She grinned as if still riding high about the news. “Why, thank you,” she said. “And yes, you’re looking at the newest writer for Classical Monthly.”
I raised my glass and we tapped rims. “So excited for you. I know you’ll be a smash.”
“It’s not where I’d imagined myself, but I’m happy to do it. No one said life was supposed to take you exactly where you’d expected it to, right?”
Well, unless you’re exceedingly good at planning, I thought. Like me.
“So,” I said. “Tell me all about it.”
Annie went right into it, explaining the magazine and all the duties she had to look forward to. And I was happy to sit there and listen, watching her face light up as she spoke. It was clear her passion was teaching, in sharing her gifts and talents with children, be they students or children in need at local hospitals. But she had a killer way with words, and I knew she’d be great at the job.
“This is all assuming onboarding tomorrow goes off without a hitch,” she said.
“There’s no reason to think it won’t,” I was quick to add. “This time next week you’ll be impressing the hell out of your boss with the first of many killer articles.”
She smiled. “Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. And I hope you’re right.”
“I am,” I said, meaning the words.
She cleared her throat before taking a sip of her giant margarita. “So,” she said. “I’ve been talking your ear off about what’s going on with me. What about you? Anything interesting happen this week?”
Andrew. I’d met with him. I realized it was a great chance to bring him up, to start planting the seeds. “Yes. I finally managed to meet up with my brother for drinks.”
“Oh, nice!” she said, her eyes lighting up again. “And how did that go?”
“It was good. He’s been busy with his new job, and eager to tell me all about it.”
“New jobs seem to be a theme,” she said. “What’s his line of work?”
“Attorney,” I said. “Just started at his new firm not too long ago.”
Her expression darkened.
“Something wrong?” I asked.
She shook her head. “It’s stupid. My ex was a lawyer, that’s all. It was a big part of why he and I split up.”
“Right,” I said, nodding. I decided it was a good opportunity to bring her in on a little more. A big detail, one to really make her feel like I was letting her in. “There’s something about my brother and me that you should know.”
She was curious, tilting her head as she looked at me. “What’s that?”
“We have a very different history than most siblings.”
Her brows furrowed. “How so?”
“It’s kind of a long story. First thing you should know is that I’m adopted.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Okay.”
I nodded. “My mom – my biological mom hadn’t been expecting a kid. This might be a blunt way to put it, but I was the product of a random hook-up.”
She said nothing, letting me go on, her expression still curious.
“My dad, whoever he is, didn’t stick around long enough to even know he was going to be a father. At the time, my mom was working a minimum-wage job, hadn’t been planning on being a mother anytime soon. So when she found out she was pregnant and that my dad wasn’t going to be in the picture, she decided the best thing to do was give me up.”
“And how old were you?”
“Just a baby – I don’t remember any of this, of course. And since I was so young, it ended up being easy to find me a new home with wonderful parents.”
“That’s so good to hear. And did they tell you this?”
I nodded. “They were open about it as soon as I was old enough to understand. But it didn’t matter. As far as I was concerned, they were my family.”
She nodded, obviously on board with what I was saying. “That’s right,” she said. “There’s so much more to family than just blood.”
I let her words hang in the air for a moment, happy to have heard them. “They were supportive and loving, more than anyone could ask for. And when I graduated high school, I decided to strike out on my own, going to college on my own dime and doing whatever it took to succeed.”
“And it looks like you accomplished that.”
“I like to think so. But everything changed when my brother came back into my life.”
“Tell me about him.” She was obviously interested in me, my life. In a world of self-absorbed people, it was refreshing.
“My biological mom ended up settling down with a reasonably stable man a few years after she gave me up. She got married, did all the right things. And when she was ready, she had another baby. This one she kept. And years later, both of us well into our adult lives, he decided to track me down.”
“And how has it been?”
“Strange,” I admitted. “Strange, but good. My parents are still a part of my life, of course, but it’s wonderful to have new family.”
“And your biological mother?” Her eyes flashed after she spoke the words, as if she’d realized she’d asked something that might not have been any of her business.”
“Still out there. I’m sure I could ask my brother about her, look into us seeing one another. But I figured I’d get used to having my brother in my life before adding anyone new.”
“I understand that.”
“Anyway,” I went on. “I mentioned that I was dating someone, and he was interested in meeting you.”
Her eyebrows arched, but she said nothing. The waiter arrived and placed two plates of delicious-looking tacos in front of us.
“He wants to meet me?”
“That’s right. Being that we didn’t grow up together, we’ve never shared dating stories or met one another’s significant others. Evidently, he wants to change all that.”
Her eyes still locked on me, she took a quick chomp of one the tacos on her plate. She chewed slowly, as if buying herself time to figure out what she wanted to say. “Well, what do you think about that?” she asked after swallowing.
“Well, I don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves, but I’ve got a good feeling about what’s happening between us.”
She smiled. “I agree.”
“Good. I think I’d like you to meet him in time.”
“And I’ll want you to meet my family, too.”
“We’ll know when the time is right,” I assured her. “No sense in rushing. If we’ve got something going on as good as we’re hoping, we’ll know when.”
She smiled. “Definitely. And thanks for telling me about your past.”
“Of course. It’s not something I share with just anyone.” I placed my hand on hers, leaving it there for a time.
“Now,” she said with a grin. “You’d better get on those tacos. I’m already one up on you.”
“Game on.”
The rest of the dinner was much more lighthearted and casual, the two of us eating our tacos and polishing off a couple of margaritas apiece. After a little flan, we were both ready to head out. I could tell what she wanted next the moment the doors to the Land Rover clicked shut. Annie looked at me with sexy, catlike eyes, a small smile playing on her lips.