“That shouldn’t be hard to do.”
“And she’s gotta be sexy, but not vain about it.”
Most pretty women I knew were like that, so that might be difficult. “That might be a little hard to find.”
“Well, I’d rather have a super awesome chick who’s a six than a boring-ass chick who’s a ten…so I guess looks are negotiable.”
“You know what you should do?”
“Hmm?” he asked.
“Just go out and meet people. When you find the right woman, you’ll know. Don’t make a list and expect her to fit each criteria. Calloway doesn’t fit all of my criteria, but that didn’t stop me from falling in love with him.”
“Well…he doesn’t meet one extremely important item on your list. And it seems like it’s been a recurring problem.”
I didn’t want to live without Calloway. My heart bled for him in ways it wouldn’t bleed for anyone else. Being madly in love with him made me accept his flaws, no matter how disturbing they were. “We’ll make it work. I don’t know how, but we will.”
“Maybe I can meet someone at Ruin. You know, a kinky chick.”
I couldn’t picture Christopher with any of the women there. If he wanted a wife, he needed someone who wasn’t willing to have a chain around her neck. “I think you would have a good time but wouldn’t want to settle down with her.”
“Hmm…that’s true.”
We’d never talked extensively about Christopher’s love life. Ever since he decided he wanted to settle down and get married, that was all we ever talked about. Christopher didn’t seem desperate, but he definitely seemed anxious. “When it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.”
“Hopefully. Just hope I didn’t wait too long that all the good ones are gone.”
“You haven’t been out with anyone that you really liked?”
“Well…” He dug his hand into the chip bag. “There was this one woman, Kim. She was pretty amazing. Beautiful, cool, she had the whole package. But I slept with her and never called her again…ignored her phone calls. She’d never give me another chance.”
“How long ago was this?”
“Like…six months ago.”
Yeah, she’d probably moved on by now. “Why did you blow her off?”
“I really liked the connection, but I was so anti-commitment that I didn’t even bother. Since I wasn’t looking for anything serious, I just tuned everything out. I didn’t start thinking about how awesome she was until recently.”
If it were me, I probably wouldn’t give Christopher another chance. It would make me come off as a desperate, something I refused to do. If this Kim chick was anything worth chasing after, she was probably the same way. “Six months is a long time.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure she’s long gone.”
We ate the rest of our lunch in silence until every single piece of food was long gone. Christopher eyed his watch like he needed to get back to work soon. “I’ll walk you back to the office and head on my way.”
“I don’t need you to walk me, Christopher. Hank is no longer a problem.” In fact, he was a complete pussy.
“I know Cal. He’d be ticked if I let you walk on your own.”
“You guys both need to accept the fact that I’m perfectly safe now. Let’s go back to normal.” Christopher and I walked out of the deli and headed to my building a few blocks away. “And my building isn’t even on your way.”
“I could use the exercise.” He walked with his hands in the pockets of his slacks.
“I still don’t want things to be this way. I can’t remember the last time I was alone—truly alone.”
“No one likes being alone, so consider yourself lucky.” He walked me until we reached the outside of my building. He looked up at the large floor-to-ceiling windows then raised his hand for a high five. “See you later, sis.”
I smiled then smacked my palm against his. “Good luck with the ladies.”
“I don’t need any luck.” He waggled his eyebrows. “But thanks.”
14
Calloway
I tried to forget that terrible night and move on with my life.
Move on with Rome.
I made my peace with the fact nothing would change. She wasn’t going to budge in her decision, as ridiculous as it was, and I had to accept it. As disappointed as I was, I knew I had to make this work because I’d be so much more miserable if I lost her.
Been there, done that.
I finished up in my office then walked down the hallway until I walked into her space. Rome sat at her computer desk with perfect posture, looking just as refreshed as she did when she walked in that morning. She was so passionate about her projects that she never seemed drained.
She didn’t notice me because she was typing an email on her computer. She was so engrossed in what she was doing she didn’t realize I was lurking in the doorway.