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Anderson waved his hand, and a waitress approached us, delivering menus. Moments later, I decided on getting a grilled chicken Caesar salad, while Anderson settled on steak and potatoes.
“What’s been going on with you, Joanna?” he asked after we had placed our orders.
“A lot,” I said with a sigh. In the moment, it occurred to me that I had no desire to fill him in on the things I’d been forced to endure at the hands of Zander. “I was living in Miami for a while,” I said, figuring it was best to keep it simple.
“And you traded in Miami for cold Chicago winters?”
I smiled. “Hey, I’m not scared of Chicago winters. I am from here, you know.”
Anderson laughed. “So, what were you doing out there in Miami?”
“Working in Finance and…just hanging out.”
Anderson reached for his cup of water, and once again, I felt his eyes roaming over me. “Well, from what I can tell, the years have certainly been good to you,” he said.
I smirked. “I can say the same for you. The years have certainly made you a lot nicer, that’s for sure.”
Anderson gave a hearty laugh, and I couldn’t help smiling at the sound.
“Now, what makes you say that? Was I really that bad?” he asked.
I placed my finger on my chin as if deep in thought. “Well, maybe not to everyone, but you certainly were to me.”
“Aww, come on!”
“Toothpick, munchkin, bonehead…” I said. “Those are just a few of the names I remember you calling me. I’m sure there were others that I’m forgetting.”
Anderson placed a hand on his chest, feigning being hurt. “You know those were all said out of affection, my love.”
“Sure,” I said, ignoring the way my face flushed again at the sound of him referring to me as ‘my love.’ I reached for my glass of water and took a sip.
“And you have to admit,” he added, “you were a little obnoxious back then.”
“Was I?” I said. “Well, maybe there was a reason for that.”
“A reason like what?”
Me having a crush on you, I thought, but didn’t dare say, regardless of the way his eyes bore into mine, challenging me to answer. Luckily the waitress returned with our food, sparing me from responding.
“This looks delicious,” I said, desperate to change the subject. I could feel the flirtatious vibes coming from Anderson, and quite suddenly, I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. There was no doubt that I was still immensely attracted to him, but I was uncertain of how he truly felt about me. I couldn’t tell whether his flirtation was genuine or if he had picked up on the crush I had on him and simply wanted to humor me.
I also knew there was a chance that Tobias had told him to be nice, for it was precisely the kind of thing my brother would do.
And then there was Anderson’s playboy ways to consider…
Even when I was in high school, I remembered how he and Tobias used to regularly talk about girls. If memory served me correctly, Anderson always had a revolving door of women, with girls regularly flocking to his side.
Yet as the sister of his best friend, something told me he wouldn’t really put me in that category. His friendship with Tobias went too far back for him to risk it by playing games with me.
“What are you thinking?” Anderson abruptly asked.
I realized he had been watching me, noticing that I hadn’t even touched my salad yet.
I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said, and then picked up my fork to eat a bite. “Anyway, enough about me. What’s been going on with you over these years?”
“Just working with your brother,” he said.
“What about outside of work? Anyone…um…special in your life?”
