“Don’t I know it.” He pushes himself to his feet, and I follow suit. I’m not ready to go back to the house yet. Although it’s not as big as the estate that I grew up in, it feels lonelier somehow. Maybe because it’s not filled with staff and my mother floatingaround. “Thank you for a lovely evening. I hope you find your perfect match.”
I smile, my chest tightening slightly. It stings to hear him say it, even if I came to the same conclusion five minutes after sitting down. “You too. It was nice getting to know you.”
“Give Cruz my regards when he gets back from his honeymoon.” He pulls me into a quick hug. “Stay in touch, Lexi. We may not have been a match, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t each use a friend.”
I nod and say a quick goodbye before he disappears through the front door, his car pulling up just as he reaches the curb.
With a sigh, I drop back into my seat and drain what’s left in my glass.
There’s still a little in the bottle, and it would be a real shame to waste it, so I quickly refill the glass and bring it back to my lips.
Things may not have worked out, but at least I put myself out there.
That’s a start.
SEVEN
COLTEN
“You head home to Penny and the kids, I’ll make sure Lexi gets home,” I say coolly, keeping a mask of indifference on my face even as Ken gives me a confused look.
There’s no reason I should be here.
No reason I should even know this is where she is.
But I couldn’t stay away, and even as I watch Nico’s car pull away from the restaurant, I still find myself unsettled.
It was harder than I thought it would be to watch her be on a date with someone else. Maybe because it’s been so many years since she last entertained the idea of dating, or maybe because her matching with anyone else is just the beginning of an inevitable end I’m not prepared for.
“You sure? Don’t you have other shit to be doing than babysitting the boss’s little sister?”
Never.
But I keep that thought to myself and shake my head. “It’s nice to get out of the office for a bit. Enjoy your night.”
He says a quick thanks before heading around the corner to where he parked the car.
I turn my attention back to my wildcat, her shoulder slumped in defeat as she quietly drinks the remainder of her wine.
Red always gets her contemplative. White makes her confident. And sparkling makes her hilarious and carefree.
One of the other options probably would have been better for a date, but it’s a cool night in Seattle, which will almost always have her reaching for a red.
I watch her for another few minutes, just taking her in. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her in person, and I find myself more than ready for Cruz to come back so he can take over running the family and I can go back to obsessively stalking his sister.
Okay, it sounds bad when you put it like that, but he knows about my obsession with Lexi. He even occasionally encourages me to act on it, but I won’t.
I can’t.
Lexi deserves more than a broken bastard who has known nothing but resentment by the people who were supposed to love me.
She deserves someone warm and loving. Someone experienced and without an aversion to human touch.
Like a moth to a flame, my feet carry me closer to the only woman to ever pique my interest. I wish I could say it was for lack of trying, but in the years Lexi and I spent on opposite coasts for college, I tried to get over her and under someone else.
I tried partying and dating apps, going to bars with friends, and even a blind date or two, but no matter what I did, I could never put Lexi from my mind for long.
And eventually I realized that although I could never be her soulmate, she was mine.
