Page 18 of D.I.E.T. (Did I Eat That?)

He neglected to answer, instead swiping his thumb across my cheek as he smickered—that would be a sort of combined smirk and snicker. Then he opened his door. “Come on. I’ll help you out.”

Before I could say, ‘Bob’s your uncle,’ Sinjin jumped out of the truck and ran around it to help me down. I held his hand as we walked through the door leading inside to his utility room. From there, we exited into the kitchen—or should I say Michelin five-starred industrial-restaurant-style kitchen that flowed seamlessly into a family room to make up a great room. Huge windows took up the whole back wall, which went right up to the cathedral ceiling, filling the space with natural light.

Like any good Michigander, he had a gorgeous stone fireplace taking up one wall, and a huge cocoa-colored chenille sectional with attached chaise lounge situated to face it. Mounted above the fireplace was what probably had to be a ninety-inch screen sitting point of pride.

He walked me toward the threshold between the kitchen and great room, swinging my arm to let my hand go and patting my back. “Take a seat, beautiful. I’ll get us some drinks.”

I walked over to the chenille monolith and plopped down, picking up a magazine resting on the coffee table, flipping it over to read the front and back.American Financier. He readAmerican Financier? The Sinjin I knew was far too fun and funny to read something as boring as a finance magazine despite what he did for a living. What would I find next,The Wallstreet Journal? The man probably had a smoking room somewhere in this place where he puffed on expensive, hand-rolled Cuban cigars and sipped ridiculously expensive, oak-barrel, aged brandy.

As I set down the magazine, a hand holding a mug of steaming java popped over the back of the sofa cushion. I took it from Sinjin, breathing the rich, nutty aroma in slow and deep.

“Stevia, almond milk, and a little cocoa powder,” he said, walking around the sofa to sit next to me.

“Thanks,” I replied before blowing on the hot liquid so I could take a sip. “I’m not sure why you’re being so nice to me. I yelled at you in class.”

His eyebrow shot up in a clearly expressedAre you crazy?gesture. After he forced his eyebrow to settle, he sipped on his mug of joe, reached over to brush a strand of hair from my face, and asked, “Geet, sweetheart, tell me. What got you acting like you just witnessed someone run over your puppy?”

“Dion and Henri liked you,” I said bluntly. To say Sinjin looked confused would be the understatement of understatements.

“And that’s bad because…?”

“Because they told Kami. She called this morning and begged me to bring you to her wedding.”

“Right,” he said while setting his mug down on the coffee table in order to fold his arms over his chest. “How dare she ask you to bring along someone who thoroughly enjoys spending time with you on the trip of a lifetime? Thenerve. As you argue with me more than you talk to me every time I want to hang out, you obviously don’t like me. She should know this.”

I laughed. The stupid jerk made me laugh. “I like you,” I admitted. If he only knew how much. It would be better if he didn’t.

Sinjin pulled me over to sit on his lap, lifting the mug from my hands to place on the coffee table careful not to spill it. “Do you not want me to go?” he asked sincerely.

“No. I was going to ask you today.”

He sighed. “Good. Because I absolutely wouldn’t turn you down, Geet.”

And then, regardless that I just had this conversation with myself and I thought myself agreed it would be better for him not to know, myself mutinied taking control of my mouth and the word vomit spewed an embarrassing puddle all over us. “But I like you… as in reallylike youand you lost weight and I didn’t, which means eventually you’re going to look around the gym and realize that you wasted your time with the wrong woman when they all have power bodies and I’m still squishy. Then you’ll tell me that it’s not working for you any longer and it’ll hurt. I hate getting hurt period, but I have a feeling it would be worse getting hurt by you because like I said, I really like you and I haven’t liked anyone in a long time.”

“Could you repeat that? I didn’t catch it all.” He snickered. “In all seriousness, where’s this coming from? I thought you joined bootcamp to build up your endurance.”

“I did, but then I got you as my accountability partner. You’re smart, sweet, fun, and kind of beautiful.”

“Geet, you’re smart, sweet, fun, and there’s nothing ‘kind of’ about how beautiful you are. I’m your accountability partner because I purposely stood next to you. If you want me to go to Antarctica with you—”

“Chile,” I corrected him.

“Chile,” he repeated. “Just ask, baby. I’m here. I’m waiting.”

He was here. He was waiting. He became my accountability partner because he purposefully stood next to me to get to know me. Maybe Lu had been right about me judging Sinjin by Numbnut’s mistakes. It wasn’t fair to him or me. Did I have it in me to take this step. It had hurt so much when the numbnut broke up with me and not because I was so ridiculously in love with him. It had more to do with the way he’d done it, the words he spoke that totally did a number on my self-confidence. What if I let this chance pass me by? Would I regret it? I feared the answer was probably yes. Okay, then I had to take the chance.

I forced myself to take in slow breaths fearing hyperventilating. “Sinjin.” I squinted my eyes at him. “What is your middle name?”

“Edward,” he replied.

“Edward?” I laughed, pressing my hand against his cheek. “Could you get any more English?”

“Says the woman named Brigeeta Posch? I’m waiting on the day I see you spinning on a mountain top with your arms spread out wide singing ‘The Sound of Music.’” Fair enough.

It was now or never. “Okay, Sinjin Edward Barrow, will you go to Kami’s wedding with me?”

“Thought you’d never ask,” he whispered. Leaning in, he pressed his lips to mine and I thought my heart might give out. He expertly teased me throughout, deepening the kiss and pulling back. The man kissed like a man who’d earned his PhD in kissing. By far the best kiss I’d ever received.

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