“Got it.Salads and soup coming up.”Rachel gathered the menus and walked away.
“So how are things going with you and Lucas?”Cassie’s question caught me off guard..
“Fine.”I arranged my napkin on my lap to avoid looking at her.After our talk Saturday, I’d been prepared for Lucas to be different this morning.But he’d been totally professional.I wished I could say my thoughts about him were professional.
“Just fine?Friday night, the man took responsibility for the two of you breaking up.”
“Yes, there has to be more to you two than just fine.”Emma fiddled with her napkin.
I didn’t know what to say.But I did want to talk about Lucas and what was going on between us.It might help me figure out the man he was today and maybe even settle my own fears.“I don’t know how to do this.”
“What?Talk?”Cassie asked.
“I know how to talk.”I couldn’t stop a nervous chuckle.“It’s the whole spilling tea to girlfriends.”
“Wait a second.Have you never had a close girlfriend before?”Emma stared at me.
“I was the nerdy kid at school and then in college.I was always reading or studying.”
“Family?”Emma voice was soft.
“Parents and a sister.But we’re not close.”My family didn’t care about me.Of course, that didn’t stop my mother from calling me when she wanted something.But that was a topic for another time.
“I’m not close with mine either.”Cassie’s response was matter of fact.
“Asher took mine to task when they acted up.”There was pride in Emma’s voice.
“Now that sounds like a story.”Maybe I could get the attention off me.
“Later.”Emma waved her hands in the air.“Spill, girl.Tell us about you and Lucas.”
Well, I guess I wasn’t going to get away with not talking.I thought for a moment, then started off by telling them about meeting Lucas at the mixer at the company we worked for, our relationship, how he left me and how hurt I was.Even now, my stomach clenched with the memory of the pain.
“And have you forgiven him?”Emma smiled her thanks when Rachel set the soup in front of her.
“To a point.”” Fear was still there.My salad looked delicious.My tummy rumbled.At least a part of me was hungry.
“Was that before or after you came to work at Fantasies, Inc.?”Cassie asked.
“After.I tried to get Lucas out of my mind.”I’d only thought about him in passing, and then only rarely.“I thought I’d succeeded until I saw him in the lobby on my first day, and it all came tumbling back.”For me, everything seemed tied up with our previous relationship and all the emotions.
“Were you surprised to see Lucas?”Emma dipped her spoon into her soup.
“I was.At first glance, I thought he was the same old Lucas I knew from before.The flirt and playboy.”
Cassie burst out laughing.“Lucas?Playboy?”
“Why is that funny?”Had Lucas really changed that much?Why was I questioning this?He’d taken responsibility for our breakup and wanted to make it up to me.A part of me accepted that at face value, but there was a part that was worried about getting my heart broken again.Maybe I wasn’t explaining this right.
Cassie took a drink of her tea and waved her hand in front of her face.“I’ve never met such a straight-laced person working for FI as I have with Lucas.I mean the man never talks about his love life, and from what I know, he’s only had a few dates in the last five years.”
I blinked.That couldn’t be true.That wasn’t the Lucas I knew.And I wasn’t the same either.I’d noticed other changes in him in this last week.Even Saturday, he explained why he left, and he seemed embarrassed by it.That wasn’t the cocky man from my past.Maybe I was being too critical.
“Maybe he has changed.”Part of me wanted to believe that, but my heart warned me things weren’t always what they seemed.
“Some men do, especially as they get older and realize they made mistakes,” Emma said.
“He’s only thirty-five.”
