Chapter 7 #2
He knew this was a dangerous question. It gave away too much of what he was feeling and thinking, and it could make things more complicated. Still, he needed the advice.
“Changing their minds?” Travis echoed. He looked over at Daniel, who shared a look with him that Nate suspected he would understand only when he was deep in a relationship himself. And if that were to happen, he wouldn’t need to ask the question in the first place.
“It doesn’t work like that, man,” Daniel said with a laugh that Travis joined in on.
“It doesn’t work like that at all,” Travis agreed. “Do you really think I could have changed Amy’s mind if she didn’t want to?”
“The same with Jenn,” Daniel said. “She’d just come out of a relationship with a guy who was always telling her what to do.
And I wouldn’t have wanted to be with her if the only reason it happened was because I’d somehow talked her into it.
I’d have been worried that it wasn’t real, when in reality… ”
“It’s real,” Travis said, although he was obviously thinking about Amy.
Daniel nodded. “It is.”
“The truth is, Amy came round on her own,” Travis said. “I just had to show her the kind of man I’d become. I had to show her I wasn’t the same guy who’d walked out on her before.”
“And I had to show Jenn that I wasn’t the same as her ex,” Daniel said, “and that I would be there for her no matter what happened. I had to show her that I could commit to her.”
“But it was also about being patient,” Travis said. “I mean, it wasn’t easy. Easy would have been giving up.”
“But you didn’t,” Nate said.
“No,” Daniel agreed. “We didn’t. Although I guess we came pretty close before Jenn and I realized that we both needed each other more than anything. Sometimes, I guess you have to trust that things will work out.”
Nate nodded. Both he and Tamara came from families who approached relationships differently, but that didn’t mean they had to follow those same paths.
Although it had been so difficult for Tamara, Nate was grateful that she hadn’t ended up with the guy she’d known all her life.
If that had happened, the two of them never would have met.
Listening to Travis’s and Daniel’s stories made everything seem clearer somehow.
Hearing them talk about the importance of not giving up made Nate want to go back inside and hang out with Tamara.
Maybe he couldn’t kiss her the way he wanted to.
Maybe he couldn’t convince her that they should be more than friends, but if he could be there for her and show her that he was genuine and that he believed in her, then maybe, just maybe, she might give him a shot.
“Thanks, guys,” Nate said. “That really helps.”
Back inside the café, everyone was still enjoying themselves, but the party was obviously winding down.
Daniel and Jenn were the first to go, having to get back to relieve their sitter.
Kate and Meg left together since Meg was giving Kate a ride home.
Kate thanked everyone again, and then, as they left, Nate heard Meg making a call to Lucas, telling him she’d meet up with him once Kate was home safe and sound.
Liz helped Tamara tidy up, and then she and Jason said their good-byes.
On their way out, Liz stopped and said, “Nate, would you mind checking across the street before you go home? I locked up before I came over here, but it would be great if you could double check.”
Nate didn’t mind, of course, but teasingly he said, “You don’t know I’ll be the last one here.”
Liz gave him a long look and said, “Yes, I do.”
Okay, so maybe she did. He was glad she didn’t say more than that. One by one, the others left, and Nate decided it was also time for him to go. He didn’t want to push anything too soon. All he could do, as the guys had said, was be there for Tamara. Not give up.
“Nate,” Tamara called as he was opening the door. “Got a minute?”
Nate paused, turning back to her.
“Come through to the back room for a moment,” she said. “I need to talk to you.”
Nate’s mind raced with the possibilities, instantly imagining all the things two people could do in a stock room if they were so inclined. This time, though, he didn’t instantly push the thoughts to one side, because maybe, just maybe…
“Sure,” Nate said, trying to play it cool as he followed her into the storeroom.
What would it be like to date Tamara? He’d promised himself not to consider that thought since they’d agreed it wasn’t something they could allow to happen.
But the connection between them this evening persuaded him otherwise.
Maybe Tamara was feeling the same. There had definitely been sparks between them after the photograph, and even though she’d pulled back, maybe it had made her realize that it didn’t have to be that way.
In the storeroom, Nate held his breath until Tamara simply reached down for a large box. It was filled with five-pound bags of coffee beans. For several seconds, Nate didn’t get it. What was she doing?
“For the wedding?” Tamara prompted.
“What? Oh, oh, yes.” Nate was flustered, and he knew it. “That’s great. I guess I wasn’t expecting you to be able to do this so quickly.”
“I talked to some of the importers when I was down at the docks this morning getting flowers for the party,” Tamara said.
“They’d just received a shipment of some amazing beans from Jamaica and were sampling them.
The second I tasted the coffee, I knew it was special.
They only had a few hundred pounds, so I snapped some up right away.
The coffee is fantastic, and I’m sure your clients will be pleased.
I’ve written down the details—Jamaican Blue Mountain, with just the right mix of part roasted and fully roasted. ”
She passed over a detailed list with the box of beans.
Nate took it and tried to fix his expression to show the level of gratitude he knew he should be feeling.
Tamara had just managed to solve one of the major problems for the wedding as easily as Nate might have written a basic search-and-retrieval program for the word coffee.
“Thanks,” he said. “This is really great. You’ve helped us out immensely.”
“What are friends for?” Tamara said.
Friends. Yes, they were friends. Any other time, Nate would have been grateful for their friendship. Yet disappointment was all he could feel. Disappointment that none of this was going the way he’d dared to dream about.