Falling by Jane Green

coffee all down his T-shirt. Right, Jesse?”
    â€œI’m really sorry, Dad. It was hot and I spilled.”
    Dominic grins. “It’s okay, buddy. Come on. Let’s get Hobbes inside and get this cat flap installed. And it seems there may be some new shelves that need putting up?”
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    The rest of the day is punctuated by the intermittent sounds of the drill as Dominic installs the cat flap in the back door, before putting the shelves up in the kitchen, Emma handing him each drill bit or bracket as he needs it. Jesse spends his time playing with the kitten, rolling up strips of aluminum foil into balls and shrieking with delight as Hobbes bats them into the corners of the room, sliding across the floor as she skids toward them.
    â€œIf I’d known a kitten would make him forget about the iPad,” Dominic says, whispering under his breath, “I would have gotten him one years ago.”
    Emma smiles as she unwraps hardware and hands it to him. “It’s not about what happened,” she says. “It’s what happens next.” She blushes slightly, realizing how this comment, one of her standard lines, could be misinterpreted.
    â€œSo what happens next in your life?” says Dominic, reaching up to position a shelf. His T-shirt rides up, exposing the tanned skin on his stomach and waist, and Emma, flushed with guilt for noticing, quickly looks away.
    â€œWhat do you mean? Work? Well, I just posted some stuff todayabout helping people out with interior design. Hopefully that will lead to something.”
    Dominic glances at her with a grin. “I didn’t mean work. How does a woman like you end up single? Who’s the unlucky guy who let you get away?”
    In anyone else, Emma would think it was a leading question, but from Dominic, who is so comfortable with who he is, it is entirely natural that he would say whatever is on his mind. “Do you say that to all your tenants?” Emma laughs. “Is that your way of flirting with me?”
    â€œOnly a little,” says Dominic. “I can’t help it. I’m Italian. It’s my way of making friends. But seriously, you seem like you should be married with a couple of kids, baking chocolate chip cookies for the school bake sale.”
    â€œYou know, I really think you should have quit while you were ahead,” says Emma. “You went straight from saying I was cute to comparing me to a suburban housewife from the last century.”
    â€œListen, some of these local housewives are hot. I’m telling you, I would never say anything derogatory about housewives.”
    â€œSo it was a compliment?”
    â€œAbsolutely. But you are single, right? I assumed you were only because there are no comings and goings here.”
    Emma sighs. “One of the downsides of having your landlord live next door.”
    â€œMaybe, but look at the upsides!” He gestures to the shelves.
    â€œGranted. No, there are no men right now. There have been too many recent changes in my life for me to focus on relationships. I just need to settle into my new life before I’m ready for that stuff.”
    â€œWhen you are ready, you just let me know. I’ll tell you all the places to go to meet the single men, which nights, and what to avoid.”
    â€œThe Fat Hen?” She is joking, but she feels a slight pang. Suddenly she’s not sure she wants Dominic to send her off to meet the single men.
    â€œNah. You don’t want to meet men at the Hen. Not the kind of men you’d want to spend quality time with. I might be the bartender, but in all honesty I’d have to say that.”
    Emma pauses, not sure she should be asking, but she wants to know; now seems like the perfect time. “How about you? You’re dating Gina?” She tries to make the question seem casual. Light. As if she doesn’t much care.
    â€œDating.” He seems to