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"Yeah, I mean to visit, or whatever."
"What's whatever?"
"I don't know. Visit. Come to visit. Do you think you would ever do that?"
"Yeah, I think the chances are pretty good that I'll come back to Seattle sometime. I've been several times and I really like it. I met… interesting people the last time I was there."
"I met interesting people the last time you came to Seattle, too," he said.
"You meet interesting people every day," I said. "I know because I had a spy infiltrate your establishment today, and she said you were like the mayor of Seattle."
"Did you have someone spy on me?" he asked, sounding hopeful. "Please tell me you did. That'll make us so much more even on the creep scale. I really need some normal points here."
I laughed. "My friend did go in there today. I didn't tell her to go. She just wanted to see you. She's the one who read the book and called me. She wasn't with me in the diner, but she heard the story that day and was curious about you after she read the book."
"The mayor really did come in for lunch today. Was she talking about him, maybe?"
I laughed. "Did the mayor really come in?"
"Yes."
"No, she was talking about you."
"Ari?"
"Yes?"
"My grandma has called twice while we've been on the phone. I forgot we were supposed to discuss some stuff about a menu change."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said. "Is it Rita?" I asked, since I had read a lot about his grandma in the book. The love stories were mostly set in the restaurant, and she had been the backbone of the operation for years until Isaac filled her shoes.
"Yes. I call her Birdy."
"I like that name," I said. "And, by all means, let me let you go so you can call her back. I just wanted to touch base with you and tell you I read the—"
"Am I going to be able to call you back?" he asked.
"What? Yeah, sure. But you don't… need to."
"That's what I'm afraid of," he said. "If we get off the phone right now, are you going to be okay with me calling you back? I need about fifteen minutes to talk to my grandma while I drive to the gym, and then I have a quick game of basketball planned with a few guys. If I can call you back in like an hour or two, that would be amazing."
"Yeah, sure. But you don't have to. I was just contacting you to let you know I read the book."
"So, do you not want me to call you back? Because I won't do it if you—"
"Or-uh-you can call me back if you want, after basketball."
"Thank you, I will," he said.
"Okay."
Chapter 8
Maybe it would be cooler of me to say that I forgot about Isaac calling me back, but the truth was that I waited on pins and needles after that first hour had passed. I knew I wouldn't call him back if he didn't call me. It was all up to this—either he would call me back, or we wouldn't talk again.
It was 8pm my time, and I was catching up on some cleaning around my apartment when it finally happened—he called me back. I had music playing on my phone, and I ran over to it and picked it up when I heard the phone ringing. I hadn't made a contact for him, but I recognized the number.
"Hello?" I said, feeling way too excited for someone who had a boyfriend.This meant I needed to break up with Eddie. I was pretty sure I would have to do that. I would need to think of a way to do it and still keep my job.But there was no time to think. I was on the phone with Isaac from Seattle.
