Page 19 of Miss Belief

His face suddenly took on a serious expression. “I’ve had a lot of fun these last few days.”

“The gym is your idea of fun?”

“No, but hanging out during our work lunches has been.”

My eyes pricked with tears from the pang of longing which suddenly hit me. For a moment I could picture truly falling for him. I pushed to my feet, walking over to take in the view from his window to keep him from seeing my stupid, unexpected emotion. “Hanging out with you has been fun too,” I said. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah. We could do a light lunch, then maybe something bigger for dinner?”

“Lunch and dinner?” I turned to face him. Were we spending the entire day together?

He got up off the couch and strode into the kitchen. “Sorry, I’m being presumptuous. You probably have other plans.”

“You’re looking at them. I have to say it’s been quite boring without Chloe. My apartment feels empty, so it’s nice to get out.”

“When will they assign you another roommate?”

“It could be any day.”

I hoped whoever they placed with me was laid-back and sweet like Chloe had been. I was the type of girl you either hated or loved. There was no in between. My “extra,” as people called it, was definitely an acquired taste. I tended to get overly excited about mundane things and overly sensitive about other things. When I was a child, the teachers had called it ADD, but as an adult, I preferred to think of it as having a lot of enthusiasm.

Reid pulled takeout menus out of a kitchen drawer and walked over to hand me a few. “As you can see, I have quite the pick of restaurants who deliver.”

The thought of spending an entire day with him had me giddy. But this wouldn’t do. I had to dig a little deeper into Reid Maxwell and hope for a disgusting habit or some other turnoff. Hadn’t my sister said the quickest way to rid me of my crush was to really get to know the man?

I decided on my next round of questions over a lunch of turkey sandwiches and tomato soup.

“Was Vanessa your first time?” That would’ve meant he’d waited until college, but I could see him holding out for her.

His adorable face turned the same color of the soup. “No, she wasn’t.”

“Anyone else you were ever serious about?”

He sighed. “Is this relevant to our fake relationship?”

No, but I wanted the details for my own selfish get-over-my-crush reasons. “Definitely. I’d want the details of who you’ve ever been involved with.”

“Fine. There were a few others when we were on breaks.”

Interesting. “Anyone serious?”

Another long, exasperated breath. “For me, no. For one of them, a little bit. I don’t enjoy talking about this.”

I suddenly had a clear picture. “You dated someone while on a break, she fell for you, but you were still in love with Vanessa and got back together with her.”

“I’m not proud of it. That’s why this”—he motioned between us—“is so much better. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone or risk another rebound relationship.”

“Is there a chance you’d take Vanessa back?”

His jaw clenched. “No. Not this time.”

“Because she cheated on you?”

“Yes.”

I wondered if it had been a long-term affair for Vanessa or only a single night. “Was your brother into her over the years?”

He shook his head. “No. Quite the opposite. She crushed on him in high school, but all the girls did. He was cool while all the other teenagers were awkward. Anyhow, he didn’t pay Vanessa any attention. In fact, when I got together with her, he was vocal about his displeasure with it. Ironically, he’d warned me she might cheat. Then he turned out to be the one she cheated with. Anyways, how did we end up rehashing this tired subject?”