“Okay, Phoebe. Talk to me.” I put my drink down. “What did I say wrong?”
“You didn’t say anything wrong.” She shook her head quickly. “You were just so dismissive.”
“I didn’t mean to be.” I narrowed my eyes.
Shit, I think I hurt her feelings…
“I’m not upset, I promise. I just—you’re right.” She sighed. “You weren’t trying to say what I thought you were trying to say.”
“I didn’t lie to you, if that’s what you think.” My throat got dry as I processed what she said, so I had to reach for my drink. “You’re very beautiful, and anyone would be lucky to have you. I just didn’t mean to insinuate that it should be me—even if I was ten years younger.”
“I get that.” She pulled her margarita over and took a sip. “I really do. It doesn’t make sense anyway—it’s impossible.”
“Right.” I nodded quickly. “That’s exactly what I was trying to say.”
I’m not sure how that got misinterpreted in what I said.
Chapter Twelve
Phoebe
I regretted what I said to Arlo before the door closed the previous night and let it mess with my thoughts until I finally went to bed. The morning brought more clarity, but it also erased a little bit of that regret. Looking at the situation through fresh eyes, and a clear head made me wonder if I was being too concerned about the past to look at what was right in front of me. If Arlo was the prototype for the qualities I thought that one in a million eligible bachelor should be, then I needed to consider what my heart wanted. He was at the top of two lists—the perfect guy, and the only one I couldn’t be with.
I wanted to tell him all of that, but he didn’t react the way that I thought he would. I didn’t expect him to backtrack so far that he made me wonder if all of my clarity was for naught. It made me feel foolish for even bringing up something that he was so quick to dismiss. I just wanted to discuss it like two rational adults because that was the one thing I had with him that I didn’t have with anyone else—we could always have a conversation, even when I was a stupid teenage girl annoying him in his office.
“Can we take a step back?” Arlo narrowed his eyes. “I feel like this conversation got derailed, and maybe we should start from the beginning.”
“I don’t think there was any reason to have it in the first place.” I leaned forward and took a sip of my margarita.
“But obviously you had something else to say.” He reached for his whiskey. “Why don’t we start over—but this time, you go first.”
Of course, he tries to approach this with rational maturity. I don’t even know how to be mad at him…
“Okay.” I nodded. “We can try that.”
I was just about to begin when I saw our server approaching from the left, so I leaned back from the table. Arlo ordered fajitas, and I ordered the house special that came with soft tortillas, so I ended up with almost the same thing he was eating, except mine had rice and cheese. I was almost at the bottom of my margarita, so I went ahead and ordered another one. I planned on keeping it to one or two at the most, but after the way our conversation started, I was wondering if I should plan to switch to shots.
I might say something I really regret if I do that.
“Alright.” He sipped his whiskey. “Now you can start—let the opening arguments commence.”
“Do you think you’re on trial?” I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m not sure yet.” He smiled and looked down at the table.
Rational maturity and a sense of humor despite how our evening started—this is why he found his way to the top of the list he shouldn’t be on.
“What I planned to say was that your comments were extremely flattering and made me realize that I didn’t want to dwell on the past anymore.” My lips twisted into a half-smile. “They made me realize that I need to be cautiously open to anything that could come my way.”
“I definitely should have let you go first.” He nodded and took a sip of his drink.
“When I do meet someone, I don’t care if they’re my age—although I don’t think they will be—nor do I care if they’re older.” I diverted my gaze for a moment. “I just hope they’re an awful lot like you.”
“Should I start naming all of my flaws so that you get them right?” Arlo appeared to be trying to contain his laugh, but he wasn’t successful.
“That won’t be necessary.” I laughed along with him. “You’ve been so good to me. I can’t help feeling attached to you in a way, but I respect the situation that would make it impossible for us to do more than share a meal and a few drinks.”
“Well put.” He put his glass down on the table. “And a lot more eloquent than what I was trying to say…”
“Hopefully you’ll have a better opening statement for Demi Hart’s trial.” I raised my eyebrows and sipped my drink.
“I might need to run it by you before I put my foot in my mouth.” He laughed and reached for one of his tortilla shells.
Arlo had shown me what my heart wanted, but I didn’t know how to find my way there. It wasn’t like I could clone him, erase all the impossibilities that hindered our relationship, and start dating his replica. The million-to-one odds didn’t feel like they were in my favor. If nothing else, he had given me hope by opening my eyes to the possibilities I closed myself off from when I left Penny Grove. The dates I went on had been adventures in carelessness rather than a search for the guy who could give me what I needed.
Will clarity get me any closer? I didn’t have it before, so it’s something new to consider…
We stopped after two drinks, finished our meal, and decided to call it a night. His Uber arrived first, but he made the driver wait until I was safely in mine. My heart did ache a little bit. There was an underlying realization that I would have done anything to erase his name from the list that made our relationship impossible. If I could have turned back the clock, I would have told Jake that I wasn’t interested when he asked me to go out with him. My life would have been different in a lot of different ways, and I might not have ever found myself sitting across the table from Arlo in New York City—but on the off chance—that would have been worth it.
Foolish thought—nothing can undo what happened…
Chapter Thirteen
Arlo
I almost put my foot as far into my mouth as it could go when Phoebe asked if we could talk about what happened outside Missouri Six. I was lucky she didn’t storm off. I wasn’t trying to say that I didn’t mean what I said to her, but I thought I needed to go on the defensive before the conversation went in the wrong direction. I had no idea that she reached the same conclusion I did—with better clarity.
It seemed like we were at a point where I didn’t need to stop having dinner and drinks with her when the situation presented itself. I was happy with that outcome because I really did enjoy spending time with her.
We’re right where we need to be. Maybe I just overreacted…
* * *
Demi Hart’s case took center stage on Monday morning and carried on through the week. Henry and I revisited the option of another lawyer, which I still believed would be a necessity before the case made it to trial—the earlier, the better. Henry agreed to start looking for someone to hire that could take over some of the cases in Penny Grove so that one of the others could join me in New York City. I felt better with a plan, even if we hadn’t accomplished it yet. Phoebe proved to be worth her salary and a whole lot more as a research assistant once she had a better understanding of what she was looking for.
Our weekend was spent trying new restaurants, laughing, and generally doing the kinds of things that friends did. We even watched a movie at the theater on Saturday night, and I couldn’t remember the last time I had been inside one—it might have even been a solid decade. On our way out of the theater, I spotted a History Museum on a brochure and was surprised to find out that Phoebe hadn’t even been there—which was strange considering how fascin
ated she was with it when she was younger. It was immediately added to our list of things to do during one of our weekend excursions.
I would have loved to explore it with her the following weekend, but I was already planning to return to Penny Grove—mainly to make sure that my house was still standing and see if there was anything I needed to take care of. I tried to call Jake and see if there was any chance he was going to be in town anytime soon so I could make sure I was home that weekend, but several days passed without a response to my voicemail, so I assumed he wasn’t ready to talk yet.
“Are you going to survive without me this weekend?” I looked across the table at Phoebe as we packed up on Friday afternoon.
“I’ll try to find a way to manage.” She smiled. “Actually, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with you tomorrow night anyway—I have a date.”
“Really?” I blinked in surprise. “How did that happen?”
“You know that guy who sits in the cubicle at the end of the row out there?” She motioned to the office.
“I haven’t really paid attention.” I shrugged. “I normally don’t talk to anyone except the woman who brings us breakfast.”
“Same here until the other day. He stopped me while I was on my way to the restroom and—he was shy, but he asked…” Phoebe nodded.
“Should I stop by and have a talk with him?” I narrowed my eyes. “I could make sure he knows what will happen if he doesn’t treat you with respect.”
“No—Daddy.” She laughed. “I’ll be fine.”
It’s been a long time since she actually called me that…
We said goodbye, and I couldn’t resist eyeballing the guy she was going on a date with as I passed his desk. He didn’t give off serial killer vibes—if that was even a thing. He kind of looked like a dork with hair that could use some combing and a complexion that suggested he hadn’t seen the sun since he was a child. It wasn’t my place to judge—I had no idea what kind of guy Phoebe was interested in other than the qualities she described. Maybe he had a few hidden under the Poindexter image he projected.
At least I can kick his ass if he acts like an idiot…
* * *
I stopped by the office as soon as I got to Penny Grove. I purposefully left New York City with enough time to make it back to town before everyone was gone. It felt a little strange walking into the office after being away, but it was more like a vacation than anything else. I got caught up on the latest gossip, had a sit down with Henry to discuss the hiring process, and then I headed home. The house was still standing, but the grass needed to be cut. I figured I could knock that out the next morning before it got too hot to stand in the sun.
Well, I’m home. Hello empty house—I really didn’t miss you that much.
I poured a drink and sipped it while I thumbed through my stack of mail. There really wasn’t anything important—most of it was going directly in the shredder. Almost all of my bills were automatically drafted from my checking account, but I had a few that didn’t offer that option, so I took care of them after I finished going through my mail. Once it got dark, I started to become painfully aware of how silent my house was. I had gotten used to living in a hotel where there was always some kind of background noise—and going out on the weekends had been a lot more fun than spending them alone.
Obviously, I know what the problem is. I miss Phoebe…
Chapter Fourteen
Phoebe
My date with Larry from Hart Consulting was so comically bad that I wanted to start a blog so I could share my experience with the world. I wasn’t one to judge a guy based on their appearance, but he picked me up wearing what looked like the dress-down equivalent of his work attire—then he took me to a restaurant where a tie was mandatory, and we wouldn’t haven’t even gotten a table if he hadn’t found an old wrinkled one in the backseat of his car.
If that wasn’t bad enough, he ate so much that he was audibly groaning when we left the restaurant—and the next stop was the theater where he wanted to see the exact same movie I saw with Arlo the previous weekend. He got so disappointed when I told him I had seen it, that he literally pouted until I felt so bad, I just agreed to watch it again.
He topped off that glorious man-child behavior by loading our popcorn down with so much liquid butter I couldn’t stomach a single bite—then he tried to hold my hand after he devoured most of it—without even bothering with a napkin first. I was so ready for the date to be over that I pretended to be exhausted when he asked if I wanted to go back to his place and watch another movie—because there was no way he was getting as much as a kiss, much less a shot at my virginity.
“How did your date go?” Bianca looked up at me as soon as I walked into our apartment.
“It was a great reminder of why I’m single.” I rolled my eyes and went straight to my bedroom.
My first date in a really long time, and I already feel like I need to take a break from dating for a while. I was hoping for a few of Arlo’s qualities—I didn’t even see a hint of a single one…
* * *
Monday arrived, and I made it to the office before Arlo—mainly because I was hoping to get there before Larry, if at all possible. My mission was a success, so I started stacking files while I waited on my laptop to load. The job wasn’t necessarily hard, but it was definitely exhausting—I never realized reading could be so boring.
“Good morning!” Arlo walked into the conference room with a smile on his face.
“Hey, good morning.” I looked up at him and smiled. “How was Penny Grove?”
“It was as Penny Grove as possible.” He laughed and walked over to fix a cup of coffee. “How as your date with what’s-his-name? Larry?”
“I don’t even want to talk about it.” I sighed and shook my head.
“That bad, huh? Do I need to push him down a flight of stairs?” Arlo walked to the table with his coffee.
“No, it was just—of all the dates I’ve ever been on, it was one of the worst ones.” I shrugged.
And it wasn’t you—or anyone like you.
“Ah, I’ve been there.” He nodded in understanding. “Ready to get started?”
“Yep.” I pointed to the stack of files. “I already have my entire day planned out.”
“Perfect, let me turn on my computer, and I’ll get caught up.” Arlo sat down and pulled out his laptop.
It was painfully obvious what I was looking for. I had been introduced to what I believed was perfection, and it was hard to match that. Sure, Arlo had plenty of flaws, but he would be the first person to start a comprehensive list if he thought it was necessary. I would have gladly been annoyed by every single one of those flaws if it meant that I got what came with them. I was going to have to keep looking—because he really did open my eyes to the possibilities. I needed to be able to scratch his name off the top of one list and replace it with someone else since I couldn’t possibly take his name off the one that made us impossible.
I really missed him this weekend, even before my disastrous date…
* * *
The week was filled with eye-strain and progress that seemed to move in centimeters. I always knew the hands of justice moved like molasses with a lawyer that could tie things up in court, but I had no idea what really went on behind the scenes. The prosecutor wanted to try and get the case on the docket for some preliminary hearings on a few motions, but Arlo quashed all of his attempts. There seemed to be a million reasons to get a delay, and Arlo was good at his job—Demi Hart might still go to jail when the case got to trial, but if Arlo had anything to say about it, she would have gray hair first.
This contract may last longer than a year, but I assume we’re going to reach a point where all-day-everyday isn’t necessary…
“Do you want to go to the museum tonight or tomorrow?” Arlo looked across the table at me. “I know we discussed going, but we never settled on the day.”
“Honestly?” I raised an eyebrow. “I think I just want to relax ton
ight and try to go during the day tomorrow—some of the exhibits close early.”
“Okay.” He nodded. “Does that mean you want to relax at home or relax with a drink in your hand?”
“Well, I’m going to have a drink in my hand regardless.” I laughed under my breath. “But I’d prefer to have one with you.”
“We’re going to need food first…” He reached for his phone. “Got any recommendations?”
“There are a ton of places I haven’t tried.” I shrugged and tried to think of a few options. “Most of them would probably need reservations, so maybe we should just try one of the restaurants within walking distance?”
“I wouldn’t mind stretching my legs a little bit.” He started packing up his things. “We could go a couple of blocks down and see what doesn’t look busy.”
“Okay.” I closed my laptop and nodded in agreement.
“Did you manage to avoid Larry all week?” Arlo leaned forward and started to stand.
“No.” I shook my head back and forth. “I think he caught on to the fact that I was using the bathroom on the other side of the floor to avoid walking by his desk—I had to let him down gently.”
“That was probably more than he deserved.” Arlo laughed.
We left the office and walked a couple of blocks to the area where the office buildings stopped, and it opened up to an area filled with a mixture of restaurants and stores. Most of the restaurants didn’t take reservations because they got so much foot traffic from the shoppers in the general area, and it looked like most of them were fairly busy. We decided to do a little window shopping while we stretched our legs a little longer and finally settled on an Italian restaurant called Marco’s Bistro. I had never eaten there before, but the Yelp reviews were pretty good—not as good as a few of the other ones in the area, but they had so many people waiting that some of them were sitting outside.
My Ex Boyfriend’s Daddy Page 9
