Page 18 of 28 Dates

He finds the guy’s profile, flashing me the picture on his phone’s screen.

“That’s him.”

He takes a screenshot and drops his phone back to the couch. “I’ll delete him later. What else is going on?”

“I talked to a couple this weekend. Might see if I can meet up with one later this week, but after what happened, Teagan and I talked about meeting guys where I feel more comfortable.”

“Good. You should do that. Any ideas where?”

“Yeah. I’ll figure it out.”

“Okay then. Let’s get back to work. Contracts for SportsFanW are on the way. What else is in the works this week?”

He flips open a paper calendar, something he only uses during our meetings. His scribbles are unreadable chicken scratch, worse than any doctor’s I’ve ever seen, but I know when he gets home to his technical lair, he’ll import it all to computers. When I’ve teased him about it in the past, he’s said writing things down increases the odds he’ll remember them later.

I grab my tablet and swipe the screen to light it up. “You have a meeting with the clothing retailer…”

And just like that, we get to work. Except I’m still thinking about Dirty Martini’s and if it’s a good idea to go there, so when Trey finally leaves, I grab my phone, and for the first time in months, I pull up Jonas’s name and number.

Since he doesn’t work too late Sunday nights, there’s a chance he might be awake.

Hey, long-lost friend Caitlin here. Any chance we can talk?

I plug my phone into my charger in the kitchen and head to my room to shower and get ready for the day. I might like working in pajamas, but a girl’s also gotta take care of herself.

Less than an hour later, I’m dressed and refreshed for the day, planning out the rest of my afternoon running errands for Trey, when I head back to my kitchen and grab my phone.

Jonas’s text blares at me on the screen like a lightning strike.

Dirty’s at one. I’ll buy you lunch.

He’s never ordered me around before. He’s also never offered to buy me food. It’s all a bit strange, but maybe we’re both feeling a bit weird after our last encounter.

Still, I need a safe place to vet guys, and Dirty’s is the only place I can think of.

I type back I’ll see him then and head out of my apartment. A one o’clock lunch will give me enough time to head to the post office and drop off Trey’s dry cleaning before I spend the rest of the afternoon paying bills and invoicing his clients.

I can already feel the anxiety building, though it might be those butterflies again.

Chapter 7

Jonas

I have one eye on the clock and one eye on the bar. It’s lunchtime on Monday, a slow enough day. I figure when Caitlin shows up, we’ll have plenty of time to talk. And I’m more than curious to know what she wants to talk about.

Messaging her over the weekend has been beyond strange. Hiding who I am from her and trying to answer her simple questions without giving away who I am makes me feel like I’m lying to her. But I want to win her with who Iam, not how good we are in bed together. If I tell her I want another chance, that’s exactly where we risk ending up.

Mostly because it’s where I want to be so bad.

If there’s a chance she’s figured it out, I’m screwed. Her asking me to talk is a huge sign I need to tread cautiously in this conversation. Perhaps, like me, she’s not okay with how we left things last week. I still feel like a dick for it. Not to mention going behind her back to her best friend and getting his advice along with his permission. At least someone has my back and understands my reasoning.

Let’s just hope eventually Caitlin will, too.

Sara, one of my lunchtime servers, slides her drink tray onto the bar. “You look like you’re going to throw up.”

I feel like I might. If Caitlin comes in this door with eyes blazingly pissed off, I’ve made a colossal mistake. “I’m all right.”

“Missing Ashley or something? Or what?” I give her a look that hopefully communicates I’m not discussing anything with her. Sara is cute in an older-woman-and-taken kind of way. She’s married, and her only son is in elementary school, which is why this shift works so well for her. She’s able to spend a few hours doing a job she enjoys and still pick Ben up after school on her way home. Plus she’s damn good at it and is the exact sort of professional server I need on staff to take care of the lunchtime business crowd.

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