Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
Weston
“Hi.” Samantha smiled.
“Hi. You look incredible.”
“Thanks. Come on in. I have to grab my purse.”
I stepped inside and scanned the small space, noting a backpack on the chair with multicolored buttons all over it.
“Nice backpack,” I smirked. “I take it you’re a button collector?”
She glanced at the backpack and laughed. “That’s not mine. That’s Zoey’s backpack.”
“And who may I ask is Zoey?”
“My sixteen-year-old daughter.”
I swallowed hard. She had a six-year-old daughter? Great. Just great.
“Oh. I wasn’t aware you had a daughter.”
“Well, now you are. If you want to cancel our date, I’d understand.”
My brow furrowed. “Why would I cancel?”
“Because I have a daughter you didn’t know about. It’s fine, really. I totally understand.”
I stood there, my hands tucked tightly into my pants pockets, and stared at her. It was apparent that she was uncomfortable going out with me.
“You seem nervous. Why?” I asked. “I don’t bite. But if you asked me—”
“Stop.” She raised her hand.
“I’m just joking, Samantha. Come on. I promise you’ll have a good time.”
We headed down to the lobby and climbed into the backseat of the Bentley.
“Samantha, this is my driver, Ben. Ben, meet Samantha Hollis.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Samantha.”
“You as well, Ben.”
“So, which fancy restaurant are we dining in tonight?” she asked.
“Carbone.”
“I’ve never been, but I’ve heard good things.”
“I want you to tell me why you’re so nervous tonight,” I said, staring at her.
I wanted to reach out and take a few strands of her soft-looking hair between my fingers.
“You’re not going to drop it, are you?”
“No. I’m not.” I chuckled.
“Fine. I’m not nervous. I just don’t want to have dinner with you.”
“Why?” My brows furrowed.
“Because you’re a man.”
“Oh. So, you’re a lesbian?”
“What? No! What is wrong with you?” She lightly smacked my arm with the back of her hand.
“You said I’m a man. What else am I supposed to think?”
“Let me rephrase. A man, whom I dated for three years, broke my heart recently, and I’m not ready to go out with another man yet.”
“I see. How long has it been?”
“Six months.”
I waited for the rest. There had to be a rest. But she didn’t say anything else.
“Six months?” I arched my brow. “And you’re still thinking about it?”
“Deeply. I’m running on fumes and one single working emotion. That emotion is resentment.”
“But it’s been six months.”
“I’m aware of how time works. Thank you,” she sighed.
I couldn’t wrap my head around it. “Samantha, six months is two seasons. Six months ago, I couldn’t tell you the name of a single person I was—” I stopped myself. “My point is that’s a very long time to still be sad about one guy.”
“Oh yeah?” She cocked her head. “How long do you usually grieve?”
“I don’t grieve. That’s the whole—”
“Seriously. How long, Weston?”
“Well, there’s the drive home. And by the time I’m through the door, I’ve—”
“The drive home?” She laughed. “You mourn a relationship for the length of a commute?”
“I do not mourn,” I said.
“I think you’re a sociopath,” she said as Ben pulled up to Carbone.
“Sociopath, no. Well-adjusted, yes.” I smirked, opening the door.
I extended my hand. The moment she placed hers in mine, an unfamiliar feeling rose inside my chest.
“Good evening, Mr. Castile, and welcome. Follow me, and I’ll take you to your table.”
“They know you here?” Samantha asked as we headed to our table.
“Everyone knows me.”
“I don’t.”
“You will by the end of the night.” I winked.
The moment we sat down, I ordered a bottle of champagne.
“Order anything on the menu,” I said, picking up mine.
“Trust me. I intend to.” She smiled, reaching for a piece of freshly baked bread from the basket.
After we placed our order, I picked up my drink. “So, about that ex. What did he do to make you swear off men?”
“Why do you care?” She bit into her bread.
“Because I’m a man and I need to know if I should be worried that you’ll go off the rails tonight, think I’m your ex, and possibly kill me.”
“Don’t worry. You’re safe for now,” she said. “He cheated on me with Gym Girl Brittany.”
“Gym Girl Brittany?” My brow arched.
“Weston, I held up a sign in the rain, and the whole time, there was a Gym Girl Brittany.”
“Let’s go back to the sign in the rain,” I said. “Why were you holding up a sign in the rain for him?”
“Because I drove four hours like a fool to watch him in a triathlon. I was cheering his cheating ass on.”
“And what did the sign say?”
“I’m not telling you.”
The waiter walked over and set our plates down.
“Thank you.” I looked at him. “Why won’t you tell me what the sign said?” I asked Samantha.
“Because you’ll laugh.”
“I promise I won’t. What did it say?”
“GO CHRIS, YOU BEAUTIFUL MUSCLE PRINCE.”
I couldn’t help it. The laughter escaped me, no matter how hard I tried to hold it back.
“Jerk.” She shook her head.
“I’m sorry.” I chuckled.
“Do you know how humiliating it is to discover you stood in the pouring rain holding a glitter sign for a man who was sleeping with Gym Girl Brittany?”
“No. I can’t say I do.”
“Figured you wouldn’t.”
“Do you know what I think?”
“I don’t really care what you think.”
This woman was a spitfire, and the more we talked, the more aroused I became.
“I’m telling you anyway. I think Gym Girl Brittany did you a favor.”
“That’s just ridiculous. How did she do me a favor?”
“I think any guy dumb enough to cheat on the woman standing in the rain holding a sign that says ‘Go Chris You Beautiful Muscle Prince’ is an idiot. Let Gym Girl Brittany have him. Once you get your feelings in check, you’ll realize him cheating on you was the best thing that could have happened.
” I cut into my filet. “Besides, how does that look to your daughter?”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“You’re six months out of a relationship with a man who hurt you, and you’re still swearing off men and dates.
Is that the example you want to show her?
What would you tell your daughter if some boy broke her heart, and it had been six months, and she was still grieving the loss? I want total honesty.”
She stared at me with a perplexed look while shoving a piece of filet into her mouth.
“I don’t know. I suppose I would tell her that everything happens for a reason. When one door closes, another opens. And that he wasn’t meant to be in her life long-term, and he was only in it as a stepping stone and paving the way for her to find her soulmate.”
“Well then, Samantha. Everything happens for a reason. When one door closes, another opens. He wasn’t meant to be in your life long-term, and he was only in it as a stepping stone and paving the way for you to find your soulmate,” I said.