“Are you blind?” I laughed incredulously.

Gracie frowned. “I just didn’t think, I don’t know. I just can’t focus on a guy right now. No matter what I thought I felt at the time. Not with me only now starting to get my life back together.” She was insistent.

I had been worried something like this would happen eventually. The day had finally come when Mitch was tired of waiting around. And Gracie’s heart had gotten smooshed in the process. I just wish she wasn’t so damn stubborn.

She set her plate down on the coffee table and absently picked at a piece of fuzz on her skirt. “He’s with someone else now, so it doesn’t matter what I think about any of it anyway. It’s all a moot point.”

“That doesn’t explain why you aren’t talking,” I said.

Gracie gnawed on her bottom lip. “It’s too weird now. Stuff was said that can’t be unsaid. Some things you can’t come back from.” She got to her feet in a sudden, fluid movement.

“It sucks. I miss him. I really do. But he doesn’t seem to want to hear anything I have to say. And I have to accept that. I hurt him. I didn’t mean to, but I did. And if this Sophie girl can make him happy, then I’m happy.”

She was such a horrible liar.

But I didn’t call her on it.

We were quiet for a moment. We were both such a mess. Our love lives were in tatters at our feet. Both of us held prisoner by feelings we’d rather not have.

“I’ve got to get going. Wish me luck,” Gracie said after a while, giving me a forced smile.

I stood up and hugged her again.

“Good luck, G.” I rubbed her back and squeezed her hand.

As she walked out the door, I knew it was time we got up, dusted ourselves off, and stopped letting the men of Generation Rejects run over our hearts.

“I have something to ask you but I’m worried you’ll turn me down again,” Theo’s rich voice filled my ear as I leaned back in my desk chair.

We were only fifteen minutes into our now usual morning check-in. This morning had begun with the typical rundown of gala specifics that I was finalizing. The fundraiser was next weekend and I was up to my eyeballs in details. But I was excited. I had even been able to snag some extra tickets for Gracie, Riley, who would be down for the weekend, and Maysie. We were all planning to get dressed up and go together. I appreciated my friends’ support. Lord knows I’d need it.

If I didn’t expire from stress before then.

Marion had recently given me a new assignment. It was a concert series coming up in May. She seemed impressed with how I had taken charge of the Kimble event. She didn’t hesitate to pay me the compliments I needed to hear. She was a good boss. Efficient but not overbearing. And I liked being able to do well and prove she hadn’t made a mistake in hiring me.

If I were honest with myself, part of me would be slightly relieved once the gala was over. I loved that Theo and I had become friends but I was also aware of how precariously we were tiptoeing along the edge of dating. And I also knew that my less than subtle avoidance wouldn’t hold him off forever.

He had been considerate in not pushing me. But from the tone of his voice, I knew that he was through waiting.

“Okay,” I said, clicking my pen in an anxious gesture.

“I know you wanted to wait until the gala was over, but considering it’s only a little over a week away, I don’t think we would be doing anything wrong by having dinner together. There’s this great French place that just opened in Granton. It’s getting amazing reviews. I’d really like to take you there tonight if you’ll agree.” Theo’s offer was given with a mixture of barely concealed impatience and eagerness.

I sat up a little straighter in my seat, running through excuses in my head. Saying I have to wash my hair seemed like too much of a burn and I have a doctor’s appointment was totally ridiculous.

Did I want to go out with him?

This was the question of the moment and one I flip-flopped on several times a day. Without being able to stop myself, Cole’s face as I had seen it last night danced across my mind.

This was all his fault, the bastard.

So in a moment of defiance towards Cole and his unnatural hold over me, I clenched my fists and gave Theo the answer he wanted.

“Sure, I’d love to.”

“Really? Am I hearing things?” Theo joked.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. I really had put this poor guy through the ringer. It was time to reward him for his persistence. Being pursued by such an amazing guy was flattering. And who knows, this may be exactly what I needed to move on once and for all.

“No need for a hearing aid, I want to go,” I assured him.

“Thank god! I was beginning to think I would be entering senility before you agreed to a date with me,” Theo admonished good-naturedly.

I forcefully banished all thoughts of Cole from my mind. I couldn’t let him have anything to do with my decisions. He could have no bearing on my love life anymore. Not that he ever should have to begin with.

“Well, what time should I be ready?” I asked brightly.

“Text me your address and I’ll be by around seven thirty?”

“Sounds great,” I said, feeling determined.

I would enjoy myself, or die trying.

That evening I dressed in my nicest red dress. Nothing low cut or overly revealing. I styled my hair into soft curls down my back and my makeup was understated yet flattering.