Page 62 of Finding My Charming

“You’ve got great taste.”

A moment of silence passed while he obviously figured out what I’d meant. “You’re kidding me.”

“Nope. Frankie’s is the best!”

Vincent’s head dropped against the seat, and he sighed. “I’ve been sweating this all day, and I ended up bringing you to your favorite burger place?”

I covered my smile with my palm and nodded.

“I must know you even better than I thought.” He continued shaking his head as he opened his door and got out. He hurried around the front of the car to my side. He offered me his hand, which I accepted. On top of everything else, he was a real gentleman. Pretty soon, I am going to start believing unicorns and wizards exist, too.

Nearly everything about him was too good to be true. He was handsome. He listened to me. We got along so easily.

Part of me was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Chapter 20

ari had responded to my emergency text last night with plans to meet for lunch on my break. I needed to hurry and decide who was the right guy, but I was being split in two, and I needed her input.

Another sigh escaped when I checked the clock and realized there was still two hours between now and lunch. Two hours of me sitting in my chair of self-pity and disdain.

“If you sigh or groan one more time, I’m going to lose my mind, Elise. You don’t want that to happen, do you?” She gave me one of her best motherly looks, which only added guilt to my montage of negativity.

“I’m sorry, Sherrie. I’m going to go back and file.” A closet in the back housed hundreds of old case files that had already been converted digitally to the computers but needed to be sorted and stored. It was a daunting and excruciatingly mundane task, but it would be perfect for me. I needed something mindless, yet productive, to do before I went completely mad.

“You don’t need to do that, dear. I wasn’t trying to kick you out, I just wanted you to cheer up.”

I grabbed my phone and wireless headphones so I could have music playing in the back and stood. “It’s okay. It’s got to get done, and I could use some time to think.”

“You can talk to me. You know that, right?”

I nodded and walked past the desk to the hall leading to my prison for the day. I didn’t know what I was going to do about my situation, and this would give me a chance to make a plan before I talked to Ari. She would probably have some crazy ideas to help, but I needed logic and strategy right now. Time wasn’t on my side, and I didn’t have the luxury of making mistakes.

With some depressing songs to keep me company, I was able to get through almost half of the stacks of files by the time Ari appeared at the doorway.

“Sherrie told me you were back here.” She looked from the cabinets to my phone to me sitting on the floor surrounded by files with a look of confusion and concern. “Things are really bad, aren’t they?”

I nodded and bit my bottom lip to keep from bursting into tears. Ari was my rock, always had been, and if there was any way I was going to get through this, it was going to be with her by my side.

“Oh, Elle.” She knelt and wrapped her arms around me.

I bit harder, but she’d broken the dam. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I took rough, hiccupping breaths.

She squeezed tighter, and I felt her rest her chin on the top of my head. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then I’ll get us some food, and we can go eat in the park by the library, okay?”

Ari knew that park was my favorite. During the past summers, I would take a book and a snack and sit in the shade of one of the old trees and read all morning, until she’d hunt me down and make me hang out with her.

We stood, and I let her lead the way to the bathroom. She walked in with me and offered a damp paper towel. Mascara had streaked my cheeks, and I cursed the decision I’d made that morning to bother with makeup. I did my best to clean it up but gave up when my eyes went from black, to pink, to red and puffy. Oh well, I had no way to cover the fact I’d been crying anyway.

Ari guided me down the hall toward the front door and grabbed my purse that was conveniently waiting for us on the counter. I didn’t look up to say bye to Sherrie but heard her whisper something to Ari before telling us to have a nice lunch.

She wordlessly directed me to her car and opened my door.

I looked from the passenger seat to her. “I’m sad, not an invalid.”

She smirked and waved her hand, dismissing me. “I’m just trying to be nice.”

Without responding, I slid into the seat and waited for her to get in. She didn’t ask me what I wanted to eat. As my best friend, she already knew what I needed. Minutes later, we were pulling into the drive-thru of Burrito Amigo, home of the best cheap Mexican food around. Nothing cured a bad day like a cheesy, melty bean burrito and a chocolate milkshake.