After tossingand turning most of the night, I headed to The Beach Pub while Claire and Megan were still asleep. On the too short walk there, I’d tried to figure out what the hell to say to Joe while bracing myself for rejection. My first boss always said to do the hardest task first, and the rest of your day would be cake. A “no thanks” from Joe would more or less ruin my entire day, but no matter how we resolved things I could move on—eventually—after I spent however long I needed to beat myself up for ruining what could have been something great.
Opening the door, I searched for Joe. Sucking in a breath before I lost my nerve, I made my way up to the front counter of the restaurant on shaky legs.
“Oh, hey, I remember you!” Jordan chirped when she came up to me. “Caterina, right?”
“Right.” I nodded. “And you’re Jordan.”
“Guilty as charged. Would you like me to find you a table?”
“I got it, J. Thank you.” Joe was so close behind me, his breath fanned the shell of my ear.
She looked between us before giggling to herself and scurrying away.
“I didn’t expect to see you here again.” Joe’s eyes raked over me before he motioned to follow him. “Are your friends here for breakfast, too?” Gone was the easy rapport we’d had from the beginning. This Joe didn’t even smile. I had an uphill, if not pointless, battle ahead of me.
“No. I came to talk to you. Are you busy?” My stomach sank when he stilled.
“I have to stay by the bar this morning, but I could find you a seat there. Come.”
Okay, he was willing to talk. That was a good sign. Maybe. I followed him to the bar and climbed onto a stool.
“What can I do for you, Caterina?” Joe fiddled with the glasses behind the bar, his short sleeves revealing the flex of biceps, offering a brief moment of torturous distraction. I was nervous and flustered on so many different levels, my head spun.
“I need you to hear me out.”
Joe stopped and lifted his gaze to mine, but didn’t reply.
Taking that as some kind of ‘okay,’ I went on. “First, I want to say that I’m sorry. I’ve thrown a lot of mixed signals at you, and it’s not fair. You’ve been nothing but wonderful, and I’ve been nothing but taxing. Again, I’m sorry.”
His nonchalant shrug didn’t help my nerves. “You don’t need to keep apologizing. It’s fine. I get it—”
“I’m not done.” I held my hand up. “That was only the first part.”
“The first part?” He squinted at me as he drew his head back. I thought I caught a tiny smile playing on his lips but wasn’t sure if that was wishful thinking.
“Yes. I like you. A lot. Too much, in fact. And it’s confusing as hell. I feel more of a connection to you than I did to the man I spent two years of my life with. I’m not going to lie—that scares me a little.” I blew out a shaky gust of air and dropped my chin to my chest before lifting my gaze to continue. “I just broke up with someone, no matter if I felt anything for him or not, and my home is three hours away from yours. What I’m feeling shouldn’t be real, but I can’t help but think that maybe it is. I’ve been miserable since Saturday morning. What I’m trying to say is that I want to take a chance. Explore whatever this is between us while I’m here.” I studied Joe for a reaction, a twitch, or even a breath. Nothing. Was this working? Was he about to throw me out? I had no clue.
“And like I told you, I never spent the night with someone I’d only just met, but I couldn’tnotbe with you that night. I wanted you that much. How crazy is that? For me, and the sad little life I’ve led, that’s borderline insanity.” My words were coming out faster now, his non-reaction compounding my anxiety. “Even if this turns out to be a clusterfuck that ends badly, I can’t walk away. At least, not again.”
I plopped my elbows on the counter and leveled my eyes at Joe. “Could you, I don’t know, blink or something for goodness sake?”
His tongue darted out and swept over his bottom lip before he set his hands on the counter on either side of me, boxing me in, his eyes boring into mine.
“So, you’re saying you want to take me out?” A slow grin spread over his lips.
He laughed when I jabbed his arm.
“Enjoy that, did you?” I glared at him, but the relief coursing through me finally let me breathe again.
“Maybe a little.” A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth before he held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”
I fished it out of my purse and handed it to him after punching in my password.
After grabbing it from me, he jabbed the screen a few times before a faint ringing sounded from his pocket.
“Dom?” He called out while his gaze stayed fixed on me.
“I’m right here, oh, hey!” Dominic nodded a hello in my periphery. “What’s up?”
