"They're not seeing each other anymore, but I don't know if I'd say they broke up. They were really casual, I guess. She met somebody less casual and told Rick the dinner, movie and s.e.x part of their relationship was over, but they're still friends."

"I'm glad to hear it. Not just because she'll still cover your shifts at the bar. I like her, so I'm glad she'll still be around."

"I'll probably grab some different clothes while I'm home," Lydia said. "I'm getting bored with my very limited rotating wardrobe. I mean, half the time I'm wearing a Kincaid's T-shirt anyway, but I miss my favorite fleece hoodie when it's chilly."

"You'll come back, right?"

Lydia looked at her sister and saw the very real concern on her face. It worried her, because it wasn't like Ashley to hide away like this and Lydia was starting to wonder if she should be enabling her. Maybe she needed to shove her sister back into the real world and tell her to suck it up.

But she also felt like things would be coming to a head between Ashley and Danny soon. They weren't going to be able to keep on the way they were and there was either going to be an emotional breakthrough that brought them back together or an emotional breakdown that ended the marriage for good. Either way, Lydia couldn't imagine not being there for Ashley.

"I'm coming back," Lydia promised. "You know what would be awesome? If Aidan could go with me. We could get away from here and go out for dinner or something-like a real date-without worrying about anybody seeing us and telling Scott or Dad."

"You should invite him. He can work it out with the other guys. I know he's always willing to cover for them, so a bunch of the guys probably owe him a favor."

"You don't think both of us disappearing at the same time will be suspicious at all?"

"I guess if somebody picked up on it, it might seem a little weird. There has to be a way, though."

Lydia gave her a hard look. "Weren't you the one worried about this blowing up in everybody's faces?"

"Yeah, but you're an adult and you can do what you want. And I owe you big-time, so if you want to get out of town with Aidan for the weekend, I'll help you make it happen."

Lydia frowned. "So where could he say he was going? If his family lived farther away, he could say it was a family emergency, but he can take the T from his place, so disappearing wouldn't make much sense. And he's not close with them."

"Maybe we're looking at it the wrong way," Ashley said. "Have you told anybody else at all you need to go back to Concord? Did you tell Karen why you need the time off?"

"No. Sh.e.l.ly just called a few minutes ago so I haven't talked to anybody else yet, and I didn't tell Karen why because it was a text and I can't type that much before coffee."

"So don't tell anybody what you're doing. We'll say you're wicked sick. Your car will be in the driveway and you'll be in bed, right? You start laying the groundwork tonight, like you don't feel so hot."

That might actually work. "But where's Aidan going to say he's going? It would have to be something that came up suddenly, since all they do when they're not on a run is sit around and yap at each other and he wouldn't have big plans they don't know about."

"I don't know. He could still use his family as an excuse. Maybe they want him to remodel the bathroom or something and it's easier if he just stays there. If he says his dad wants to use him for manual labor because he's too cheap to pay a professional, the guys will believe that."

"And probably offer to help."

"His mom doesn't want a bunch of firefighters running around in her house. She can barely tolerate the one she gave birth to, from what I've heard." Ashley grinned. "It will totally work. And I'm excited for you. It'll be fun."

"I should probably ask him if he wants to go."

"h.e.l.l yeah, I want to go," Aidan told her several hours later, when he had a chance to return her call. "I can get the time off, but won't it look a little weird if we both disappear at the same time?"

"There's a plan," she said, and she filled him in on the scheme she and Ashley had concocted. It was brilliant in its simplicity, really. n.o.body was going to insist on going up the stairs and into her bedroom to see if she was really sick in bed, especially her dad or brother. They wanted nothing to do with sick women. And if anybody sent her a text, she could just text them back.

"You really thought this through." There was a short silence, and then she heard him blow out a breath close to the cell's microphone. "G.o.d, I hate lying."

Lydia felt a pang of guilt. "I know you do. Look, it's no big deal if you don't want to-"

"I want to," he interrupted. "I definitely want to."

The eagerness in his voice made her smile. He sure was good for a girl's ego. "I'm glad. I'm looking forward to it."

"So did you and Ashley come up with a plan for a secret handoff in a parking garage with your hood pulled up, or will I just pick you up at her house?"

She laughed, trying to picture that scenario. "I think you can just pick me up at Ashley's. Let me know when you've worked out your schedule and we can figure out a time."

"Okay. Are you going to stop by after work?"

She shouldn't. They were becoming too much like a real couple as it was, and now they were going on a couple's weekend getaway. Their casual fling was in danger of becoming a lot less casual. But she wanted to see him. She always wanted to see him.

"I'll be there," she said, mentally kicking herself in the a.s.s. "But I can't stay long."

"I don't care if it's only long enough so I can give you a hug and a h.e.l.lo. And a kiss. I'd stop by Kincaid's for the h.e.l.lo, since I just want to see you, but the kissing would be awkward."

"I'd rather kiss you without an audience."

"I'll be waiting."

TO GET THE ENTIRE weekend off, Aidan worked the day tour on Friday, but it was a blessedly quiet day outside of some routine calls. At 6:30 Friday evening, he parked on the street in front of Ashley's house and got out of his truck.

He'd warned Lydia he hadn't been able to get out of his commitment to dinner at his parents' house on Sunday, since he hadn't been in a while, but she'd told him they could be back in plenty of time. The roommate would be back by Sunday night and Oscar the cat could survive a few hours of solitude.

He made it as far as stepping around the front of the truck and onto the curb when the door opened and Lydia walked out. She was walking fast, with a duffel bag in her hand and the hood of her sweatshirt pulled over her head. She gestured for him to get back in the truck, which made him laugh, even though he did it.

"You're kidding, right?" he asked when she'd hopped into the pa.s.senger seat and closed the door.

"Just go."

He pulled away from the curb and started making his way toward the highway. Friday evening traffic could suck, and it would be a longer than usual drive north. "I was going to go inside and say hi to Ashley. I didn't realize this was a covert mission."

She pulled her hood down and smoothed her hair. "Ashley was on the phone with Danny. And you know how neighbors are. This way, if anybody says anything, Ashley can claim it was her and you were helping her out with something that required a pickup truck."

Her neighbors must be idiots, then, because she and Ashley didn't look alike, even with their heads covered. "You guys sure covered all the bases."

She laughed, leaning her head back against the headrest. "I think we were bored, so we amused ourselves with this little adventure. The hood might have been too much."

They stopped for coffee and a drive-through dinner once they were out of their neighborhood, and they made small talk as the miles pa.s.sed. She always had funny stories about Kincaid's over the years, and he shared a few sibling tales from his childhood. He didn't dip into work stories because he wanted to keep Scotty and the fact he was a firefighter on the back burner this weekend, at least as much as possible.

"I haven't seen a single cow yet," he said when they were about twenty minutes into New Hampshire. "Where do they keep all the cows?"

She laughed, but when he didn't, she quieted and looked over at him. "You were kidding, right?"

"I heard there were cows."

"They don't keep them in the highway median strip, dumba.s.s." When he grinned, she realized he was joking and slapped his arm. "And you've been here many times. You've been to Hampton Beach a few times, and you've been up here four-wheeling. And there was a big paintball thing you guys did. I remember Scott having a wicked welt on his face because one of the other guys accidently shot him when he had his face shield up."

So much for leaving her brother on the back burner. He supposed it was natural, since they were all tied together so closely, but he wanted it to be just him and Lydia this weekend.

She finally gave him the heads-up that they'd be getting off at the next exit and he moved out of the fast lane. A few turns, stoplights and stop signs later, she told him to turn into a small lot beside a huge square, brick building and to park in one of the two s.p.a.ces marked for unit three.

"Nice building," he said as he killed the ignition. "It looks old."

"It is, but it was rehabbed inside about ten years ago, so it's not too shabby."

He slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder and grabbed her duffel before locking up his truck and following her inside. The apartment she shared with Sh.e.l.ly was half of the second floor, and he couldn't help being curious as she unlocked the door to let them in.

He'd seen her at the bar and at Scotty's and her dad's. He hadn't seen Lydia at Ashley's place, but he'd been there a few times because of Danny and could picture her there. And, obviously, he'd seen her at his place, but he couldn't remember ever seeing the inside of the house she'd shared with Todd. He'd waited in the vehicle a few times when Scotty stopped by for something quick, but had never gone inside.

So, even though she shared the apartment with a roommate, this would be the first time he got to see a s.p.a.ce Lydia had made for herself.

"Everything you see pretty much belongs to Sh.e.l.ly," she said, stepping aside to let him in. "She's been here for years, but I'm her third roommate. So we split the rent, but it's mostly her place, if you know what I mean."

It was neat, without a lot of clutter. The furniture was on the feminine side, covered in floral fabrics, and there were lace doilies under the lamps. But there were some cool art prints on the walls, and he looked at them while she said h.e.l.lo to a tortoisesh.e.l.l cat that sauntered out of a bedroom to see what they were up to.

"I have to text Sh.e.l.ly a selfie of Oscar and me, so she knows I'm here. She had to leave by noon to get to the airport and she was a nervous wreck about leaving before I got here."

Aidan snorted. "Should I go buy a newspaper so you can make sure the date shows in the photo, like a proof of life?"

"She didn't mention that, but probably only because she didn't think of it." He watched her pick up the cat and carry it to the couch. "We actually get along really well-me and Sh.e.l.ly, I mean-which is nice. She has a lot of anxiety about her cat, but I can live with that. Right, Oscar?"

Once she'd texted a photo of her and the cat to her roommate and had a brief text conversation, Lydia grabbed her bag. "Come on and I'll show you my room."

Unlike the rest of the apartment, her bedroom showed a little bit of Lydia's personality. There were no floral fabrics or doilies in this room, but there were some family photos framed on the bureau and a Red Sox throw blanket tossed over a plain wooden chair in the corner. The bedding was a light blue, with darker blue throw pillows. Instead of art, there were sports posters hung on her walls, and when he peeked into the bathroom, he saw a lot of hair stuff and almost no makeup. Definitely Lydia's bathroom.

"This is it," she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Welcome to my very humble abode."

"I like it," he said, sitting next to her. He bounced a little on the mattress and then nudged her with his elbow. "Doesn't squeak. I like that in a bed."

"I like you in a bed," she said, nudging him back, and that was all the invitation he needed to make himself at home.

LYDIA STRETCHED, THEN froze when her leg kicked something hard. Aidan's shin, she realized when she opened her eyes. They were in Concord, far away from prying eyes and gossip, and she had the entire day-and Aidan-all to herself.

"Ow."

"Good morning," she said, rolling to face him. "What do you want to do today?"

He blinked because she'd forgotten to close the blinds last night and the sun burned through the thin, decorative curtains. "I'd say spend the day in bed with you, but these sheets are really abrasive."

She laughed and tried to hit him in the shoulder, but he caught her hand and kissed her knuckles instead. "You're a sheet sn.o.b."

"Blame my mother. And this is your weekend. What do you want to do? Does it have to be something the cat can do with us?"

"No, Oscar won't be joining us."

"Are you sure? I feel kind of bad we locked the poor guy out of the bedroom last night."

"You would have felt worse if we'd let him in and he'd buried his claws in some soft, vulnerable part of your body." He winced. "And yes, I once had to hide in here and try not to laugh at a guest of Sh.e.l.ly's swearing while she put first aid cream on the gouges Oscar left on his right a.s.s cheek."

"Ouch. That's worse than scratchy sheets."

"Keep it up and you can sleep with Oscar tonight." She sighed and snuggled closer to his chest. He threw his arm over her and kissed her hair. "I want to go out today. I don't even care where. I want to walk around holding your hand and you can kiss me in public and then we can go to a restaurant and have a nice dinner together."

"Sounds like a perfect day."

After they'd showered and made sure Oscar had enough food, water and affection to last him a few hours, they went to Lydia's favorite breakfast restaurant. It was too far to walk, so she gave him a mini tour of the city after they'd eaten.

"And that's the restaurant I worked at until Ashley called me and asked me to help her out," she said, pointing to the building that was probably meant to look elegant, but looked stuffy and overblown to her.

"Do you miss it?"

She laughed. "Not even for a second. I hated that job."

"Why didn't you get a different one?"

"The money was good." She shrugged. "I hated it and I found out I'm not very good at serving fancy dinners or being formal with those kinds of diners, but when the check is high, the tip is, too."

"Were you saving for something?"

"What do you mean?"

"To be worth being unhappy at work, it seems like you must have had a goal. Something you wanted to do or buy."

"Not really. I guess I would have liked to get my own apartment at some point but, like I said, Sh.e.l.ly and I get along really well. And my car runs fine. I thought about doing some college courses, but there's nothing I really want to do that's worth the money, time and work. I like what I do, just not where I was doing it."

"How does it feel being back at Kincaid's?"

She sighed, looking out the window. "That's a tough question. I've always loved working there. I just haven't always loved working for my dad and being surrounded by...everybody we know."

"Like firefighters," he said, but he turned his head to give her a quick grin as he said it.

"Yeah. I don't know anybody here. I'm n.o.body's daughter or sister or ex-wife."

"Speaking of which," he said, yanking the truck into an open parking s.p.a.ce. "There are all kinds of neat shops on this street and I'm tired of driving around. Let's walk for a little while."

They spent several hours walking down one side of the street and up the other, ducking into any of the shops that interested them. She bought a couple of books, and a few storefronts later, she had to talk him out of spending way too much money on a cool guitar he didn't know how to play. They walked hand in hand, enjoying the sunshine and the lazy nature of not having anywhere to be.

"I can see why you like it here," he said after a while. "Plenty to see and do, but there's a little more room to breathe."

"It's nice. It's different, but not too different."

"So you're going to come back here, then? When Ashley's ready to take over the bar again."

Lydia didn't stop walking, but something froze inside of her. "That's the plan. This is where I live now, which you know since you slept in my bed with the c.r.a.ppy sheets last night."