Page 74 of Make You Love Me
“Okay. Knock ’em dead, Jo Jo, and remember to enjoy it.”
“I will. Hope to see you soon. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Tossing the phone onto the cushion, I let my head drop back while thoughts of Nora and our recent conversations spin out of control. Why did I ever say Nora and I should work on being friends first? It’s clear she desires more than just friendship. Right? Isn’t that why she’s teasing me with the towel bit and smiling when I react the way she knew I would? Or am I manifesting again?
Reading her is near impossible these days. She’s different than I remember, and I’ve learned things about her that amaze me. It’s bringing us closer, yet it feels like there’s more she’s not telling me.
No. I made the right choice. We need to get to know each other without sex complicating our do-over. If I’m going to make Nora mine forever, we must build a stronger foundation. One built on trust, friendship, and admiration. Sex can come after that. The icing on the cake. A finale worth waiting for. Making love instead of reacting on our lust.
That’s what I want.
End of story.
Now, can someone please tell that to my dick?
Chapter 20
Nora
Hi, Nora,” Sydney greets when I step into her office unannounced. “I’ve been thinking about you.” She rises from her seat to wrap me in a hug.
“Thank you for your texts the other day. They helped me get through.”
“That bad?” she asks.
“At first.”
Sydney leads me to the window seat, and we sit with our legs crossed, facing each other.
“I have to say, I didn’t expect to see you looking so…chipper.”
“Thanks?” I say with a laugh. “But I agree. I never thought he’d let me back in this quickly, if ever.”
“That’s great. Says a lot about his heart.”
“And another example of why he’s much too good for me.” A car leaving the parking lot in the distance catches my attention. I watch it for a moment, ignoring the argument Sydney’s making on my behalf. I love her for it, but I’m still reeling from the rollercoaster of the past forty-eight hours and don’t have the energy to think about myself.
“So,” she says, shaking my arm. “What happened?”
I chuckle. “You won’t believe me.”
“Oh. That sounds juicy.” Her hands slap together, fingers wiggling with excitement under her chin.
My thoughts jump to our intimate night together without good reason, and I shake it away. It’s the last place my brain should be going. “I asked if we could start over. Forget the last five years ever happened.”
“Perfect idea. I take it he agreed.”
“Without hesitation.”
“Because he still loves you?” Hope brightens her eyes. She really needs to stop reading so many romance novels. It causes unruly and unattainable expectations.
“I can’t speak to his feelings. We’ve been all over the place since he remembered. Whenever we make some headway, we circle back to another pain point. It’s excruciating.”
Sydney takes my hand. “What changed?”
“We got out of the house and had some fun. Ziplining,” I add. “Then, we just talked. I opened up about my past and told him as much as I could.”
