“Okay?” She raised an eyebrow.
“Sure,” he said with an easy smile, a dimple tugging at his cheek. “If you want me to go to a reunion with you, I will. Sounds fun.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You don’t mind that I’m just using you? That I’ll send you back when the free trial ends?”
Rob let out a gentle laugh. “No, I don’t mind.”
He tilted his face to the sun and closed his eyes. “Each day is a gift,” he said, then turned to look at her. “But if you want me to be your plus-one, perhaps we should get to know each other first. Let me know what you hope to achieve at this reunion.”
“Achieve?” she echoed, and he nodded, all earnest interest. “Um, to pretend I’m a half-competent adult who has her life together,” she said, shooting him a wry smile. He smiled back, but his eyes were full of incomprehension. “There’s this guy,” shesaid after a beat, her gaze drifting down to the gravel path, as she kicked a small stone. “Sean. He was my best friend in college. But then…we grew apart, lost touch.” She paused. It felt weird, talking to Rob about this. “It’s complicated.”
“You want to make Sean jealous?” he asked.
“No,” she said quickly. “That’s not it. He’s moved on, he’s got this whole big life going on.” She picked at the edge of her sleeve. “I guess I’m embarrassed for him to see how small my life is by comparison. I don’t want him to think I’ve got nothing, that I’m full of regrets.”
Rob’s brow creased. “What do you mean, your life is small?”
They’d reached the edge of the Serpentine now, the water glinting with early evening light. There were benches dotted along the side of the lake, some empty, others occupied by people reading, resting, watching the world go by.
“How long have you got?” Chloe said, lips curving into a half smile.
“As long as you need,” he said, reaching for her hand.
She hesitated, just for a second, then let him take it. It felt surprisingly nice. Warm, comforting. Just like a real hand.He gave her an encouraging smile, and she realized she could be honest with him, because she wasn’t trying to impress him.
“Where shall we start? My career? My love life? My finances?”
“Let’s go with your career,” he suggested.
“Okay, well, I took this job as a PA thinking it would lead somewhere. I was promised production and writing experience. But it’s been nearly two years now, and I’m still stuck doing calendar invites and shredding scripts.” She let out a soft laugh. “Sometimes I think the only reason I haven’t quit isbecause without this job, I’d have to admit I’ve totally flunked adulting.”
“That sounds frustrating,” Rob said, his brow creasing in sympathy.
“I gave up on trying to be an actress, now I say I want to be a writer, but I haven’t written anything in years. No idea seems to stick.”
Rob swung her hand back and forth, coaxing a reluctant smile from her. On the path in front of them sat a cluster of female ducks, sunning themselves on the concrete. As they approached, the ducks shuffled out of their way, a few slipping into the lake with quiet splashes, barely disturbing the surface.
“Want my advice?” he asked, and she nodded. “You should send your boss an email, setting out your expectation for growth. Give him a timetable to make good on it. If he can’t, then you’ll at least know it’s time to walk away. I can help you draft something if you like?”
She looked up at him, surprised. “That would be great.”
“Then we should talk about why you aren’t writing, what the block might be.”
“So, you’re a life coach now?”
“I can be. I can be whatever you want me to be, Chloe,” he said, a smile at the corner of his lips, eyes shamelessly focused on hers. Was he flirting again?
Rob clapped his hands. “Right, so we’re going to sort out your disingenuous boss. Let’s park your love life for now.” He grinned, raising his eyebrows slightly. “Finances, I can take a look at your portfolio if you feel comfortable with that?”
“Portfolio? I don’t even know what that is.”
“Ah,” Rob said with a charming mock grimace.
Chloe laughed, and while she knew this wasn’t real, she hadto admit it felt nice. The simple pleasure of walking with someone who let you speak, who listened, who looked at you like you mattered.
“So, can you really do anything you put your mind to?” she asked.
“If someone shows me how, sure,” he said.
