New York, 2017

"Tell me everything." Lily plopped into the overstuffed chair opposite Robin in the golden light of a late September afternoon, latte mug in hand and peered at her with undisguised fascination. "I can't believe you went on a MatchMeCupid date. How did it go? Did you like him? Did you get lucky? Are you going out again?"

Robin took a sip of her own drink and licked a drop of whipped cream from her upper lip. "It was great."

Lily set down cup and saucer. "Uh oh. Great means not great. What was wrong with him? Too old? Too young? Smelled like socks? Lives with his mom? Showed you pictures of his weird collections of things grown men shouldn't even know about?"

"Nothing like that. He's forty-one, divorced, no kids. Works in finance. Boyishly handsome, sharp dresser, smart, funny; are you seeing a trend here?"

"Did MatchMeCupid set you up with Barney?"

Robin shook her head. "No. That's the only thing wrong with him. My date's name was Bernie Simpson, and I swear I thought it was Barney running a play until the guy walked in the door. He took me to a magic club, and then a cigar bar. I spent half the evening terrified that Barney was going to show up, and the other half disappointed that he didn't."

Lily sprang out of her seat and moved next to Robin on the tufted orange couch. One arm draped about Robin's shoulder. "That sounds like a horrible date."

"It was, but going out with Bernie made me realize two very important things. I'm not ready to date again, and I'm still in love with Barney."

The high-pitched squeak that escaped Lily's tight-clamped lips drew more than a few heads in their direction. "Are you sure? The divorce was final six months ago and you guys haven't even seen each other in almost a year. Well, he doesn't miss a single newscast and if Facebook stalking counts, you guys are practically back together."

Robin let out a long breath. "Believe me, I've tried putting all those feelings behind me, but they aren't going away, no matter what I do. I'm going to be the crazy dog lady who dresses them all in matching outfits for every holiday and-" She broke off at the sound of an incoming text and dug her phone from her purse, then blinked twice at the caller ID. "It's Barney."

Lily's eyes grew wide. "Ooh. What does he want?"

The text consisted of only one word. Coffee?

"He wants to have coffee."

Sharp nails dug into Robin's upper arm. "Tell him yes. The timing is perfect. It's a sign from the universe. Why else would he text you out of the blue the day after you went out with a guy who is basically him anyway?"

Sure. Where? Robin hit send before she could talk herself out of it. "Happy now?"

Lily's satisfied smile bordered on a smirk. "Yes. I'll be happier when he texts you back."

"If." The correction came to Robin all too quickly. "If he texts me back."

"Nope, it's when. Trust me." Lily's mouth tilted into full on smirk at the sound of the next metallic chirp. "That was fast. Fast is good."

My desk.

Okay, that was weird, but at two in the afternoon on a Thursday afternoon, he'd be at work. Her pulse skipped. "I feel bad about bailing on you when you only just got here."

Lily's nose scrunched. "Are you kidding? Any time I get to leave the house without at least one kid in tow is like a mini vacation. I am going to sit here and drink both of our coffees, maybe even get a bear claw. I have a juicy novel all set on my e-reader, and you're going to call me with all the details when you two come up for air." She finished with a wide grin and propped her feet up on the coffee table.

"Lil, he's at work. Nobody's going to come up for air. He probably wants to talk about," she paused there. His entire side of the conversation was comprised of three words, the longest having only two syllables. Not a single clue anywhere in there. "Something."

"And since when has Barney had a moratorium on office sex? I know you two. Now, you go up to that counter, you get two coffees to go, hail a cab and have fun storming the castle. Then call me. Seriously. No matter what happens."

Robin gave in to Lily's bone crushing hug and hauled herself from the couch. "I will." Maybe the universe did give signs after all.