34. Rose
ROSE
Dante went into the city today? Why didn’t he say anything to me?
And when would he and Luca have spoken if he’s been gone all day?
Maybe he forgot about my offer for dinner?
Maybe he has a girlfriend in the city? Ugh, cringe!
Did I kiss a taken man? No, he kissed me, remember, brain?
I definitely need some caffeine before I can process all of this information.
I also need to process the memory of Luc and me from graduation, but that will have to wait until I’m home.
Home? This isn’t home, Ro. Maybe staying with Dante is a bad idea.
I can’t start referring to his house as home even though I am starting to feel like it is when Dante is around.
Focus! Dinner with Luc. Dinner with my first and only love, Luc.
Dinner with the first and only person to rip my heart out and stomp on it.
Dinner with my now colleague, Luca. Great idea, Ro, I’m sure this will end well.
But I am hungry, and it would be nice not to have to eat alone tonight.
Grabbing my matching suit jacket and purse, I head out the door, locking it behind me, and hop into Luc’s work truck.
“Ready, Ro?” Luc asks as I pull myself up into the passenger seat. I can practically taste his cloves and sandalwood smell. It is amplified in such proximity and overwhelming my senses.
“Yes, let’s go.” My response is clipped as I try to camouflage my inhale, soaking up the comforting scent that is all things Luc.
After a short ride to the diner in silence, I immediately feel more at ease as I walk through the door and hear the bell ding above me and see Shirley’s smiling face behind the counter.
I can see her smile turn into a mischievous grin as soon as she catches sight of Luc following me.
I can tell she is not going to make this meal easy on me, especially after spilling my guts to her last night about everything that has happened.
“Hey, Shirley,” I greet her with a small wave, carefully averting my eyes to avoid her shit-eating grin. I make my way over to my booth, and Luc trails me.
“Oh hello there, sweetheart. It’s sooo good to see you again. And I see you brought a friend with you tonight. How exciting!” Shirley draws out each word for emphasis. She is definitely enjoying this too much.
“Yes, this is Luca. He is the contractor of the house I’m working on. Luca, this is Shirley.” But she already knows who Luc is since she saw us making out in the parking lot that first night here. The glimmer in her eyes does not give me hope that she won’t insert herself into this situation.
“Nice to meet you, ma’am.” Luc nods politely.
“Oh hush! You make me sound old! Please, call me Shirley…unless you want to call me yours,” Shirley adds with a saucy wink that causes a pink flush to rise on Luc’s cheeks. Is this grown man blushing? Maybe this night won’t be so bad.
“Oh my gosh, Shirley! At least buy him a drink first!” I am trying my best to contain my laughter, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Luc look or even act shy for that matter.
Luc smiles and shakes his head at us and our antics, but I can tell he is holding in a laugh.
“Okay fine, I’ll give you two a minute to look over the menus, unless you already know what you’d like.” Shirley thankfully redirects the conversation.
“I’ll just have my usual, thanks! Oh, and make my coffee extra large tonight.” I order the same thing every time I come here, so I don’t see a need to change things up when I’m this hungry.
“I’ll just have what she is having,” Luc adds, gesturing toward me.
“Are you sure? They have a lot of options.” I direct this question at Luc in a hushed tone.
“We always liked the same stuff when we used to go out and eat, so I’m sure I’ll love whatever you ordered.”
Shirley doesn’t even wait for my response to Luc’s statement before she saunters off toward the kitchen to put our order in. And I definitely didn’t miss the little wink she gave me as she walked away. She thinks she’s real smooth.
I shake my head and know this isn’t worth continuing the conversation, so I decide it’s time for a topic change. Luckily, Shirley has already returned with our delicious iced coffees, so at least I have something to do with my hands.
“So Luca, are you seeing anyone these days? Or are you thinking of taking up Shirley on her offer?” WHAT. THE. HELL. RO! That is the first question I decide to ask as a topic change? Well, I’m committed now, so let’s see how this plays out.
Luc almost spits out the coffee he just took a sip of in response to my question, but thankfully recovers quickly with a cough to clear his throat and swallow the remaining liquid.
See, this is why I drink iced coffee. If that was hot coffee, then someone could’ve been injured. Iced coffee literally saves lives!
“God, Ro. You never were one for subtlety. But no, I’m not seeing anyone. And while Shirley is quite a handsome woman, I’m not exactly on the market.”
Well, that is a cryptic response.
“Oh? Not interested in being in a relationship?” I’m definitely fishing now.
“No, I’m interested in a relationship.”
“Ooookaaaay. So if you’re not on the market but you are interested in a relationship, how does that even work?”
“My interest is in one person in particular. No other woman can compare to her, so it’s not worth putting myself out there for them to try.”
I don’t like where this conversation is heading.
“And, um, does this particular person know you are interested?” Is it hot in here? Why am I sweating? Maybe I can ask Shirley to crank the AC. I have to sit on my hands to stop them from fanning myself.
“See, that’s the difficult part of this whole situation. I’ve been in love with this particular person for years, but never had the guts to tell her. But I think it’s time I put all my cards on the table and lay my heart bare for her. That way, there is no confusion on how I feel.”
My mouth is so dry it feels like I have to peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth.
Seriously Shirley, what is the AC set at, 100 degrees?
It is sweltering in here! Before I have time to gather my thoughts enough to respond to Luc’s blatant declaration, my phone vibrates on the table, nearly making me jump off my seat.
Luc and I both look down at my vibrating phone at the same time to see an incoming call from Dante.
“Oh, um, I’ll just call him back after dinner.
” I quickly grab my phone, ignore the call, and silence the vibration.
I look up to meet Luc’s eyes, but his gaze is still on the phone in my hand, and I see his jaw clenched and lips pursed as if he is holding back a response.
I’m about to ask him what’s wrong when my phone starts ringing again, and it’s Dante’s name on the screen again.
I wonder if something is wrong? Maybe I should text him back to let him know I’ll call him later?
Or I could just answer it. My wavering indecision makes the choice for me as the call ends before I can pick it up, just for it to start ringing again. Dante.
“I’d better answer in case something is wrong.
I don’t know why he would call so many times in a row.
” I direct my response toward Luc while still looking at my phone screen in confusion.
Just as I’m swiping the green phone icon to answer Dante’s call, the bell over the door dings, announcing a new arrival in the diner.
I bring my phone to my ear and raise my gaze to the door at the same time to find Dante staring back at me, phone in hand. Shit, he looks pissed.