Page 73 of Mine Again
I bid Mia goodnight and enter my room. Sitting down on my bed, I reach for the drawer in my bedside table and pull out the card.
Sebastian Moretti.
I run my thumb over the edge and flip it between my fingers, my heart starting to tick a little faster.
The card feels heavier than it should, like it’s watching me. Like he already knows I’d eventually pick it up again.
This is the moment. If I reach out, there’s no taking itback. I need to be smart. I need to be sure.
But one thing is certain.
I’m done waiting.
I even came up with a new definition for Plan NUPTIAL, the Sebastian Justification Edition.
Nice Upstanding Professional Type, Intense Ambition, Legally gray background.
This lets me convince myself that he’sprobablyan intense entrepreneur with strong boundaries, running perhaps a private security firm.
That would fit him. And it’s practically normal.
I even adjusted my tagline.
‘Safe’ is a fantasy. ‘Prepared’ is a strategy. Someone who won’t fold at the first death threat is worth more than a good credit score.
I added the last part because whomever I marry will meet my family. That’s the whole reason I didn’t just disappear but came up with my new plan. So he needs to be someone who isn’t easily intimidated and can handle pressure and pack heat.
I pick up my phone. Will Sebastian even remember me?
It’s been weeks. A man like him will have no shortage of female attention. It wouldn’t surprise me if he had forgotten about me already.
So I won’t call him. It would be too awkward if I had to explain how we met.
Hey, remember me? You stared me down at the restaurant before the fire sprinklers turned on.
Though, that mishap might jog his memory.
I add his number to my contacts and pause for a second, then typeSapphire Eyesrather than his name and hit save before I can second-guess it.
It’s ridiculous, but if anybody ever went through my phone, at least it’s not immediately obvious that I’m talking to a man.
Tapping the message icon, I stare at the blank screen.
Come on. Just say something.
Hey.
No. Delete.
It’s too vague. He’ll think I’m selling crypto or a dating scam.
I try again.
Hey, it’s me, Isa.
Delete. What am I, his ex-girlfriend from Barcelona?
Deep breath. Okay. How about this?
