Page 75 of Finding My Charming

I swore the walls around me were sinking in slowly — closer and closer — but I shook my head and looked through the window, focusing on the space outside. Now was not the time for a panic attack. Dating was hard enough at my age. Adding in an ancient charm and a time limit made it simply impossible.

Vincent slid into the booth across from me with his beautiful smile shining down at me.

Why did he have to seem so perfect?

As if he could sense my inner turmoil, his jaw clenched and released a few times while he watched me. “You seem different today.”

His observation was pretty spot on. My life was in shambles compared to the easy, predictable days of old.

“Sorry. Things have been crazy lately, so my mind is spinning.” Not a lie.

“Is it work?”

He gave me an easy way out. One simple yes, and we could move onto other topics, but not being honest now could only make things worse down the road.

“That, plus school’s just around the corner. My best friend Ari…”

He nodded in recognition.

“…she’s up in Washington for the day doing some tour, and it was the first time it felt real. In just a few weeks, we’re going to move out and be at separate schools. I don’t know if I can handle it.”

His gaze softened, and his smile turned gentle. “That’s how life goes, isn’t it? My best friend is a year older, so he went up to school last summer. Surviving my senior year without him was miserable, but we got through it. I think you and Ari will make things work.”

I let out an unflattering sigh and looked up to the ceiling to keep the tears from falling. He’d said what everyone else had been saying to me for months, but things were real now, and he was going through it, too. It was different knowing someone was surviving it, and Ari and I could as well when the time came.

“Hey! No more sad talk. I can’t take you back to the office looking like you just cried. Your dad will kill me.” His tone was lighthearted, but he was right. I couldn’t go back to work with red, puffy eyes without facing an interrogation from every single person there.

I tried to smile, but it was a pathetic attempt. Just when I was contemplating giving into the tears, our food was set in from of us. I smiled a thanks to the waiter then stared down at the steaming bowl of carbs and cheese.

“Now there’s the smile I’ve been waiting for!” He picked up his spoon and swirled around the delicious-smelling soup. Steam escaped from the surface.

My mouth was watering already. I mirrored his actions letting it cool a tad before I dared to eat it.

“Thanks for this. I didn’t know how much I needed it until now.”

His smile grew, and he winked as he brought his spoon to his mouth. He closed his eyes and hummed with the soup in his mouth. If it didn’t appear to be so natural for him, I would have thought he was trying to put on a show for me. After he swallowed, he opened them again and beamed at me.

“It’s perfect. Even on summer days, this place is good for your soul. I wish I could say that I sensed you needed to come here today, but honestly I had a craving.”

“For soup?”

“And for you.” He looked down as if he was embarrassed by his admission.

It was the first time I’d ever seen anything but confidence and composure from him. Even if the line was cheesy, I could tell he meant it.

We enjoyed the rest of our lunch with small talk, and by the time he dropped me off back at work, my mood had completely changed. Vincent’s happy demeanor had a way of rubbing off on me. He was also so positive that it was a challenge to stay sad around him. That was definitely a good thing, but a small part of me wondered if he could ever be vulnerable and emotional. He didn’t need to cry when I did, but it would be nice if he wasn’t always stuck in the glass-is-always-half-full mode.

Chapter 23

my good mood lasted for only an hour or so until Sherrie came back and said she and a few others had gone across the street for lunch, and Dallin had asked about me. Not just where I was, but if I was having a good day. Had I had a good weekend?

Sherrie made it a point to tell me that she’d spilled to him that another man had sent flowers to me that morning, and I hadn’t wanted to go to lunch with her, so she’d assumed that I’d gone out with the sender. She didn’t know I’d texted Ari, asking her to meet me, so I guessed her assumption wasn’t completely unfounded, but it made me extremely uncomfortable that she’d told Dallin I was out with someone else. Granted, he knew I’d gone on a date last week, and he had probably assumed it was the same guy. We had never discussed being exclusive or anything, but it still made me uneasy.

I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. That I wasn’t interested in him, or that I was actually really interested in Vincent. This whole triangle thing was a bunch of crap. How did girls in the movies survive and get the guy they wanted? The balancing act I was being forced to perform felt like there was only one possible outcome. Falling. Fast. And most likely… by myself.

My head was resting on my desk while I had a mini fit about how hard my life was becoming when I felt a tap on my shoulder. It could be someone walking by to make sure I was alive, but since I hadn’t heard the front doorbell ring, I knew it was someone from the inside. I could hear Sherrie typing next to me, so she was off the list, leaving one most likely suspect, my dad, who was also my boss, who had just caught me completely zoned out and wallowing in misery.

I sat up with my eyes clenched closed. No one said a word, so I peeked one eye open just a tiny bit and cringed.