Something about going on more than three dates with the same person unlocked a treasure trove of fresh anxieties, most of them stemming from how she’d start imagining their fourth date, picturing what her life might look like with someone else in it, and then feel her hopes start to rise. The idea of falling in love, falling faster than the other person, if they even fell at all— No, thank you. She had her store and her books, and it was—enough. It was enough.
