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“I’m so glad you could do this,” Rory says as we release. I take off my coat before sliding into the booth opposite her. “Last night wasn’t conducive to deep conversation.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I feel confident in teasing, “Looked like you had plenty to talk about with my dad.”
I watch Rory carefully for her reaction. I’m not disappointed when she gives me a conspiratorial grin rather than a shy blush. “Your dad is a fascinating man and I had a fantastic time hanging out with him.”
“He’s the best.”
A waitress approaches, and I turn my coffee cup upright to indicate I’d love some of what she has in that pot. “Do you ladies know what you’re having?”
I glance at Rory and grab a menu. “Do you? If so, order, and I can figure mine out quick.”
When the waitress is gone and I’ve got my coffee doctored up with lots of cream and a little sugar, I say, “I have to tell you… because you’re the first family member I’ve met, but Hendrix is just…”
My words falter, and I glance out the window. Rory patiently waits me out, and I turn back to her. “He’s… amazing. No, wait. That doesn’t do him justice. I guess there’s not really one word that could do it. Even my dad likes him, and that’s saying something.”
“We raised a good boy,” she agrees.
I lift my eyebrows as I sip my coffee.
She laughs and plays her fingertip along the rim of her own cup. “Oh, I’ll give my sister and her husband credit, but I had a hand in it too. And while I can’t admit it to my other nieces and nephews, he’s by far my favorite.”
“He talks about you all the time. You had a profound influence on him growing up, and even now… he just adores you.”
“And he adores you,” she says, and that causes me to blush.
And feel more pleased than I have a right to feel. “Really?”
Rory tips her head to the side. “Can’t you tell, Stevie? You seem like a confident woman. Surely you see it. Feel it.”
“I think so.” I unroll the utensils from my napkin and place it on my lap as I collect my thoughts. “But… I’ve got relationship hang-ups, so sometimes it’s hard.”
“Someone cheat on you?” she asks sympathetically.
Laughing, I shake my head. “Actually, not even close. The few serious romantic relationships I’ve had fizzled more than anything.”
“Why did they fizzle?”
“Two reasons. I didn’t feel deeply enough for them, and they couldn’t handle that I owned a bar, which means I had responsibilities that sometimes took priority over them. I work a lot.”
“Hendrix is proud of what you do, and he’s got his own time management issues, so that shouldn’t be a problem for you two.”
“It’s not at all,” I assure her. “Our time is limited by our careers, but we make the most of what we have.”
“I still feel bad Hendrix insisted on coming back to his place last night.”
I shake my head, holding out a hand. “Don’t. Hendrix and I have all the time in the world, and we agreed you should be escorted home.”
“You’re both sweet,” she says softly. “But let’s talk about the other reason your relationships fizzled. You said you didn’t feel deeply enough for them.”
I give her an admonishing look. “Are you asking me my innermost feelings about your nephew?”
“I am indeed,” she says with a lifted chin.
I snicker and lean forward, hands wrapped around my warm coffee. Therapy early in life and journaling taught me the value of sharing emotions with good communication. “I feel a lot for Hendrix. More than I’ve ever felt before. I mean, it’s all new and exciting, but there’s something that just feels very old and settled between us. I’m not sure if that makes sense. He feels so very sure and dependable to me, and yet I lose my breath around him all the time, and it’s like I’m holding on to a live wire.”
“Well, well, well,” Rory murmurs as she leans back slightly, her eyes pinning onto me. “This might be the real deal.”
“It’s only been a few weeks,” I remind her.
“You can know those things in just a few hours, if you have the right conversations.”
Images of Hendrix dragging me to the storeroom flash before me. “Something about him the night we met hit me hard.”
I tell her about the pool game—which she already knew about since Hendrix told her—and how he got me to admit right off the bat I was attracted to him.
“And then I asked him why he was with Tracy for so long if things were so bad between them, because my biggest concern at that point was he was rebounding. And he assured me he was not.”
“I can attest he would not have rebounded with Tracy. He didn’t love her, and half the time, I’m not sure he even liked her much.”
