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“Yes. I don’t want to have a drink with you. I want to have dinner with you. Preferably at a restaurant that requires a reservation, with cloth napkins and outrageous prices and really good desserts. A place where we can enjoy an amazing bottle of wine, while we sit and talk for a couple of hours. About anything. Movies, books, the douchebag spectrum … whatever you want.”
“And if I don’t want to do that?”
“Then I’ll be disappointed. Truly. So I’m hoping like hell that instead of ripping up my card, you’ll give me a call. Not a text … because if you’re going to accept my invitation for dinner, I want to hear your voice when you do.”
Jules leaned back in her chair and gazed at him for several moments. “All right. I'll think about it.”
“Thank you. Now then, I’m going to leave and let you two finish enjoying your meals,” he said, shifting gears. Angling his head toward Paige, he said, “It was nice to meet you, Paige. And, uh, good luck with David.”
Paige blinked at him. He really had overheard a lot. “Nice to meet you, too, Malcom,” she returned. “And … thanks, I guess.”
He turned his attention back to Jules. “It was nice to meet you, Jules,” he told her, before adding quietly, “And I really do hope to hear from you soon.”
After he walked away, Jules picked up his card to give it a closer look and as she did, Paige saw some writing on the back, along with a phone number. “There’s something written on the back.”
Jules quickly flipped it over and read it, smiling when she was done.
“What does it say?” Paige asked.
“‘For a character reference, feel free to call my mom. Her name is Beverly’.”
Paige chuckled; the man really was adorable. “Are you going to call her? Because I vote yes.”
Jules shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe later,” she answered, her tone noncommittal as she slipped the card in her purse. “In the meantime, let’s get back to you, and what you’re going to do with David.”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know. Because it’s a big decision?”
“Is it really, though?”
“Have you had too much Sapporo? Yes, it’s a big decision, one I never thought I’d ever be making, so I’m taking a little time to—”
“Never? You’re telling me the possibility that you and David might really get together again never crossed your mind in the past two months?”
“No. Why would it?”
“Because you’ve never stopped loving him, that’s why.”
“So?”
“And he’s never stopped loving you, either—and before you start arguing with me about that, let me just remind you of everything he’s been doing for you.” Jules held up a hand. “I understand your heartburn with his subterfuge. I felt it at first, too, but then I decided it was clever because he put the risk all on himself, and if I hadn’t blown up his plan, I’m sure it would’ve played out much smoother in the coming weeks. You’ve clearly already taken the bait and are definitely hooked—and before you start arguing with me about that, let me just ask if you’ve ever been happier in your entire life?”
Paige was slow to answer, even though it wasn’t a difficult question. “No.”
“That’s right. Now, can you picture yourself having sweaty, needy, mind-blowing sex with anyone other than David?”
“No.” Finding that with someone else was … unfathomable.
“Can you imagine being with anyone else for the rest of your life?”
“No.” The thought of feeling that way about someone else was even more … unfathomable. She was pretty sure she’d known David was the only one for her the night they’d met at Brews Brothers.
“When you find all that, you don’t let it go,” Jules said earnestly. “So what are you waiting for?”
Paige pushed her plate to the side, even though she hadn’t finished her dinner, and leaned forward. “What am I waiting for? I’m scared shitless.”
