“Did you tell her anything? About what you were picking up?”
I shook my head. “No…”
She let out a sigh of relief. “Thank God! We love Angel, but she is a blabbermouth. She can’t keep a secret to save her life. We tell her stuff after the fact and since you wouldn’t even tell me why you asked me to get this for you, it’s probably a surprise.”
I laughed lightly. “I didn’t tell her anything. And good thing because it’s definitely a surprise.” I opened the manilla envelope and smiled. “This is such a cute picture of him! I will get this back to you on Friday. I promise.”
We said our goodbyes and I drove to the other side of town to Tempest Lounge. I glanced in the passenger seat. The envelope I’d just picked up from Heaven was on one side and the copy of my dad’s favorite book was on the other. Because I had to stop for gas and then I had to make a deposit at the bank, I bought myself twenty extra minutes to solidify my decision. I took a deep breath and turned the music in the car up louder.
I’m making the right decision, I assured myself as I stepped on the gas.
“Hey, Miranda,” I greeted my agent as soon as she picked up the phone. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s not a problem at all,” she assured me. “But in order to get it done by Friday morning, I’ll need to get everything to them by eight. Are you close?”
“I’m pulling up now.” I turned toward the entrance and scanned the area for her car. “Are you wearing a pink pantsuit?”
“Yes. I’m standing in front of the Tempest Lounge sign.” She lifted her hand and waved. “Oh! I see your car!”
I pulled up to her and she walked around to the driver’s side window. “Thank you so much,” I gushed, grabbing her hand. “I appreciate you.”
“You are so welcome.” She looked around. “And actually, I’ve been in Richland for two years and I’ve never even heard of this place. Looks nice. I’ll have to check it out.”
“You should. They have these potato things that are amazing.” Handing her the manilla envelope, I smiled. “Thank you for this.”
“They said they can have it done by Friday at noon if I get it there tonight. I’ll text you with the information.”
“I owe you!”
She backed away with the package. “If you find me a date, we’ll be even.”
“I got you!” I waved as she got into her car and then I hunted for a parking space.
Five minutes later, I was twenty minutes late for my date with Jordan. There were far fewer people at Tempest Lounge on a Wednesday night versus on the weekend, so I spotted Jordan instantly. The maître d’ escorted me to him. I was almost there when I realized Jordan was sitting at the same table we shared on our first date.
“I’m sorry I’m late,” I apologized as I took a seat. “Have you been here long?”
“No, you’re fine,” he assured me. Looking over to our waiter, he lifted his hand and signaled. “I ordered some wine for us. It’s on its way now.”
“That’s good.”
Seconds later, wine was being poured into our glasses.
“Do you know what you want?” the waiter asked, looking between us.
“Zola, do you need a minute?” he asked.
I nodded. “Uh, yeah,” I answered nervously.
Once we were left alone again, my nerves twisted my gut.
“You look incredible,” he told me, taking a sip and looking at me flirtatiously. “I’m a lucky man.”
We stared at each other for a moment.
“You’re an amazing man,” I told him, tapping my fingers against the table. “That’s what you are.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that.” He reached over and clasped my hand between his. “What did you want to talk to me about?”
I opened my mouth to answer just as the waiter returned.
“We haven’t had a chance to look at the menu, but could we start with the home fries.”
“I’ll put that in and give you some more time.” The waiter gave us each a nod. “It’ll be out soon.”
When we were alone again, Jordan studied my face. “What is going on in that pretty little head of yours?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about that book you gave me,” I started slowly. “It was my father’s favorite book.”
“Oh wow!”
“I know.” I smiled; happy he saw the significance. “And I’ve been thinking about how much you remind me of him.”
He rubbed his fingers over my hand. “That’s either a really good thing or a really bad thing depending on your relationship with him.”
“Psychology was our thing.”
“And what happened?”
I was quiet. I thought I was ready to tell him more, but the words wouldn’t form.
“I’d always said that I wasn’t going to settle down unless I felt like a man was Dad-approved,” I confessed, squeezing his hand back. “And between our conversations and the book, I just can’t help but feel—”
“Was that Zola?” a woman’s voice interrupted my sentence. It wasn’t just my name, but the sharp tone that caught my attention. I turned my head, glancing over my shoulder to see a woman with short blue hair rushing toward the exit.
Heaven?
The woman was wearing something different than what I’d seen Heaven in an hour before. But between the blue hair was distinct and the voice that said my name, my gut was telling me it was Heaven. It didn’t make much sense for it to be her. And if she saw me, she would’ve said something.
Unless she thought I was cheating on her brother.
The thought popped in my head quickly and I shook it off. The idea that Saint’s sister saw me with another man made the pit in my stomach grow. The nerves from my conversation with Jordan turned into stones of agony weighing me down.
I’m going to be sick.
“You can’t help but feel what, Zola?” Jordan asked, bringing me back to the conversation with him.
I swallowed hard. “I need to go to the restroom. Please excuse me.”
I rushed in the direction of the bathroom and dry heaved as soon as I was in a stall. Nothing came up. Taking a deep breath, I went to the mirror and looked at myself.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I wondered aloud.
Pulling out my phone, I called Saint. He didn’t answer and I could only imagine that he was on the phone with his sisters. I squeezed my eyes shut and prayed they didn’t say anything before I had a chance to talk to him.
I took a deep breath. “The only person’s bullshit you ever have to deal with is your own,” I mumbled under my breath. For some reason, Darius’s words wouldn’t leave my mind.
I need to deal with my bullshit.
The man I had feelings for was going to think I’d cheated on him within the first seventy-two hours of us being together. The man that was so obviously Dad-approved upheld a promise I made long ago. They both made sense for different reasons. I’d wanted to choose Saint the whole time but knowing that my dad sent Jordan my way made it hard.
I needed to call my mom.
“Hi Zola,” my mom answered the phone groggily.