sister, pleased they could have this moment.
    “Speaking of guys, who was the hot guy at the restaurant? You obviously knew him.”
    “Um, well, he was one of my old professors, Aidan Worthy. He’s in the art history department, and I asked him to write a recommendation for my grad school applications.”
    “But there’s something more between you, isn’t there?”
    Bree was surprised at Tess’s intuition about this. But maybe being in love made you see it everywhere.
    “We sort of hooked up. Last night.”
    “What does that mean?”
    “Do I have to spell it out for you?”
    “I mean, was it a one-time thing or what?”
    “I’m not sure. I thought he wanted more, and I was ready to give him more, maybe even move here to be with him. But then he completely dismissed me when I ran into him. Maybe I misread him.”
    “But wasn’t that woman his boss? Maybe he’s like Greg, not wanting to rock the boat unnecessarily.”
    Bree considered this. “He is trying to get tenure. Having a romantic entanglement with a former student might throw a wrench in the works.”
    “Totally.”
    Bree was surprised at her baby sister’s insight.
    “It would be so great if you moved back East. We could go on a double date!”
    Bree laughed. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
    They arrived at the pond and parked. Their father inspected the sky. “Clouds rolling in. We might be due for another shower.”
    “It’s only a mile and a half around the pond,” Bree said. “We can make it.” She pulled on tennis shoes and grabbed her waterproof jacket. She knew better than to go for a hike, even an easy one like this, without the basics.
    Bree let her father and sister take the lead, with the grandmothers following aided by their walking sticks, and fell into step beside her mother. She didn’t realize how much she’d missed her family, and she was suddenly fiercely glad they’d been insistent enough to drive out and see her. Perhaps she hadn’t told them she was going to be nearby because she was worried she’d get too homesick for them if she saw them. But this brief visit was far superior to nothing.
    Her thoughts turned to Aidan and what Tess had suggested. Perhaps he simply hadn’t known how to handle the situation in front of his boss. He hadn’t expected to see her, let alone her entire family, right then. She could cut him some slack. But if he couldn’t acknowledge her now, when would he be able to? After he got tenure? Could they wait that long?
    As they walked the loop around the pond, the sky grew darker with clouds,