“Okay.”Jamie pushed himself upright.“Good night.I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Jamie.”Joesph waited until Jamie had turned back to face him.“I also don’t want to see you throw away something that could be really good for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Mike.”
“Oh, not you too.”Jamie banged his head against the door.
Joesph raised one hand, palm out toward Jamie.“Now hear me out.”He took a deep breath.“Not everyone is like Chris.Not everyone is a lying cheat.I don’t think Mike is like that, and I think you need to give the man a chance.I think he could be good for you and you him.”
“You know how I feel.”Jamie could feel the heat rising in his cheeks, gearing up for a battle.
“Look,” Joesph leaned forward, his hands in his lap.“There are certain...powers that the universe has, and it’s pushing the two of you together.It may work out, it may not.But if you don’t take a chance, you’ll never know.Don’t be afraid to at least try.Don’t let fear hold you back.And years from now, you don’t want to be asking yourself, ‘what if?’”
That deflated Jamie.“I hear what you’re saying, but I don’t know.I don’t want...Ican’tdo that again.”
“All I’m saying is get to know the man.”Joesph shrugged.“What’s the harm in that?”
Jamie didn’t say anything for a long while.“I’ll think about it.”He looked at his friend.“That’s all, okay?”
“That’s good enough for me.”Joesph lifted one eyebrow.“And Jamie, we’vegotto do something about this apartment.It is unbefitting of a well-to-do businessman.”He waved his arms about.“This isnota place to bring a date to.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The sun was shiningacross the old floorboards when Jamie opened his eyes.It took his eyes a moment to adjust, and then he looked at the alarm clock.“Oh, shit.”He jumped out of bed and pulled on the jeans he’d had on last night.
He quickly brushed his teeth, tried to tame his bedhead hair.He was pulling on a clean, brand-new T-shirt on over his head as he rushed down the stairs to the diner.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.”Joesph was sitting at the table they’d brought down, a cup of coffee and his computer in front of him.
“Good morning.Why didn’t you wake me up?”
Joesph shrugged his shoulders.“I figured you needed the sleep, and there wasn’t anything pressing for you to take care of.”He looked up.“By the way, you snore.You were sawing logs almost as soon as you turned the light off.”
“I snore?”Jamie asked, sitting down with his own coffee.
