I refuse to watch him walk away, so I turn at the same time as he does and walk into my house. The slam of the door behind me seems more impactful than it should be, but again, I refuse to think about that.
I’m moredetermined than ever to get AJ the deal of a lifetime, not only because he’s my client and that’s what I always try to do for any client of mine, but also because he was right about this weekend
Yeah, he badgered me then went ahead and made things even more difficult with that kiss, and then the way he offered me his hand... No matter how determined I am to never think of AJthatway, I know I’ll never be able to forget those feelings of... acceptance, support, and yeah, love. I learned a lot about myself this weekend and it’s all thanks to him and his crazy idea. So yeah, I want to do right by him.
With that in mind, I call the GM’s office the next day, as soon as I’m out of the shower and have made my way into the office.
AJ has a commercial shoot today, something I made sure his phone would remind him of this morning. Well, he’s filming like ten commercials actually, but with only one company. The one he loves that makes the best protein shakeeveras far as he’s concerned, so I know I’ll have at least three days to get my head on straight.
The GM gets back to me before I’m even sitting behind my desk, and he seems eager to get a deal done. That bodes well for this negotiation, so I spend the day crafting the first offer we want from the Warriors and only come up for air when I’ve sent it over. Lindsey comes into my office at noon.
“Hey, how was the weekend?” she asks with a smirk, as she makes herself at home in one of the chairs in front of my desk.
“It was great,” I tell her, trying to make it sound like that’s all there is to it—becauseit is.
“So now you’re ready to get back out there and find your forever love?” She’s not mocking me, not really. Despite her tight-lipped smile, I know she wants the best for me, and for me to find the happiness I’ve been dreaming of all my life.
“I am,” I lie, and I can’t even pretend it’s not a lie.
“Good. Morris called, and we’re taking you out to lunch, so whatever you’re doing can wait. Let’s go.”
I’ve done many stupid things in my life—clearly—but arguing with Lindsey is something I’ve only done once and will never do again, so I put on my good-little-soldier hat and follow her out.
Just like thereare a lot of things to hate about LA, there are a lot of things to love, and one of them is the amazing restaurants. All kinds of international food—and authentic too—can be found downtown and just a few blocks away from our offices.
It takes Morris longer to arrive at the little Brazilian steakhouse we love because he’s working on a new movie now and the traffic from the studio—even if it’s only five miles away—is insane.
We have three pão de queijo waiting for him as well as his virgin Caipirinha, and he doesn’t even say hello before he’s stuffing his face.
I know it’s only a matter of time before they start grilling me about the reunion, about Soren, about—gulp—AJ, but I’m thankful for the reprieve while we accept or deny the skewers with meat and eat in companionable silence.
With a few days of distance, I can see that AJ kissing me on top of the water tower was themostAJ thing ever.
He only did it because he thought it was what I needed in that moment, and there’s little AJ wouldn’t do for a friend. Hell, he went to Morris’s nephew’s birthday party last year and entertained more than twenty seven-year-olds for five hours. I know he even enjoyed some of that time, but he was also MIA for three days afterward, just trying to recover.
So when the time comes, when they finally ask what happened in Gomillion, I know they’ll come to the same conclusion as me.
I start off easy, though.
“Soren came right up to us at the very first event.” They both lean in, eyes shining with curiosity. “He said how he was surprised I was showing my face back home.”
“What?” Lindsay demands.
“So he actually doesn’t have a brain,” Morris deadpans.
I laugh at their reactions, loving how supportive they are of me.
“I know. AJ went off on him, saying all these things about how great I am and how I’ve built an incredible life for myself?—”
“Good.” Lindsey nods.
“Damn right you have,” Morris almost shouts.
“Anyway, after that I just pulled AJ away and we hung out with my friends the rest of the night.” I take a deep breath because... yeah, here I go. “The thing is, during the second part of the night we were at this bar and...” I shift in my seat and hold up a hand pre-emptively. “I got a bit overwhelmed,” I admit.
“Oh my God, did you get drunk?” Morris demands, leaning forward even more.
“No, no.”
