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"Chicago."
"Why Chicago?"
"I was wondering the same thing."
"Did you say her name was Ari?"
"Yes, and the guy's name is Isaac."
"That's his name in real life. I know because I ran into him at graduation and we had a whole conversation."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know. You were telling me about that guy you were talking to, and we got off of the subject. You had a lot going on that day. So, I dropped the t-shirt off at the restaurant on my way out of town."
"Oh my gosh, I did not know all that happened. Well, he must have thought you had some big connection because your whole story is in that book, and it all ends with you going back over there and falling in love with him."
"I'm still so confused, Sabrina. I guess I can get this book and it will explain it."
"Yes, you should definitely get the book. You're the one who lived through the experience. You can tell me if it's what happened. But I know it is. I know it's you. It's your name and everything."
"Okay, I'm trying to keep up. Just tell me the name of the book."
"It's Jill Phillips. I'm looking at it right now on my Kindle. The Café on the Corner. That's the name of it. It was released a couple of months ago. It's got several love stories, and yours is a little later, but… I can't believe it's your exact story. It's crazy. I thought next I was going to find out that you were an ad executive and already married to this guy."
I laughed nervously. "An ad executive?" I said, focusing on the most nonsensical part of what she said. "No, I'm in Atlanta. And I'm dating someone else."
"Who are you dating?"
"A guy. I'll tell you about it later since I'm at work." I spoke quietly and glanced over my shoulder even though I knew there were only two of us in the building at the moment.
Sabrina breathed a sigh. "I hadn't talked to you since graduation. I thought all of that happened like in the book, and I would find you in Seattle and married to that guy."
"No, and that is seriously crazy. I don't have a Kindle. I use my phone or buy paperbacks. But, oh my gosh, I'm looking at that book on the computer. It's a picture of a skyline on the cover."
"I know. It's Seattle. Read the book right now, Ari. Your characters don't come in until later, like, chapter fourteen or fifteen."
"Okay, I'm going to download it on my phone."
Chapter 5
Chapter 14
Isaac and Ari
The one that almost got away
Isaac was the golden boy of the family. He was the face of his family's successful Seattle restaurant. He was the heartbeat of the operation, and he set the tone there. Isaac was a man's man with the face of an angel. He was the most handsome man Ari had ever seen. She wanted him, and she didn't even know his name. She watched him tighten the screws on the front door, staring at his tight jeans and wondering what a guy like Isaac was doing working in a place like this. He could have been a male model, for crying out loud.
I put down my phone after reading one paragraph of the fourteenth chapter. I held it to my chest while fanning myself with my free hand.What in the world was going on?I had watched Isaac tighten the screws on the door, and I had thought he was handsome. It might have even crossed my mind to wonder what a guy like him was doing working there.
I grabbed the front of my shirt and picked it up a few times to create a flow of air on my chest. This book was about me, and I was reeling from it. I was basically alone in the dance studio, but I looked all around to make sure no one was coming before continuing reading. My heart was hammering as I found the place on the page.
Isaac turned, and Ari hoped he would talk to her, but he had other plans. His eyes roamed to her chest, and they stayed there, fixed like glue to one concentrated area. To Ari's chagrin, Isaac just stood there and stared at her chest.
Ari misunderstood him in that moment. She had no idea about the visions Isaac was experiencing. Isaac had spent a restless night dreaming, and it was too much when his dream was literally brought to life on this customer's shirt. He had no idea who this woman was, and she stood in front of him like some other-worldly messenger. Isaac stared at the running horses on her t-shirt, unable to rip his eyes away. It was exactly like the dream he had the night before, and he gawked at it for what must have been a long time.
Ari did what any girl would do. She reached up and slapped him across the face. It was a hard one, and it was the wake-up call Isaac needed. Isaac was a true gentleman. He had never been slapped before. But Ari had to do it in that moment. She had no other choice but to get him to snap out of it.
