Page 47 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“I’ve been thinking about it the whole day. I was angry at myself, and I felt so guilty about it,” he continued. “You made an excellent point about limiting our interaction outside of our agreement. That should minimize any… unnecessary physical contact.”

Unnecessary physical contact?A chaotic smorgasbord of emotions rumbled inside my heart. That hurt, because obviously for him, the concept of touching and kissing me thoroughly revolted him. Then jealousy, because understandably, he felt guilty because he was kissing me when he liked another woman. But most of all, I was furious with myself, because I felt jealousanddisappointed, and I had no right feeling any of those things.

Whatever it was, he was right. It was the appropriate thing to do. And if in doubt, refer to the Stay on Track Plan.

“Fine. Apology accepted, and we’re limiting our interactions. I’ll see you around.”

He jabbed a thumb toward his car. “Can I give you a ride? It’ll save you a forty-five-minute bus trip home.”

“That totally defeats the purpose of what we just discussed ten seconds ago.”

“We can start tomorrow. I’m already here, going in the same direction as you are.”

My stomach seized that very moment to rumble, loudly demanding that it needed to be fed. A corner of his mouth quirked up at the sound.

“It’s almost seven, so maybe we can go to that sushi and sake place at the rooftop area for dinner. Don’t you need to eat something so your blood sugar doesn’t go low?”

It was comments like these that made it supremely difficult to stay annoyed at him. My heart aahed and awwwed with adoration, while my brain sighed in resignation and created a brand-new list to add my collection: Alec’s Supremely Thoughtful Gestures.

“Sushi and sake?I can’t keep up with you. Doesn’t this count as social interaction?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m only offering because—”

“Let me guess.” My tone was flat. “Because that’s what Eric would do?”

His face split into a grin. “No. Because I’m also starving.”

Ocha Izakaya was packed, so we were ushered to two empty seats at the sushi bar. We placed our food orders and some hojicha, then quietly watched the sushi chef in front of us fill a wooden sushi boat with salmon and tuna sashimi slices.

“Mike called today,” I broke the silence. “My car should be done in a couple of days.”

“That’s good. I forgot to ask, what was wrong with it?”

“Engine failure. He’s rebuilding the old one, because that costs less and I’d have better mileage out of it.”

Alec set his cup of tea down. “How much is that going to cost you?”

“A few thousand.” I winced a little. “It’s a bit tight, but I’ll make it work. It’s cheaper than a new engine or a new car.”

Just then, his phone trilled. He excused himself, then walked away, while muttering a low “hey” into his phone.

Nope, not going to feel jealous thatthatwas probably a call from the girl he had his eyes on. Absolutely none of my business.

Just then, my phone vibrated, too. I tapped the green icon to answer the video call, grinning when Naomi’s smile filled my screen.

“Ellie! So good to see your pretty face.” She peered at the screen, trying to work out where I was. Waiters with black T-shirts and red aprons bustled behind me, carrying trays of sake cups and sushi platters. “Are you at dinner? I can call back.”

“No, that’s okay. What’s up?”

“I’ve got big news.” Naomi’s voice crackled on the phone, the smile on her face enormous. “Remember I told you about the weekend trip Eric organized?” When I nodded, she went on, “Guess what happened.”

My eyes widened as she brandished her hand in front of the camera, showing me a big, blindingly beautiful ring on her finger.

“We’re going to be sisters, El!”

I let out a squeal, attracting Alec’s attention, who’d just returned to our seats. “Oh my God, that’s awesome! Congrats, you two!”

“Hey, Naomi.” Alec leaned to peek into the call frame, whistling when he saw the sparkly ring. “Is that what I think it is? Finally! Congratulations, so thrilled for you and Eric.”

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