Tae was here to renovate their house. Not have them renovate his love life.
He lowered his head and rubbed the back of his neck. He tried to laugh away his discomfort, but it came out as a way-too-hearty-for-the-situation chuckle.
Sonia reached over and patted his knee. “There, there, Tae. We didn’t mean to put you on the spot. Look, if you’re not interested in Julia, no worries. I can let her know that she should just go ahead and date—”
“Sonia, you’re not trying, by any chance, to reverse-psychology me into making some grand gesture to Julia, are you?” Tae asked.
The innocent expression on her face exposed exactly what she was trying to do.
“Tae, I was in a similar situation. Sonia was out there dating all these men, and I hadn’t taken my shot. But I knew that if I waited much longer, someone else with bigger balls than me was going to snatch her up. And no one has bigger balls than me.”
“Honey, that didn’t come across quite the way I think you meant it to. What James is trying to say is—”
“I gotta get off my ass and make a move before someone else does and steals the best thing that’s ever happened to me?” Tae interjected.
Sonia gasped. “Exactly,” she whispered.
“It’s just... I’m not sure I’m in a place right now in my life that I can date anyone. I just got out of a relationship. And family...” He had his go-to words all ready. About familybeing a priority, not having the time or emotional capacity to think about anything else. But his family was actually doing okay now, finally. Maybe trying to do something for himself at this point could work. Was he ready? “Well, family’s taken up a lot of my energy lately.”
“Good thing Julia isn’t someone who is always asking for more,” Sonia said. “And if anyone understands putting family first, it’s Julia.”
Sonia was right. So was James. But Tae was right too. He had to be completely sure that he was ready and that he’d be good to and for Julia before ever considering making a move to pursue something with her. She deserved the best, not just whatever best Tae could muster.
“You’re a good guy, Tae. Everyone who knows and loves Julia thinks so,” Sonia said.
Tae let out an embarrassed breath. “Thanks, Sonia. I didn’t know how much I needed to hear that. I think maybe I’ve been a little hard on myself. And maybe, just maybe, it’s time I let myself off the hook and give myself a break.” He raised his eyes to meet two sets looking back at him and smiling.
“Okay, so no pressureat all, Tae. None, nope, nuh-uh. But, when you’re ready—like later tonight or tomorrow, you should totally have The Talk with Julia,” Sonia said excitedly.
Tae laughed. Julia was a nut who surrounded herself with other nuts. And it was hilarious.
“I should get going. But thanks for the project. I’ll email you guys with some details and plans soon. And thanks for the advice. I’m sure if anything does happen, you’ll hear it from Julia first. But I’ll make sure to give you both all the credit.”
“Oh yes, please do. Rachel will hate it that I was the one to convince you to finally take the leap. She was sure it was going to be her,” Sonia gloated.
Tae said his goodbyes and left.
As he sat in his car, he pulled out his phone and opened a text to reply.
Thanks for reaching out again and for the encouraging words about my work. I’m definitely interested in speaking to you about the floor plans and storefronts. Let me know what your schedule looks like.
It was time for him to make some choices about the future. He’d been mulling over whether to reply to Jess Kim and do this work for Starlight. He wasn’t sure it was right for him at the moment. But why not? The pay would definitely come in handy. He should at least take the meeting, check it out and see.
And if he was going to try some new stuff in his professional life, maybe doing it in his personal life could be a good idea too.
Julia was worth taking the leap.
So maybe it was time to jump.
22
Tae All Along
Julia
Julia rang the doorbell and waited. It was a Friday night, and she knew Tae’s parents were at church as hers were. When Tae said he wanted to talk, she didn’t feel right asking him to come all the way back up to LA again. So she offered to meet him here at his house.
But she wasn’t sure what this talk was going to be about. And thus wasn’t sure just how to dress for the occasion. Better safe than sorry, she decided. She dressed up rather than down. And now she was standing outside freezing.
