Page 111 of An Inconvenient Marriage
But he had.
And what he said next almost had me passing out.
“Yes, I do. So where do you want to go for dinner?”
My eyes flew open, and it didn’t even surprise me to find Everlee leaning in close to the phone. I welcomed it actually. Chewing on my cheek, I mouthed to her. “Dinner. Where?”
Her index finger flew toward the ceiling, then she rushed to where we’d been sitting a few moments ago.
“Natalie?”
“I’m here.”
There was a pause, and the sound of his chair creaking filled my ears.
“Do you not want to go to dinner?”
“No, I mean yes.” I sighed. “No one has ever asked me where I want to go, so I’m really not sure.” Embarrassment coated my skin, and I very much wished for the floor to split in two and swallow me.
Everlee skidded to a stop next to me and held her phone screen toward me. I shook my head without even looking at it.
“That’s something we can fix.” His voice was soft and understanding, and I had this incredible urge to go to where he was so I could crawl into his lap and rest my head against his chest. “What’s your favorite food?”
I didn’t even have to think about this one. “Pasta.” It was the one thing I loved but wasn’t allowed to have. Pasta equaled carbs, and carbs were bad.
A sharp smack landed on my arm. I bit my lip to keep the hissing sound from escaping and glared at Everlee. She glared right back. Only for a second, then she shoved her phone in my face again.
Onscreen was a press photo of a fancy Italian restaurant she and I had wanted to visit but never could. And not only because my father planned my days down to the second, but apparently, they only took in a certain clientele, and even they had to book months in advance.
I shook my head at her again. Only this time, she didn’t take no for an answer. Before I had time to realize what was happening, she snatched my phone from me and held it against her ear.
“Hi. You’re speaking with Everlee now. I couldn’t help but overhear that you were trying to make dinner plans. Let me help.”
Lunging toward her, I tried to grab my phone back, but she easily sidestepped me. And then her word vomit just kept coming.
“She’s been dying to sample the food at Baldovinetti. Now, I know they’re usually booked way in advance. But seeing as you’re so powerful and since our Natalie deserves nothing but the best, you can make it happen, right?”
I didn’t know what Zach said, but it couldn’t have been too bad because Everlee nodded a few times and then calmly handed my phone back to me.
“You can thank me later.”
“I’m so sorry,” I blurted the moment I pressed the device against my ear. To my utter surprise, Zach wasn’t upset. He was laughing. Truly laughing.
Closing my eyes, I concentrated on the rich, beautiful sound. I imagined his eyes crinkling at the corners and his mouth curved upward. My fingers tingled, desperate to reach through the phone and trace every single laugh line so I could commit them to memory.
I never wanted to forget a single thing about him.
“With that settled,” he murmured, “I’ll pick you up at six.”
“Okay.” I pulled the phone away to hang up but heard him call my name. Pressing it against my ear again, I let out a soft, “Yes?”
“No underwear.”
And just like that, the line went dead.
My brain was still trying to process when Everlee shoulder-bumped me, hard. I stumbled to the side, arms flailing. When I finally regained my balance, I shot daggers at my best friend.
“What the heck?”
