Chapter Thirty-Three

Stephanie POV

Tank was starting his new shift on Saturday night, so he was trying to transition into his new sleeping pattern. He planned to stay awake Friday night into Saturday morning, then sleep on Saturday during the day and go to work that night. I didn't want to bother him, so I took Zoë back to our apartment in the city for the weekend. I figured we could pack up the rest of our stuff to bring it back to Trenton since I was currently driving a big SUV. I also planned to take Zoë to the natural history museum and Central Park while we were here. I figured I might as well take advantage of the free admission while we were still technically residents of New York. God, I'm going to miss this city!

When we got to our apartment on Friday evening, I decided to stop at the nearby deli to pick up dinner for us. When Zoë fell asleep, I unpacked our weekend clothes and dusted everything since the apartment had been unoccupied for a while. I wouldn't be surprised if I were the last person here because nothing looked different from how I left it. I had brought all our suitcases with us on the trip and left them empty so I could fill them again for the journey home on Sunday. I went down to the car and lugged them all upstairs.

I texted Ranger and told him I had arrived safe because he had asked me to. He had been on my mind a lot since the other day. That kiss we shared had been playing on a loop in my head since it happened, and I could remember the taste of him, the way he moved and made me feel. I could still feel the tingles he gave me up and down my spine and on the back of my neck. I sighed. I needed to put thoughts of him in a little box and stash it in the back of my mind. I needed to get my divorce first. And even after that, I don't think I can get involved with another man, especially once as good-looking as Ranger. Men can't be trusted; my husband has proven that.

I started going through the little things we had stashed around the living room. On the bookshelves, I mentally discarded the option of taking any of the novels, though I decided I wanted all of the interior design and décor books since I now had a new house to furnish.

I came across the photo albums and was torn; a part of me wanted to reminisce about the good times. But another, larger part thought it would be bittersweet remembering the good times and knowing how everything played out. I decided to pack them but didn't browse through the photos. One day I might want to, but I was still so angry.

I worked for a couple of hours, packing up the things I liked that didn't make the cut during my first two passes through the apartment. I killed a bottle of wine as I worked, and eventually, I was so tired and a little tipsy, and I didn't even mind sleeping in my tainted bed.

Saturday dawned brightly, and it promised to be a beautiful day in New York, if a bit chilly this late into October. Today, Zoë and I are visiting the American Museum of Natural History. This was one of my favourite museums, and Zoë loved the animal exhibits. After breakfast, we walked to the subway station and rode uptown toward the museum.

We spent three hours touring the museum. Zoë's energy level never flagged, and I was exhausted when we made it back to the main rotunda. We went across the street to Central Park after that, and I sat on a bench for a bit while Zoë looked for birds in the trees. She wanted to walk to the carousel, so we wound our way through the park's trails toward the ride. We rode it a couple of times, then finally ended up at the children's zoo. At the end of our visit, we exited the park on Fifth Avenue and took the subway back home. I felt like my legs would fall off when we finally got in the apartment's front door, and I ordered some Greek takeout. While we waited, I bathed Zoë and dressed her in her pyjamas.

After we ate dinner, I turned on the Discovery channel and watched a couple of shows with Zoë as she played with some of her stuffed animals. At seven o'clock, I took Zoë to her room, read her a couple of stories and rubbed her back until she fell asleep.

I made myself a cup of herbal tea and turned on a movie on Netflix. I didn't feel like doing any more work tonight and needed some time just to veg out and relax.

When I was about to fall asleep on the couch, my phone dinged with a text.

Ranger: How was your day?

I smiled when I read it and felt that tingle on the back of my neck again.

Steph: Great. Zoë and I went to the natural history museum and walked a million miles around central park. My feet are dying, need a transplant.

He replied right away.

Ranger: I'll give you a foot rub when you return if you want.

Hmm…while that sounded amazing, I need to keep my distance from this distracting man.

Steph: I'll pass…for now. Maybe someday.

Stupid, stupid! Should not pull the tiger's tail. He's way better at flirting and innuendo than I am.

Ranger: What are you two doing tomorrow in the big city?

Hmm. Is he fishing for an invite or just being friendly?

Steph: Probably something low-key. Maybe the park on the corner & finish packing what I want from the apartment.

If I spend more time alone with him, I'm going to jump his sexy, sexy bones.

Ranger: So I guess I'll see you on Monday then. Sweet dreams.

Yep. Nothing is inviting about packing. My dreams will be sweet because they'll probably be of him.

Steph: Back at you, Ranger. I hope you have a good rest of the weekend.

I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

A/N: This is a quick chapter to set up the next two. We'll hear from Ranger next in Starting Over - Chapter Interludes, then Steph in Chapter 34 of this story.