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He smiled. “Great. Theo and Laura will be here by six tomorrow morning.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
He reached me in two strides in my small hallway and grasped my cheek in the palm of his hand. “You can do anything, Grace. Always could. I’m just excited to be there along for the ride.”
He leaned down and kissed my lips, slowly, purposefully. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. “I’ll see you in the morning,” he said. I nodded but kept my eyes closed, wanting to hold every second of this feeling inside my head.
The click of the door closing forced me to open my eyes. I walked back to the kitchen and checked my phone. I had a text from Omar only ten minutes ago, so I dialed his number.
“Well, if you’re calling me back so soon, I guess the date didn’t go so well?”
“We leave for Paris tomorrow morning at six.”
“Nooo,” he gasped, then let out the shrillest scream I’d ever heard. “Are you fucking serious, Grace?!”
I started shaking, not sure if my tremors were from fear or excitement. I couldn’t tell the difference. “Yes, I’m serious! Should I cancel? I should cancel. You’re right. I have that meeting about my promotion on Monday and even though he promised to be back in the morning, I need time to prepare—”
“Grace—you’ve been preparing for that meeting for the last four years. You’ll be fine. But I can’t believe he’s flying you to Paris for what? Your second date? Man, sometimes I wish Richard were a billionaire.”
“This is crazy. This is something you fantasize about. It doesn’t happen in real life. I shouldn’t go. I will only be disappointed.”
“You don’t wanna go to Paris because you’re afraid it won’t live up to some fantasy in your head? Grace, I swear, if you talk yourself out of this one, I will come there right now, put on one of your dresses and fly to Paris with Luke myself. Understood?”
I would have laughed if I didn’t believe that Omar would do just that without hesitation. I filled my lungs with a big gulp of air and slowly drew it out. My heartbeat calmed down and I could think again. “Okay, I can do this.”
“Of course you can. Now, what are you going to wear?”
I groaned, thinking of all the blazers and pencil shirts in my closet. “That’s it, I’m not going! I’m calling Luke.”
“I’m coming over and helping you pack. Don’t you move until I get there. Do you hear me?”
“I hear you. I think Mrs. Taylor down the hall heard you, too.”
True to his word, Omar knocked on my door ten minutes later and he rifled through my closet like Doctor Strange flipping through possible saving the world scenarios. He rapidly threw pieces together and I pursed my lips or nodded at his suggestions. When we finally had three outfits prepared, he wiped his brow. “I think we’re done.”
I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him. “Thank you, Omar. I would have talked myself out of this if it weren’t for you.”
“I know, sweetheart. And you would have regretted it for the rest of your life. Now get some sleep because I won’t be able to help you with the bags under your eyes if you don’t.”
I wiped at the bottom of my eyes, then smacked his arm when he snickered. “Okay, okay. I’m leaving. Have fun, Grace. And don’t worry about what’s-her-face.”
“Faith Allens?”
“She doesn’t stand a chance against you.”
My lip quivered. What an emotional night. I walked into Omar’s open arms and squeezed my friend as tight as I could. “Thank you,” I whispered and realized I finally was allowing myself to open up again.
***
A car pulled up in front of my building at exactly six o’clock in the morning. Luke climbed out of the backseat and pulled me into his arms. “How did you sleep last night?”
“I don’t think I slept at all,” I said.
“Too excited to sleep?”
“Excited. Nervous. Still waiting for someone to pinch me.”
I jumped at the sting on my rump, and Luke laughed into my neck. “You asked for it,” he teased.
