Page 15 of Santa Baby Maybe
“I guess you have to believe in love to want that,” I said, and hated how bitter and jaded I sounded.
She turned to me then, a look of surprise on her face. “You don’t believe in love?”
I huffed. “Look, I get it. People fall in love. I know that theoretically. But I’ve seen enough marriages in my life to know not all married people are in love. Love is a crapshoot, not a guarantee. And it isn’t enough to hold a marriage together, if the two people are not compatible.”
She shook her head, her long brown hair swaying against her back. “I disagree. If the love is strong enough it can withstand anything. Certainly something as simple as two people not agreeing over random issues.”
“Figures you would say that,” I snorted.
She mimicked my snort. “Figures you would be searching for a wife and not someone to love.”
We’d reached the building and stopped. She glanced at me with a small smile on her lips. I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Talk about exact opposites,” she said with a small laugh.
“Yeah, we couldn’t be any more different could we?” Why that made something in my chest feel tight, I didn’t know.
“Well, I don’t know. What’s your opinion on hot dogs over burgers?”
“Hot dogs every time,” I answered without thinking. “And I also like them with fried onions.”
She beamed at me and then patted my cheek. “See? I knew you couldn’t be all bad.”
I reached for the door and opened it, allowing her to enter first.
It was funny, because on the lunch menu there had been a chili dog as an option that I’d immediately wanted. However, I’d gone with soup instead because I thought it made me look more dignified and less teenage boy in front of Jacklyn.
I considered what type of woman would be okay with me, a grown man, eating a messy chili dog dripping with Cheese Wiz in front of her.
Joy. Joy was that type of woman.
