“So can I, but it’s nice to have the help.”
“But we don’t need it.”
“But it’s nice.”
“Are you going to keep arguing or—”
“You’re used to one way of life, and I’m used to another. I don’t think I should change mine or yours. But someone will be here to clean and do laundry each week. If you choose to have her skip your room and your clothes, that’s fine.”
“Great. I’d like that.”
“But they will be here doing it anyway, so if you change your mind . . .”
She narrows her eyes at me. “Right now, I think I’ll stick with doing it on my own.”
Damn. Now what do I do?
I’ll need to make a new list.
“Okay, now that that’s settled,” I reply, “should we get started? I want you to be able to eat before you have to go to work.”
“Oh, I don’t work tonight now. There was a mix-up in the schedule, and I’m actually off.”
A whole night with her.
That’s pure luck.
“All right, well, let’s start with the dry ingredients.”
Syd listens closely and follows my every instruction. Being with her is so easy. Easier than I thought I could ever be. The way we move around the kitchen, occasionally invading the other’s space . . . everything about it feels right.
Which complicates things. I want to move back to Manhattan, but how can I ask her to leave her whole life behind and come with me? At the same time, how can I not?
“I love that you know how to cook. My mom enjoyed cooking, too, but she worked a lot, so we didn’t have a lot of time to do this type of thing together. We should do it more often.”
“How about every Saturday night?” I ask, taking my chance.
“I work most of them, but on the nights I don’t, it’s a date.”
“I can’t wait,” I say as her eyes meet mine.This is it, Mark. You have to tell her.
“So, look,” I clear my throat. “I want to talk about something.”
“Ooh, it sounds serious.’’ She sets her fork down and folds her arms on the table, her gaze on me. “I’m listening.”
God, she looks beautiful.
Fuck. Okay. I can do this.
“I would like to move back to Manhattan this fall.”
“Oh.”
She sits up, her hands moving to her lap, and she looks down at the table.
“Yeah, I have a job lined up with my father and his company. They do a lot of real estate business, buying and selling. It’s really not that interesting, but what gets me is the amount of time the company volunteers around the city, and the donations they make are amazing. I’ve wanted to be a part of that for as long as I can remember, and the plan was always for me to take over one day.” I let out a small laugh. “Even as a boy, I used to pretend that I ran his company. It’s just what I know, and I want it, but I can only have it there.”
“Oh.”
