Ella hung on my every word as I recounted the events from the night before, complete with the Batmobile, the donut jokes, and how much we’d confided in each other. She grabbed my hand, a gasp escaping her lips, when I finally told her the question Jax asked me.
“Will you let me know you?”Ella squealed. She took my face in her hands, causing me to narrowly avoid spilling my coffee. “That’s so fucking romantic. Oh my God. You’re gonna marry him. I can feel it in my bones.”
“Thatis not happening.” I threw back the rest of my coffee and turned to wash my mug in the sink. “That’s honestly the furthest thing from my mind. It’s too soon.”
I could see her out of the corner of my eye, watching my every movement as I washed my hands. “Okay.And?We don’t get to choose when we meet the right person, babe. Sometimes it happens when we least expect it.”
“I love you,” I said, “but you’re out of your mind. You’ve seen one too many romcoms.”
“Okay,” she conceded. “I’m notsuggesting you marry him tomorrow, but helikesyou. This very sweet, very charming,very hotguy is clearly smitten with you. And I know you, Liv. I can tell you like him too.”
“How?” I dried my hands off and grabbed a pastry bag from the counter, loading it with the milk chocolate frosting Katie had already made. Avoiding her gaze, I moved to the large island in the center of the room where we did all of our decorating. “How can you tell?”
“Gee, I don’t know,” she said sarcastically. “Maybe because you can’t even look at me when you talk about him?”
“Because I’mtryingto get to work.” I scoffed and began to swirl the frosting over the bare dark chocolate cupcakes.
“Okay,” she said. She waited until I’d decorated the first cupcake before taking me by the shoulders, turning me to face her. “Look me in the eyes, and tell me you don’t like him.”
“Ella.” I sighed, still looking at the undecorated cupcakes. “I don’t have time for this.”
“Tell. Me.”
“Fine. I don’tnotlike him, okay?”
“Iknewit.”
“And he did ask me to have dinner with him tonight,” I confessed. “But I can’t. Honestly, he’s probably going to cancel anyway becausethat,what happened last night, is not real life.”
“There’s a zero percent chance he’s going to cancel on you,” Ella said flatly. “Zero, becausehe likes you.”
“Then I’ll have to cancel.” I shrugged. “Icannotgo out with him again.”
“Why the fuck not?”
“Because he’s twenty-nine.”
“Okay? So?”
“So,he’s way too young for me,” I declared.
“Oh my God, Olivia.” She shook me gently by the shoulders. “He isnot.”
“Yes, he is.” I threw my hands up. “Because as you keep pointing out, this guy is a freaking gorgeous rockstar, Ella. I’m an almost thirty-seven-year-old woman with a hostile kitty guarding an even more hostile uterus. I’ve already been traded in for a newer, younger model, and I’m not real anxious to go through that again withanyone.”
“Honey, what Benton did to you was pure shit.” Her eyes softened toward me as she gave my arm a comforting squeeze. “But you can’t hold that against Jax. You can’t judge him based on what Benton did. You need to give Jax a chance to show you who he is. Let him know you, Liv.”
“This is crazy. This whole Jax thing is not real life.” I turned my attention back to the cupcakes. “It’s a thing that happened, and now it’s done. Can we please move on?”
“I hate to tell you, but thisisreal life,” she countered. “Yes, I know I keep pointing out that he’s this hot rockstar, butso what?That’s only a part of his life. That’s not who he is. From what I can tell, based on last night and what you’ve told me, he’s also a really sweet guy who tellsterriblejokes, and heseesyou, Liv. I know that’s got to be scary after what happened with Benton, but you deserve to be seen, babe. Youdeservesomeone who will treat you like the fucking goddess you are. You’re having dinner with him. Even if I have to drag you by that annoyingly perfect hair of yours. You’re go—”
“Sorry to interrupt.” Katie’s voice came tentatively from the kitchen door. “The door is open, and there’s already a couple of customers up there. I’d take care of them, but we got a last-minute order I need to get started on.”
“That’s okay.” I looked pointedly at Ella.
“I’ll take care of them, Katie Bug.” Ella smiled at Katie as she moved toward the door. She tossed a knowing glance back in my direction. “But this conversation isnotover.”
I let out an exasperated sigh as I continued piping the frosting on top of the cupcakes. I tried to shift my focus to creating the perfect icing swirls, to Katie as she ticked off the details of the new order—to anywhere but Jaxon Slade.
