Page 71 of The Heart Shot
Maya rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a man to know that you’re being ridiculous. I’m serious, Els. Give Jameson a shot.”
I sipped my coffee, rubbing at the ache in my chest. “I’ll think about it.”
Jameson
Hey.
Do you have plans tonight?
I’d like to see you.
Jameson’s texts came through right as I finished a freelance blog piece about the health benefits of pumpkin pie and sent it off for approval. Was it mostly made up? Sure, but at least Itriedto make people feel less guilty about indulging in that pumpkin goodness. Besides, pumpkin pie season only came around once a year. Might as well help people enjoy it to the fullest. YOLO, right?
Snapping my laptop closed, I stared at the phone on the counter like it had grown horns and a mustache, debating how to respond.
Did I have plans? No. When did I ever?
But that wasn’t the big question here, was it? The question was: did Iwantto see him tonight?
I shouldn’t.
I absolutely should not want to see him.
But Jameson had quickly become a normal part of my daily routine after spending nearly every evening and weekend with him for the past month. It felt…wrong to think about not seeing him tonight. I sighed. These were the exact feelings I was trying to avoid.
I blew out a long breath, putting my face in my hands. How did my heart develop feelings when my mind had only experienced fake people and false love? How could I yearn for him while waiting for the other shoe to drop?
The rug would get pulled out from beneath me eventually. Wouldn’t it?
But…what if it didn’t? What if Maya was right and I had it all wrong? Yeah, what I went through with Ben and what I witnessed in that mess of a divorce was terrible, and Ithoughtthat meant real love couldn’t exist. The two relationships that had meant the most to me ended in disaster. It was a logical conclusion to reach.
Maya’s words echoed in my mind.Give him a chance.
What if…what if Ididgive Jameson a chance?
Then you’d be opening yourself up to get hurt again,Smart Elsie snapped.What happens when you two get in a fight and he turns into someone else entirely, like Ben always did? Someone cruel who says awful, hurtful things?
But there’s no guarantee that Jameson is like that,Smitten Elsie retorted.Not once has he given you any sign he’s that kind of man. I think he’s genuine.
With a frustrated groan, I shoved their unhelpful words away and tapped out a reply:
Me
Yes, I’m free.
I didn’t have a response to his confession yet, at least not one I could voice out loud, nor was I sure what I wanted to say about these confusing feelings swirling inside me. I was as conflicted as a squirrel running back and forth in the middle of the road, unable to make up its mind before a car ran it over.
Jameson
[excited GIF]
Would you rather go out or have a night in?
I didn’t want to admit it, but I loved that he was thoughtful enough to ask such a question. I was a homebody to the core and always preferred a night of relaxing at home to going out somewhere loud and people-y. Ben never bothered to ask—always taking me to noisy, crowded places, as if he couldn’t wait to flaunt how big his wallet was.
If only he had noticed that I couldn’t care less.
Me
