“Fine?” she asked, tilting her head. I hated that she could read my face so easily.
I leaned back on my stool, letting my shoulders drop a little. “He’s not what I was expecting.”
Her eyes slammed shut. “Oh, Jesus. I knew it.”
“Don’t get too far ahead here. All I’m saying is the more time I spend with him, the less arrogant I find him.” I groaned. I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud. “It feels like things are getting blurry. I keep trying to tell myself that it’s work, but it doesn’t feel that simple anymore.”
She leaned forward. “Then slow it down. Keep your boundaries clear, unless you don’t want to.”
I sighed. “I don’t know what I want. As complicated as this is, there is chemistry there that I can’t ignore.”
“It sounds like he’s getting your attention.”
I laughed. “Oh, trust me, he is.”
He also got under my skin in ways I didn’t fully understand. Every time he would glance in my direction. My brain would forget how to function.
I never signed up for these feelings.
“Do you know what your problem is? You’re used to being in control, and he’s disrupting that.”
My phone buzzed in my purse. I was afraid it would be work, so I grabbed it out of my bag just as the screen lit up with a notification. I frowned when I saw my ex-boyfriend Aaron’s name.
I clicked on it because he wouldn’t text me for no good reason.
Aaron:I didn’t want you to hear this from anywhere else.
I swallowed as my eyes pored over the engagement announcement.
He was smiling, with his arm around a pretty brunette who was holding out a ring, with a caption that read,She said yes!
Something weird fluttered in my chest as I stared at the photo. It wasn’t sadness or heartbreak. It felt more like relief or closure.
I smiled at how happy he looked. Maybe I should have been hurt or devastated. He had been my person once. He was good. He was safe. He had been just what I needed after my dad passed away.
But it was too soon. The grief was still too strong at the time for me to figure out how to manage it. I buried myself in my work because it was the only way I could escape the sadness. Everyone expected me to move on and be okay, but I was still trying to find my footing.
Aaron was lonely. I was drowning. Letting him go so that he could find his person was the right decision.
“What is it?” Ember asked, leaning forward to look at my screen.
I turned the phone so that she could see it.
“Oh,” she said softly.
I set the phone down. “I’m happy for him.”
She tilted her head, her face softening with understanding. “Are you sure you’re okay? This is a lot hitting you at once.”
She knew why I was feeling sad. It seemed like everyone was moving on. Meanwhile, I was thirty, single, and too attached to my career.
“I’m okay. The news just took me by surprise, that’s all.”
Ember hummed, like she didn’t fully believe me. She set her drink down and scanned the room. “Okay, do you know what you need? A distraction. One that doesn’t involve your mom, your ex, or a sexy football quarterback.” She tilted her head to the guy who had just walked up and ordered a drink.
I turned on my stool. The guy was cute, in a dark gray button-down with rolled-up sleeves. He seemed relaxed and quiet, unlike Nate, who screamed attention. I shouldn’t have been comparing him to Nate, but I found myself doing it anyway.
“Uh… hi,” he said with a nice smile, even though he seemed slightly nervous.
