37. Chapter 37
Chapter 37
David looked down at the incoming text notification on his phone and felt his heart stutter. It was from Paige and as much as he’d been wanting to hear from her, now that the moment was upon him, he was basically too afraid to read the damn thing.
For almost a minute, he stared at the notification, fingers drumming on his work desk.
Finally, after taking the world’s biggest breath, he opened the text, praying that after a week of waiting, he wasn’t about to get metaphorically kicked in the balls because that wasn’t part of his plan.
PAIGE: I’m in.
“Holy shit,” he murmured, reading it five more times before FaceTiming her with shaky hands. The moment she came onscreen, he asked, “You’re in?”
“Yes. I’d like to try again, too,” Paige replied.
The relief was real, and as the tightness in David’s chest started to loosen, he was able to breathe once again, for what felt like the first time in days. “You’ll need to meet Jacob, then.”
“I know.”
He watched her expression cloud over. “What is it?”
“Nothing. I was just … thinking. What if he, um, hates me?”
David almost laughed out loud at that. “Oh, my God, are you serious?”
“Shut-up. Of course I’m serious. He might hate me, and then what?”
He cleared his throat, because he could see she was serious. “Paige, he’s not going to hate you.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Yes, I do. He doesn’t hate anyone—or anything for that matter. Except for Brussel sprouts. He actually does hate those. But he’s not going to hate you. He’s going to—” he stopped, almost having said ‘love you’ and quickly said, “—really like you. You’re a very likable person, so why wouldn’t he like you?”
“I don’t know. I just … you’re right.” She nodded her head quickly. “I am very likable, so of course there’s nothing to worry about. I’m not worried. It’s going to be great.”