“I didn’t own a car. With the cost of parking and maintenance in Manhattan, using public transportation or taxis makes more fiscal sense. I’ll probably end up selling this one.”

“But what if you want to take a Sunday drive? Or a road trip?”

“It’s easy to lease a car if you really need one.” But he hadn’t taken a road trip since college, and even back then he hadn’t seen the point in it.

“I miss my car,” she said wistfully. “It had over two hundred thousand miles, and I logged every one of them.”

“Maybe time to get a new one then. Old cars aren’t as safe as the new ones, and not as economical or environmentally friendly, either.”

“Yeah, well, if I could buy a new one I would. I’ll have to settle for a used one, once I save enough money.”

At least she understood the concept of saving money. A lot of people didn’t-they wanted to buy everything on credit.

He wondered how people like Sara made it in the world. She was obviously not stupid. She was pretty-more than pretty, actually-and personable. He knew not everyone had been born with the advantages he had, and maybe her parents hadn’t sent her to college, but there were lots of careers that didn’t require a degree.

She could have gone into sales, or gotten an entry-level job at a company and worked her way up. But instead she’d chosen to drift aimlessly-at least, that was the way it appeared to him. He doubted she had any savings or property. “Have you made any plans for retirement?” he asked suddenly.

She stared at him as if he’d just sprouted an extra nose. “Excuse me? I’m twenty-nine. I haven’t planned for next month.”

“Now is the perfect time to start thinking about it. If you saved just a hundred dollars a month-”

“What is this? You’re not going to try to sell me swampland in Florida, are you?”

Obviously he’d made a conversational gaffe. “I just worry about you.”

“Oh.” She backed down a bit. “Well, that’s sweet, but I don’t worry about me, so why should you?”