Page 98 of Love or Leave

Cara nodded. "I'll forgive him and put it all behind us, but I won't date him."

There was no way she could go back down that path—she liked him too much. He was perfect for her in some ways, but not in others.

Suddenly a lightbulb went off and Cara realized what the problem was. Finding a partner was like making a Venndiagram. She needed to find someone that fell into the intersection of compatibility, chemistry, and availability.

Antonio ticked the first two off the list. Big time. But he wasn't available. It was too messy, and she didn't need to settle for someone who wouldn't make her a priority.

"Are you going to get back out there? Maybe try the dating apps again?"

"Eventually," Cara said. "But for now, I'm going to go cry."

She pulled the tea bag from the cup and tossed it into the compost, then she grabbed a banana and a tin of cashews from the cupboard and headed for the hall.

"Care," Max said.

She stopped.

"The racetrack's having a poker tournament next weekend. We can go, if you want."

She considered for a moment. "Yes, to the poker, no to you."

"Rude."

Cara smiled for the first time since the disastrous morning at Antonio’s. "I want to get comfortable doing things alone."

If she'd gone to that concert alone, none of this would have happened.

Max narrowed his eyes. "Fine. I'll text you the link. What do you want me to do about Antonio?"

Cara shrugged. "Don't care."

She walked away and climbed the stairs up to her room. Before she even made it to her door, she had the text from Max for the poker tournament.

Maybe the love of her life was a poker player.

That made way more sense than golf.

thirty

Antonio paused and sucked in a deep breath before reaching for the door handle to Keller's and pulling it open. It had been five days since he last saw Max.

Five days since Max said he didn't want to see him again. He hoped that was enough time for his temper to cool.

He'd been too busy to come around before then, anyway. He'd moved all his shit out of the studio apartment, buttoned up the last details of his divorce, sent off the signed papers, removed Fran as an emergency contact from everywhere and everything, and dealt with his family.

The only thing left to do was put his social life back together.

He wanted to tell Cara he was through with Fran for good, but he knew he had to start with Max.

Cara didn't trust him because Max didn't trust him. That was the root of the problem. Also, he'd been such a shitty friend. He needed to apologize and let Max know it was never his intention to use Cara or just sleep with her.

He walked through the door, and the hostess gave him a big, welcoming smile.

Phew.

"Hi, Antonio," she said. "Do you want a table, or are you just here for a visit?"

Thank God.

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