“Why do you say that?” I ask.
“Look at them. They are in love. Something tears them apart, but true love always prevails. Right? That doesn’t happen in real life.”
“I think our friends would say differently,” I tell her.
“Yeah. I guess they would. It’s hard to date in today’s world. I wish I hadn’t waited so long.”
My heart hammers in my chest.
This is my moment. I could tell her that I love her right now. Admit that I want her as mine forever. We could have that perfect friends-to-lovers story that she often loves in some of these movies.
I go to open my mouth, but before I can utter a word, she continues.
“I’m glad I have you, though. You’re my best friend. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have you.”
My mouth shuts, my heart slowing as reality sets in.
She doesn’t want to lose me like I don’t want to lose her.
So where does that leave us?
“I’ll always be here. You know that. I would give you the world if I could.”
She snorts. “How about a date who doesn’t have a lizard? Or a guy who doesn’t send a dick pic as an opening to a conversation?”
I cringe. “Seriously? You need to get off the dating apps. Why don’t you use the matchmaker service made for people like us?”
She laughs lightly. “They match you with other wealthy people. I don’t care if a guy is wealthy. I only need to know if he will treat me right and if we can love one another. All the rest is just noise.”
I breathe in deeply. “Well, I will wish upon a star for you that you get the man of your dreams. You deserve to have everything in this world that you want, Iris.”
She burrows closer to me. “Thank you, Max. Ooh, our favorite part.”
As we watch Rachel diplomatically tear into the woman who crushed her dreams, I lean against Iris a little more.
I want her to have the man of her dreams. I only wish that man was me.
Chapter
Six
IRIS
The bar isloud and completely packed, but it’s trivia night. When Max and I took over, I convinced him it would be a good idea to do occasional drinks after work with some of the employees from the office. It helps boost morale when the employees feel like bosses are approachable.
On one of our nights out, we stumbled upon a trivia night. It was extremely competitive and brought us together as a team in ways work never could. We knew we found our thing. Now every two weeks we get together with whatever Williamson Group employees are available and hang out while flexing our useless knowledge skills.
Max hates it. With a passion, but he never tries to skip it. For him, outings like this are like nails on a chalkboard. Still, he comes. For me. He knows how much things like this mean to me and how important they are for the team. Nights like this prove that he’s more than just the boss in the corner office. It reminds them that he’s human and not a cold CEO.
“How did you know that a shrimp’s heart is in its head?” Emmett asks.
Max shrugs. “I honestly don’t know where I picked that one up at.”
“It’s just so fucking random,” Emmett says while shaking his head.
“Yeah, well, it’s a good thing he knew, otherwise we would have lost that round.” I tease.
“Touché,” Emmett says, lifting his glass.
