Not For Me
Page 8
Kristy glared at Maya. “You told her? I don’t need lightbulb jokes.”
Maya shrugged. “Couldn’t help it. By the way, this coffee is surprisingly good.”
“Haven’t tried it yet,” Allison said. “I still need to finish telling Kristy how she kept going on about how he was a great listener, a great cook, a great kisser—”
“I never said anything about that,” Kristy protested.
“Maya told me. She saw it.”
Yeah, everyone had seen that. “Thanks again, Maya.”
“My pleasure,” Maya said.
Allison snickered, then leaned toward Kristy. “You always liked him,” she said. “But he wasn’t your type, so you didn’t think you did. Finally you wised up, but now you’re not sure again. Seriously? You’re exhausting.”
“It’s only been five weeks. I don’t trust my feelings. I told him it might have been a mistake and that I’d see how I felt in another month. He was pissed—”
“I’m pissed at you, too,” Maya said. “I can’t believe I had to get dressed before noon to come to a place that serves poison. And I really can’t believe you’d consider throwing this away because of timing. But I’m sure you’ll get flowers today, and he’ll tell you he can wait.”
Kristy smiled. Yeah, that seemed like Grant. It had been so wonderful to wake up in his bed, in his T-shirt. Next to him. She could have been with him now, but she’d run out of his condo. For good reason. One more month. But she was beginning to doubt her decision; it was practically impossible to imagine she’d change her mind about him in the next month.
“You weren’t even bothered by that breakup with…what’s his face,” Allison said.
“Lev,” Maya supplied.
“Right. I think you were happier the next time I saw you. The two-month rule should not apply here because you didn’t have breakup blues. Plus you ought to make an exception for someone you rave about for three weeks straight anyway.”
“Thank you for your opinion, Doc—oh, wait, you are a doctor.”
“Of chemistry,” Maya added.
“That joke’s getting old.” Allison turned to Kristy. “So?”
“You’re right. I’m being silly.” Why wait some arbitrary length of time if she was sure now? And this time Kristy absolutely had a good—no, amazing—feeling about him. For herself. Like she’d never had before.
“You weren’t too hard to convince,” Allison said.
Kristy grinned. “I’m going home to have a shower, and then I’m going to see him. Sorry, Maya. I’ll find you someone yet. Don’t you worry.” She finished the dregs of her drink and stood up.
“Tell us how it turns out,” Allison said. “Or maybe you’ll be too busy to call.”
* * * *
Grant got out of bed to make a much-needed coffee. He was eating breakfast when Jon called.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Jon said. “Just wanted to know if I need to buy mussels.”
“Mussels?”
“For tonight’s dinner. I sure hope not. Not that I mind cooking but…Am I interrupting something?”
“You’re not. And I’m not sure if you should be cooking tonight.” It depended on what Jon had meant by “making this work.” Yes, she’d slept over, but if Grant had truly been able to make it work, she wouldn’t have left, and he wouldn’t have been available to answer the damn phone.
But Kristy was definitely worth waiting a month for. What had he been thinking? Of course, there was no guarantee she’d decide to be with him in a month’s time, but…he was pretty sure. So sure it had driven him to tell her she was crazy to think he was a mistake. But he could wait a little longer.
“So you didn’t spend the night together,” Jon said, “but something encouraging happened? Is that it?”
“Actually, we did, but—”
“Don’t tell me you sucked, man. I said you might get rusty after not having sex for—How long was it?”
Nearly four years. Grant didn’t feel a need to say that out loud, though. And he was sure his being “rusty” had nothing to do with it. Not for the first time, he regretted ever having talked about this stuff with Jon.
“Hey, am I bugging you?” Jon said. “Are you okay? Want to tell me what happened?”
“It’s fine. You cook tonight, and hopefully Sheila will owe you sometime soon.” Maybe in a month. He’d make it right and hope for the best.
“I’m glad you think it might work out. We had a good talk on the phone that night, Kristy and I. You know what? Why don’t you come over, and I’ll barbecue? The mussels can wait. Do you want some advice from Sheila?”
“No, I can take care of it.”
“Okay,” Jon said. “But give me a holler if you change your mind.”
After apologizing to Kristy, Grant planned to go to his parents’ and finish off her bookshelf.
* * * *
Kristy shimmied into the dress she’d worn at SkyView. He’d said she looked nice that night, and he probably would have said something other than “nice” had it been a date. Sexy or stunning perhaps—two of the many words he’d used last night.
She was deciding which heels to wear when the phone rang.
“It’s Grant. Could you buzz me up? I just want to talk to you for a moment, and then I’ll be on my way.”
“No,” she said. “Don’t just stay for a moment. Stay for much longer. I’m really sorry about this morning. I went to the Poisoned Apple afterward—but don’t worry, this has nothing to do with Brady. I had two double lattes, and I’ve got way too much caffeine coursing through my veins now. Anyway, Allison and Maya convinced me that I was being silly to stick to my rules and types. Actually, Allison was sure I was in love with you from the very beginning, but I was in denial. I was about to head out to—”
“Kristy.” He laughed. “I’ll stay for more than a moment, but you have to buzz me up first.”
“Right. Of course. And here I was, prattling on and on.”
“Much as I like your chatter, I can’t kiss you from down here.”
“The door’s open,” she said. “Hurry up.”
He came to her door with a bouquet of pink and purple flowers and said, “You look stunning. And you would have been worth waiting for, but I’m glad I don’t have to wait.”
He handed her the flowers, and she put them on the kitchen counter. (Kitchen counter…hmmm.) Then he swept her off her feet. His mouth covered hers, his mustache brushed her skin, his arms tightened around her…
“I think my dress needs to stay folded on a chair for a good long time,” she said when he finally set her down. “Because you’re just perfect for me.”
The End
Publisher’s Note
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About Laura Jardine
Laura studied engineering and worked in mineral exploration, but she always wanted to be a writer. She lives in Toronto with her boyfriend, and despite living in Canada her whole life, she hates winter. Website: http://laurajardine.com