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When the familiar, almost violent rush of feeling that she’d felt with Jamie hadn’t appeared, she thought that maybe it wasn’t supposed to feel all-consuming. Taryn was right. It hadn’t been love. At least not the all-consuming kind.
It had been a comfortable relationship. She had enjoyed his company, cared about him, respected him. After dating for a year and a half, it had seemed like the next logical step to get engaged.
Until the whole relationship had disintegrated right in front of her very eyes. The bile rose in her throat when she thought about the pictures. He’d been fucking his campaign manager and another staffer. The LA Chronicle had run the pictures, and reporters had been camped out on her lawn.
The betrayal had left her reeling. Not because she’d been desperately in love with him, but because she had been disgusted and angry. How had she not seen it?
And he’d had the nerve to call her after the story broke, to try and salvage things between them. He had begged and apologized. He’d said a lot of the right things, not that they had mattered. She had told him to go to hell and then mailed the items he’d left at her place back to him. Asshole.
Cora gave a cynical snort and dipped her chopsticks back into the carton of cold lo mein.
How could she ever trust her own judgment again? She had been so terribly wrong about him.
She tried to look at it objectively, as if this were a story from a patient. What would she suggest for them?
Journaling would be the first step. Ultimately, she’d probably suggest that they find a way to forgive themselves. Rationally, she knew that she was holding on to more of the blame than she should be. When it came to emotions though, rationality barely ever came into play.
Her phone buzzed loudly next to her. When she picked up her phone and saw a text from Jamie, she couldn’t help but smile. He was suggesting lunch at one of the Chinese places they used to love to go when they were together.
She looked down at the carton of lo mein in her hand and smirked.
“Old habits die hard. I’ve got a carton of lo mein from Golden Palace sitting next to me,” she typed.
“Is it still hot or second day?” he immediately responded.
She laughed and answered, “Second day is always better.”
“Did you even heat it up?”
“Of course not,” she typed, smirking.
He immediately responded back, “Not to brag but Taryn made me a casserole. It had ham, cheddar, garlic, potatoes, and bread crumbs.”
Cora whimpered slightly and typed, “That’s my favorite. I should see if I can weasel one out of her. I tried to use her recipe and it wasn’t the same.”
“I would have happily share mine…if I hadn’t eaten it all. For the record, it was insanely good,” Jamie said.
“Thanks. Jerk. Rub it in,” she responded back. A moment later, she added, “Did I mention I had an order of their pot stickers, too? I warmed those up.”
Cora smirked as she popped one into her mouth. When the phone rang a moment later, she gave a slight jump. After she had finished the bite of food in her mouth, she answered, “Hello?”
“You’re a cold woman, Cora,” Jamie responded by way of greeting.
She laughed as she put the plastic lid over the remaining dumplings then leaned back against the cushions and said, “You started it.”
She could hear the grin in his voice when he agreed, “Yeah. I suppose I did.”
“So,” she asked. “How did the search for office furniture go?”
“Pretty well. I think I found what I was looking for. What I get is really going to depend on the space though. I found a great desk though.”
They had continued to talk for another two hours before Cora’s cell phone battery had started going dead. The last time she talked on the phone like that was when they had been together all those years ago.
She was noticing little differences in Jamie. He was a little more together now. When they had dated before he seemed at loose ends about his career, but seeing him like this, so driven, was a big change. Deep down, where it counted, it seemed that the important things hadn’t changed.
He was still the same smart, funny, and kind person that he’d always been. Bluntly honest, but never cruelly so. Sharply witty. It was an attractive combination. A combination that had always been hard to resist.
After this upcoming lunch, she had to find some sort of way to ease back. There was no way that she could sustain any sort of friendship with him. She was still attracted to him.
