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feeding babies.”
    “Who
does?” Walking over to join them, she said, “Go ahead, if you want.”
    Adam
handed her the spoon. “I think I’ll let you take care of it.”
    She
wasn’t surprised. Without comment, she took the spoon and started to feed Logan
again.
    She
managed to get him to eat most of his supper. Then she wiped his face, took off
his bib, cleaned off the tray, and suctioned on a toy steering wheel that was
made to attach to the highchair tray. Logan squealed at the sight of his
steering wheel and started to hit the buttons to the make them beep and light
up.
    Then
she sat down to finished signing the documents Adam had brought over. “Sorry
it’s taken so long,” she said, glancing up at him sheepishly. “I’m sure you
just wanted to stop by for a few minutes, and you’ve been stuck here forever.”
    Adam
gave a half-shrug. “No big deal. I don’t have plans this evening.”
    Something
about the way he said it made Zoe look at him discreetly from under her lashes
as she pretended to read the last page. For just a moment, she caught a flicker
of expression—something almost wistful.
    Acting
on instinct, she suggested casually, “You can stay for dinner if you want. I'm
not sure what I'll make, and I'm sure it won't be gourmet. But you’re more than
welcome to stay—since you’ve had to hang around here so long.”
    Adam
hesitated for a moment. Then said, “All right. Thanks.”
    Zoe
didn’t know if she was pleased or not by his agreement. But he was intelligent
and informed and had a dry sense of humor, when he let her see it, and
sometimes it was kind of lonely with just her and Logan in this vast apartment
in the evenings.
    For
so many months before Josh had died, her life had been packed with more than
she could handle—going to the hospital, caring for Josh, giving birth, taking
care of a newborn. And now her days seemed so incredibly empty.
    As
she went to the refrigerator to see what she had to eat, she had to fight not
to feel sorry for herself.
    “Do
you think you’ll want to find a job again?” Adam asked, as if he’d been reading
her mind.
    Collecting
peppers, mushrooms, garlic, and an onion, she glanced back over at Adam with a
shrug. “Yeah. I’m sure I will eventually. But it would be really hard to leave
Logan right now. I guess I just need to figure out the right time.” She
released a long sigh. “And find a job I can do.”
    “I’m
sure you’d be able to find a job in retail,” Adam said. “Wouldn’t the department
store you used to work for want to take you back?”
    “They
might.” She’d been promoted a couple more times—to department manager of
women’s apparel—when she’d had to quit her job several months ago, after Josh
had gotten sick. “But they’ve already replaced me, of course. And they wouldn’t
necessarily have a job opening.”
    “With
your experience, I can’t imagine you'd have trouble finding a good position.”
    Zoe
smiled at Adam, feeling a little better. It was hard not to be convinced by the
matter-of-fact confidence in his voice. “Maybe.” She pulled out a knife and
offered it to him. “Do you feel like chopping some vegetables?”
    Adam
got up willingly, and together they cut up vegetables and made a sauce for the
fresh pasta Zoe had bought that morning. Fortunately, Logan was distracted by
his steering wheel and pleased to have so much activity going on around him, so
he didn’t fuss.
    Zoe
had a surprisingly good time, chatting with Adam about idle topics and
admiring—somewhat begrudgingly—his facility in the kitchen. Their sauce ended
up much better because of his suggested additions.
    Josh
had always been a frozen pizza or ham sandwich kind of guy when he was left on
his own.
    They
ate their salad, pasta, and French bread with some red wine Zoe opened. And
afterwards she fed Logan his favorite banana and pear purée.
    By
the time she started picking up the dishes, she was feeling surprisingly
relaxed and