Biting at the inside of my lip, I lift my eyes and search his face. He seems genuine enough, and his persistence tells me I’m not getting out of this without a fight. “Fine,” I say with a resigned sigh. “One hour.”
He smiles and claps his hands together in triumph. Then he helps me lock up the shop, and we head out into the night with me wondering if I can get through this night with my heart intact. Because I’m not going to lie, getting stood up for that dance at the wedding, then having him put me firmly in the friendzone today kinda stung. And I don’t want to come across as bitter and twisted, but always being the friend and never the girlfriend is hard.
Once again, I curse all mention and knowledge of Whisper Valley’s now-infamous Soulwink. According to Jade—the woman who first coined the term—it’s supposed to be your soul’s way of letting you know you’ve met your other half. The way she explains it, you see each other and your souls ‘wink’ at each other to let you know. Silly me had thought that maybe that’s what was happening between Theo and me. But since he’s leaving soon and made it clear that he just wants to be my friend, I can’t see how that’s possible. Reaching up, I tug the necklace from around my neck and drop it into the bushes on my way out. My soul, it seems, is destined to always be alone, and I need to quit being hopeful.
THEO
After a short walk down a picturesque street, we reach the entry to Whisper Valley’s pizzeria,Slicey.
“Cute name,” I say, pointing up to the neon sign.
“Everything about this town is adorable,” Dottie says, the dimples in her cheeks popping as she smiles and looks around. “It’s like living in a story book.”
“I’m liking everything I see so far,” I respond, flirting with her and knowing that Duke is going to kick my ass for it, but also not being able to stop myself.
She gives me a look that reads like she doesn’t believe me. But that’s OK, I can convince her.
Stepping ahead of her, I reach for the handle on the front door.
“Wait, Theo.”
“Every woman deserves to have a door opened for her, Spot.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not that, it’s—”
Thud.The door doesn’t budge.
“Is it stuck?” I ask, jiggling the thing and adding a bit of elbow to it.
“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Dottie says, pointing to a sign in the window beside the door. “They’re closed Mondays. Looks like someone forgot to turn the lights off though.”
“They’re closed Mondays?” I repeat, jiggling the door one last time for sport.
She giggles. “They are. And if you keep trying to force the door like that, you’re likely to find yourself party to a break and enter.”
“How do you live here and not know the pizza joint shuts on Mondays?” I ask as I step away from the entrance.
She shrugs. “Pizza is more of a Friday food for me.”
“Oh yeah? And what’s a Monday food?”
“I don’t know. I don’t eat specific foods every day. But if I did, probably left-over pizza from Friday?”
I laugh. She’s such a no-nonsense person that I bet she eats it cold from the fridge to save time too. “Where to next then? It has to be somewhere that’s definitely open since we’re already cutting into my hour here.”
“In that case,Valentine’s.They’re always open. But we’ll have to drive there.”
“And how long will that take?”
“Fifteen, twenty minutes?”
“That doesn’t give us much time for talkin’ and eating.”
“It’s OK. I promise I won’t disappear into a puff of smoke the moment one-hour passes,” she says, her hands in her pockets as we head back toward the building that houses both the garage and tattoo shop.
When she breaks away from me to get into her car, I pull open the passenger side of my truck. “I’ll drive. No sense takin’ two cars.”
“You’ll bring me back here after dinner to get my car then?”
