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“You’re not.” I take a step closer, having no intention of letting my time with her end so soon. It’s been killing me all week not knowing if or when I’d see her again. “They can wait.”
“Okay.” She wraps her arms around herself. “So…Allison seems nice.”
“Yep. She’s great,” I chirp, one side of my mouth curving into a smile.
“She’s really beautiful. Have you two been seeing each other long?” she asks, looking down at her feet.
“No,” I snort, finding the question absurd. “Allison and I are just friends.”
“Oh.” She looks up, but her gaze moves past me to the exit again.
“Jon’s in love with her, actually,” I tell her, feeling the need to prove Allison and I have never, and will never, be together. “Has been since they were kids. It’s how I met Ally. They were kind of a package deal. She’s like a sister to me now.”
“Oh,” Lizzy echoes, a little more lighthearted this time as her eyes meet mine. “I thought Jon said he was single the other night.”
“Yeah,” I scoff, shaking my head. “Those two are complicated. I’d love to tell you all about it when I have more time. Maybe over dinner sometime?”
My heart skips a beat as Lizzy’s face pales, her eyes growing wider. “What? Oh, no…I can’t…”
As her words trail off, she brings her hands together, rubbing the spot where her wedding band used to be.
I noticed the band missing at the bar and wondered what had changed to get her to take it off, a part of me wishing it had something to do with me. But her reaction now makes it seem like maybe it wasn’t her choice.
“I’m sorry if—I was a little drunk the other night,” she admits. “I didn’t mean to give you the impression…”
She hesitates, releasing a heavy sigh. “Here’s the thing, I’d really like for us to be friends. But, only friends. I’m not interested in…um…”
Her eyes travel over me, heating my skin as if it were her hands doing the roaming.
Clearing her throat, she shakes her head. “No. I mean…I’m not ready for anything more. It’s likely I never will be. There’s no point. I’ve already found and lost the love of my life.”
I nod in understanding and offer a smile, even though hearing her call Xander the love of her life makes my heart sink.
She pulls on the collar of her shirt and takes a deep breath before continuing. “I could use a good friend, though. Someone to laugh and have fun with. And you seem to be highly qualified for that job. So, what do you say? Friends?”
If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I can handle only being Lizzy’s friend. Jon was right when he said he and Allison are my only friends. I don’t do the friendship thing very well. It will be exceptionally hard with someone I’m so attracted to. But then, I don’t know much about relationships either. Maybe a friendship isn’t a bad place to start. Besides, I’d probably agree to anything as long as it means I get to spend more time with her.
Scratching my temple, I say, “Does this job come with benefits?”
“No,” she scoffs. “There’s no benefits package.”
“You sure? I’m thinking that might be a deal breaker for me.”
“Such a funny man.” Crossing her arms, she shakes her head in amusement. “You should have your own comedy act.”
“Okay, okay.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “You can’t blame a guy for trying, right? Anyway, I thought we were already friends. Facebook made it official.”
“I had something a little more interactive in mind. You know, with actual face-to-face conversations,” she says, gesturing between us.
“You had me at more interactive,” I tease.
She presses her lips into a hard line and raises an eyebrow in question.
I don’t want to push my luck with her, but she makes it so much fun. “Okay, only friends and face-to-face conversations. I’m in. Where do I sign, beautiful?”
She wags her finger. “Nope, you can’t call me that.”
“Can’t call you what?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
