Page 14 of Love Overdose: St. Louis

I checked it every twenty.

Then one day became two. Two stretched into a week, and I decided Dr. Elijah Valentine had either lost my number or his nerve. Since Naomi had sent him my contact information, I knew the first option was unlikely.

I wasn’t hurt. Disappointed, yes. Slightly annoyed, absolutely. But not hurt. A man couldn’t break something I hadn’t given him.

“Well?” Naomi prodded.

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to listen to it?”

“Lunch, Wednesday at Mel’s,” I said quickly. “Tell Journey to move her meeting.”

“She’s not moving a district training because you refuse to eat vegetables.”

“Friday at noon, then.”

“You can eat a salad.”

“I can eat chicken and waffles and mind my business.”

“You’ll be too full for dinner.”

“I do cardio for a living. I’ll manage.”

She laughed. “Friday at Mel’s. Now listen to your voicemail.”

“Goodbye, Naomi.”

“Call me back.”

I hung up before she could repeat herself. The kitchen became quiet except for Malik’s soft humming and the faint sound of the television in the living room. I stared at my phone, suddenly too aware of how I looked even though Elijah couldn’t see me.

My hair was tied down beneath a satin scarf. I wore an old T-shirt with a bleach stain near the collar and leggings I should have thrown away two years ago. One sock was on my foot. The other had disappeared somewhere between my bedroom and the kitchen.

None of that mattered. Still, I straightened.

“Your mama is acting ridiculous,” I told Malik.

He smiled around a mouthful of sandwich.

“Don’t agree so fast.”

I pressed play. Elijah’s voice filled the kitchen, warm and deep enough to settle low in my stomach.

“Hey, Frankie. It’s Elijah. My family is having dinner at Soulful this Friday at seven. I know you’re friends with Naomi, so you’ve probably heard enough about the Valentines to reconsider answering this call.”

A smile tugged at my mouth.

“But if we haven’t scared you off yet, I’d like you to come with me. You said you wanted to do this again, and so do I.”

My fingers tightened around the phone.

“I should’ve called sooner. I could give you a list of reasons I didn’t, but none of them changes the fact that I wanted to. So, if you’re free Friday, have dinner with me.”

The message ended and I stood there, staring at nothing. It was the admission that got me.

I should’ve called sooner.