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Iraced home and tossed my purse on the bed, nearly killing Handcock in the process. “Sorry!”
I put my hair up while I moved into the bathroom. I didn’t have time to wash and dry it. It was going to be a quick shower to freshen up. In the back of my mind, I supposed I was preparing for sex. Just in case. It wasn’t likely, but it wasn’t off the table. I already knew I would willingly accept any advances he made. I wanted that night of fun Trisha had teased me with.
I stepped out of the shower and slathered on lotion. Then it was time to figure out what to wear. I’d been thinking about it since he agreed to take me to dinner. I went with dark jeans, a white blouse, and a pair of heels. It wasn’t too dressy. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. I wanted to look casual, like seeing the man I fell into bed with all those years ago was no big deal.
I quickly put on makeup, added a couple curls to my hair, and had to call it good. The minutes had flown by. This was my chance to make things right with him. I had to apologize if I did nothing else tonight. That would be the closure Trisha talked about. I hoped that closure meant I could move on, even if it wasn’t with him. I wanted to find a guy that could make me happy.
I had barely finished spraying my perfume on when I heard the doorbell. I was nervous and excited at the same time. I should have asked him to just drinks. I wasn’t sure I could eat anything. My stomach was in knots.
I answered the door. “Hi.”
“Hello,” he said, smiling. “You look nice.”
“Thank you. I just need to grab my purse.”
I dashed back into the room. Handcock darted out. I opened my mouth to yell at him not to run out the door but quickly slapped it shut. No way was I calling him by his name in front of Jon.
“Ready,” I said and gently nudged the cat away from the door.
“Cute cat,” Jon said.
“Yes. I suppose.”
We walked to his car, a red little two-door sports car. I wasn’t surprised. He seemed the kind of man to drive a flashy sports car. He was a perfect gentleman, opening the door for me and everything. I sat in the buttery leather seat and wondered if it would have been like this had we stayed together. Would he have taken me to nice dinners and treated me like a queen?
“I didn’t have time to make reservations, but there is a nice restaurant not far from here. Do you like Italian?”
“I do,” I said.
It was another reminder we knew very little about each other. We were practically strangers. “Do you?” I asked.
“Do I what?”
“Like Italian?” I clarified.
“My grandmother was Italian,” he answered. “I love Italian.”
We arrived at the restaurant and were quickly escorted to a table. He ordered a bottle of what I assumed was expensive wine. The waiter quickly returned and poured us each a glass of red. I took a tentative sip, mostly with the intention of calming my nerves.
I had imagined this moment happening a million different ways. Now that it was actually happening, I felt lost. I had no idea what to say or do.
“So, this is a surprise,” I said.
“The wine?”
“No. You. Me. Here. Together.”
He smirked and nodded. “Yes, it is. Did you ever think you’d run into me again?”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “I wanted to, but I had given up on it a long time ago.”
“You wanted to?” he questioned.
“I did. I’m sure that sounds ridiculous given the way things happened, but I did.”
“I understand,” he said.
“Jon, I don’t really have an excuse for what I did,” I said. “It was nothing personal. I think I panicked a little.”
