Still Us

Their children are finding new lives. So are they.Francine Toller likes her work, her silver curls, and a dress with useful pockets. With her son preparing to leave for an arts course and her fifty-sixth birthday approaching, she has no intention of becoming someone else's spare pair of hands. An evening of music with Leland Orsley is supposed to be something she chooses simply because she wants it.At fifty-seven, the nursery owner is discovering how good it feels to have time off—and a woman whose opinions make him want to stay for one more song. A garden date, a flawed tart, and kisses that are anything but tentative turn a familiar acquaintance into a very particular attraction.But Leland's idea of their next season includes weeks away together. Francine's includes the library work she loves. He keeps making the plan more inviting; she keeps waiting until she can offer the perfect alternative to saying no.With their grown children making choices of their own, Francine and Leland must find out whether wanting each other can leave room for two different kinds of freedom. Warm, funny, and quietly sensual, Still Us is a closed-door romance about choosing love without handing over the life you want to keep.