Page 11 of Falling for You

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything else?”

“Just the water for now. If I get stood up like you’re thinking, I’ll order something to go.”

“I wasn’t… okay, I was totally thinking that. Maybe she just got held up,” she winces, right shoulder pulling up to her ear.

I don’t tell her that she would be getting held about five blocks away if that was the case. “Yeah.”

She gives me one last pitying look and I tighten my fists.Thisis why I don’t do relationships. Not that this is a relationship — or even a date — but it’s something out of my comfort zone and now I know why. Because I feel like a damned idiot right now, sitting here waiting on a girl who I demanded tell me why she was crying and then all but propositioned her and made her join me for dessert. Who does that?

Me, apparently.

Because I was suddenly desperate to spend more time with her.

I couldn’t take my eyes off Chloe before I approached her, and then when we were in the office and she opened up about what a monumentally crappy day she’d had, all the while keeping a sense of humor about it all, I knew why. She’s not only beautiful, she’s funny, a bit off-the-wall, and completely unexpected.

Scrolling through social media on my phone is a piss poor distraction from wondering if I’m going to be eating my dessert at home while wallowing over the fact that I’ve been stood up for the first time in my life, but it’s better than staring at the door hoping for her to appear.

“Here you are,” the hostess who greeted me when I walked in says and I look up to see her holding her arm out in the direction of my table, Chloe standing next to it looking as nervous as I feel.

I quickly drop my phone on the table and stand up. “Hey, you made it.”

She nods and I move to pull out her chair but she waves me off. “I did.”

Once we’re seated I lean over and say, “But you just about didn’t, right?”

Chloe points behind her. “I sat out there in my rental for a while first.”

“I freaked you out, huh?”

“No. I did that to myself,” she laughs.

Our server comes over, giving me a relieved smile, and I order a coffee. Thanks to my addiction to caffeine, it doesn’t keep me awake at night and I can drink it all hours of the day. Chloe orders a hot tea and I ask for the dessert menus to be brought over.

“Do we need a menu?” Chloe asks. “I just figured you already knew what you wanted.”

“But you don’t,” I remind her.

“Then order a couple things and we’ll share.”

“Okay then. We’ll take The Cookie, a slice of the raspberry cheesecake, brownie bites, and the apple fritters.”

“You got it. I’ll be back with your drinks and get those started for you.”

“I take it you’ve been here a time or two,” Chloe teases.

Once she’s gone, I lean my forearms on the table. “The desserts are addictive. Usually I come here whenever I finish a project.”

“Celebration with sweets? I like that.”

There’s another fun way to celebrate, I think, but because I’m not an idiot, I don’t say it. “The Cookie will knock your socks off.”

She cocks her head to the side, glancing around the nearly empty restaurant before looking at me again. Her eyes are so dark they’re almost black but they lack any sort of sparkle. There’s an underlying sadness that sits in the depths. I wonder if it’s because of the day she had or something else. “Is that what it’s actually called?”

I nod. “Yup. It doesn’t need a fancy name.”

“Well, now I’m intrigued.”

“So, how much shit did your friends give you when you explained why you were leaving?”

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