Me
Anything you want.
I mean it too. I would give this woman anything in the world she wants, even if it means I have to let her go, taking my heart with her.
Who needs a heart anyway?
Chapter
Two
IRIS
As I stepinto the restaurant, my stomach fills with nerves.
First dates never get easier, but I have to keep trying. I need to keep trying. I can’t keep waiting for Max to wake up and realize what’s in front of him. I want to get married and have kids. If I want that to happen, it’s not going to be with him. He has made that much clear.
“Hi, welcome to La Perina. How can I help you?” the hostess asks.
“Hi, I’m supposed to be meeting someone,” I tell the woman.
“Iris?” a man says, cutting me off.
I turn and smile. “Pete?”
He smiles back as he approaches. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” I say as he leans down and kisses my cheek.
“I got us a table over here,” he tells me.
“Lead the way.”
I follow him to the table, and like a gentleman, he pulls out my chair for me to sit.
“Thank you,” I tell him as I take a seat.
“Of course,” he says as he rounds the table and sits.
For a moment, I take him in. His hair is a dirty blond, and his eyes are blue. He’s tall, and despite the fact he’s wearing a suit, I can tell he’s thin in build by the way it hangs on him.
He’s one hundred percent not my type, but still I try.
Because your type is an emotionally unavailable billionaire who will die alone.
I push thoughts of Max away and smile.
He runs his hand through his hair nervously. “Thanks for agreeing to meet.”
“Of course,” I say as a server comes up.
After placing our drink order, I turn back to him. “So tell me about yourself.”
“Well, as you know, I’m thirty-six, and I work in tech. I’m from Portland, Oregon, and I’ve lived out here for seven years.”
I remember that from his bio on the dating app. I also remember that it stated he was a widower, his wife having passed when they were young.
I can’t imagine what that must feel like. Loving someone and losing them so unexpectedly sounds horrifying.
