Page 119 of The Moment You Know

Paige then shared the rest of the dinner details, after which Jules raised her can of diet Coke. “Let’s toast.”

Paige followed suit, having to get a glass of water first. “To what?”

“To Ashley getting what she deserved,” Jules said, then as if an afterthought, tacked on, “Oh, and to world peace.”

“To Ashley getting—wait, why did you throw in the part about world peace?”

“Because you should counter something negative with something positive, to keep everything in balance.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I just made it up. But it sounds good, right?”

“Okay. All right. To Ashley getting what she deserved. And to world peace,” Paige said, as they took a drink together.

Chapter 45

When Paige invited David to dinner at her place on the following Sunday, he quickly accepted.

He arrived a few minutes early and when she opened the door, he took a moment to basically look her up and down. Today, she was dressed comfortably in soft gray leggings, a fitted Fleetwood Mac concert T-shirt, and a navy, boyfriend cardigan. Her hair was loose, looking like she might have straightened it and she had very little make-up on, which he liked. He also liked that she was barefoot, her toenails painted a bright pink, which probably made him a pervert.

As he was finishing his perusal of her, he realized she was doing the same to him. He was immediately glad he’d worn his favorite cargo pants that were tight enough to be flattering, yet loose enough to make it seem like he wasn’t trying too hard. Paired with the cargos, he’d worn a white Henley and he knew he’d made the right choice by the way she looked him over. He told himself it wasn’t ridiculous that he’d also showered and brushed his teeth twice before coming over. He hadn’t done it for her—oral hygiene was important and he was all about hygiene. He only had one set of teeth, right?

Once inside her apartment, which was decent-sized and pretty open, he had a bit of a surreal moment. While he knew she hadn’t kept all of their stuff because of space issues, everything she did have in the apartment was still their stuff and looked a little displaced in the different setting.

She saw his odd expression and asked, “What?”

“It’s stupid,” he replied with a slight grimace. “But, it kind of feels like coming home, even though it’s not our home. It’s both comforting and disturbing at the same time. And I don’t mean disturbing, like it’s awful. It’s just …”

“I know what you mean,” she said softly. “After all, I sleep in our bed.”

For a second, he thought about how hard that would be and without thinking, reached out and took her hand, squeezing it.

“It’s okay.” She squeezed back, liking the feel of her hand in his.

“You know, I really wish I’d gotten your email about the furniture. I would’ve taken whatever you couldn’t use. Especially the sectional. I really loved that thing.”

At that, her mouth turned down for a moment as she thought of something. “You know, I’m actually glad you didn’t get that particular email. Because honestly, I wouldn’t have wanted you sharing any of our furniture with Ashley.” She took a deep breath and exhaled. “And that makes me such a petty asshole, doesn’t it?”

David shook his head, more amused than anything. “No. I understand.”

They exchanged a quick smile and then she tilted her head. “You’re more than welcome to have the sectional now, though.”

“What?”

“I still have it.”

“You do?” He glanced around, like he might have overlooked it in the living room.

“In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to sell any of our things. I ended up putting what I didn’t have room for in storage, so if you want the sectional, it’s yours.”

“Are you kidding?” He was sure he looked like a little boy on Christmas morning. “I’ll absolutely take it. The loft is still a bit of a work in progress and the sectional will be perfect. Thank you. Holy shit, yeah.”

She shrugged off his gratitude. “You’re welcome. You’re the one who actually picked it out and paid for most of it, so I’m not being overly generous by letting you take it. Plus, you know … you really love it.”

“You seriously just made my day. Maybe my year.”

Given the year he’d had so far, she figured it wasn’t that much of an exaggerated claim and she didn’t think twice before sweetening the deal. “If there’s anything else in the storage unit you want, you can take that, too. In fact, feel free to take it all, so I can quit renting the place.”

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