me about my love life and her grandbaby prospects. The woman is dangerous, I tell you. Intelligent and subtly, persistently malicious.”
Jen laughed. “She is not, you idiot. She just wants you to be happy and have lots of babies for her.”
“Yes, I know, and if I don’t find a man of my own, I guarantee she’s going to find one for me.”
“Why don’t you let her? She probably meets available men every day at the TV station.”
Haley gave her a harassed look. “Just whose side are you on anyway?”
Jen grinned back unrepentantly. “Yours, yours. Forgive me, I couldn’t resist.”
“I’ll forgive you if you help me find a sweet geek of my own.”
Jen’s grin faded at the sincerity behind Haley’s words. “You’re serious about this.” She stared hard at her friend and her voice grew cautious. “Now, Haley. I think you need to calm down a little before you do anything crazy. You’ve never been seriously attracted to a Frank or a Jimmy Plankett. I personally think you’d walk all over somebody like that. Besides that, don’t you think you’re tackling this project a little too soon after your breakup with Peter?”
Haley shook her head resolutely. “I’m twenty-eight, Jen, and the clock is ticking. Come on, you’re only six months older than me and you already have a career, a husband, two kids and a mortgage. I’m way behind. And it’s your duty, as my best friend and role model—”
“My duty!”
“—to help me catch up. So, where do I meet my man?” She looked up expectantly, never doubting that eventually…
Jen sighed, her gaze still on Haley. “Oh, all right. If you really want to do this, I’d better help you. With a plan as flaky as this, someone needs to keep an eye on you.”
Seeing the doubt that still lingered on Jen’s face, Haley sighed. “Look. I know all of this sounds hokey. Just another harebrained Haley scheme.” She paused. “It’s just that I’ve realized something about myself. Something bad enough to warrant drastic, corrective measures.”
Jen gave her a curious look. “What?”
“Well…in all the ways that count, I guess I’ve been as much of an idiot about dating as these guys who keep disappointing me.” Haley grimaced. “You don’t fall in love with a guy’s tight butt or cute grin. That’s just stupid and shallow, but that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing up to this point. So, in that respect at least, I suppose I’ve deserved every jerk I’ve ever dated.
“But I’m through with all that. I swear.” Haley held up a hand as though vowing. “It’s time I grew up and started looking a little deeper. And this plan…” She shrugged. “Well, look at it as a first step toward that.”
Jen regarded her with new interest. “You know, Hale, I think that’s the smartest thing you’ve said since you stormed into this place. Well, besides the part where you dumped Peter.” She grinned.
“So that means you’ll help me?”
“I said I would.” Her eyes clouding in thought, Jen began taping up the box, winding, snipping and smoothing, her motions methodical.
“Thank God.” Recognizing that Jen was now completely in her corner, Haley cased the front sidewalk for customers. No one in sight. She reached behind the counter for a clipboard and pen and looked up expectantly. “So where do we start?”
“Just hold on. I’m thinking.”
Setting the clipboard on the counter, Haley wrote Strategies for—Then she paused, frowning. Something descriptive? Like Finding my very own sweet and reliable, if—Oh, just go for direct. Strategies for Geek Hunting. Good. To the point. She quickly scribbled it down and glanced up.
Her gaze directed out the front window, Jen was already muttering thoughtfully. “I guess the best way to approach this would be from a career and interest standpoint.”
“Exactly. Career and interest. No shallow studs. I want a guy capable of conversation.” She jotted No studs. “But how do I do that?”
“Hangouts, maybe?” Jen murmured doubtfully. “We could target a few interesting places and go from there.”
“Right.” Haley jotted Target locations with high geek probability and underlined it.
“Libraries, bookstores, computer stores. Hmm. That last one’s good. You won’t find some self-involved, directionless hunk in a computer store.” Jen turned a speculative eye on her friend.
Haley was scribbling away furiously. “Computer store.” She looked up. “Bingo. That’s first. I’ll try that new Computer Nation around the corner.”
“Okay. But, Haley…”
“What?”
“Suppose you find a guy…like this. What will you do? How on earth are you going to approach him?”
“Well. Subtly, I suppose.” Haley frowned. “I guess I need to adjust my attitude, huh? Take extra care choosing the guy…and then seem approachable?”
“Couldn’t hurt.”
“Right. Approachable. Maybe even tone down…”
“What?” Jen sounded alarmed.
“Just a sec.” Haley, lost in thought, tapped her pen on the clipboard. She knew she tended to go overboard with her clothes sometimes. She hung out with kids and a friend most of the day, and bright colors were suitable for that. But this was different. She didn’t want to scare guys away by dressing in neon colors or zebra stripes. She paused, then jotted Dress down. Neutral classics. Nothing trendy.
The guy could be shy, too. Shy guys would slip right past her usual radar unless…She scribbled some more. Big smiles. Unthreatening but obvious approach. Now, how to relax him so she could get to know him as he really was…maybe appeal to his strengths? Yes. Stroke ego liberally. She considered but refrained from underlining liberally. A girl had her limits.
Scanning her list and visualizing possibilities, Haley gave a decisive nod. “This could just work, Jen. And I think Computer Nation will make a perfect testing ground.”
FLIPPING DOWN THE KICKSTAND of her bike, Haley propped it by her apartment door and turned to fiddle with the doorknob. She glanced distractedly at her new neighbor’s door, and was surprised to find the hallway deserted for a change. Usually, she had to dodge several borderline hostile women, apparently lying in wait for her new neighbor, to get to her door. That was odd—and getting old. What sort of business was her neighbor in, anyway? It boggled the mind to wonder.
Grimacing, she gently worked at her key then turned the knob, but as usual, the lock refused to give. Haley grumbled and persisted, gritting her teeth and hoping her key wouldn’t break off. “Come on you stubborn piece of—”
“Excuse me?”
Haley whipped around at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice, bumping her arm against the seat of her bike. The bike toppled, sending her purse and clipboard flying
