Page 46 of Love… It's Wild
“He does,” Melissa sighs. “Definitely going to look good out of it, too, if you get my drift.”
We giggle as Jillian places her head in her hand, and Patrick stares at us, wide-eyed.
“I look forward to meeting him,” he says, and Melissa and I stop giggling. “The gala at the Wolfson Manor, right? My office just bought a table. Figured I’d go so I could meet some of the fine people in this county. It’ll be good to see you there. I would like you to get to know Victoria, especially since we’ll be neighbors of sorts. Speaking of being neighbors, you wouldn’t happen to know who I talk to about having a mailbox removed, would you? It seems the previous owners planned on having a giant pig mailbox installed on the property, and now, it’s cemented in, and I can’t remove it myself.”
Melissa laughs out loud while I take a deep breath and shake my head, holding in my own fit of giggles.
“Nope. Sorry.”
“All right then. It was good to see you today, and I’ll see you again in a few weeks at the gala.”
Patrick leaves our table, and I bang my head on it.
“You two are idiots,” Jillian states.
I agree and then look up to Melissa. “I feel like you could have been a better friend and bailed me out before I said something stupid.”
She’s still laughing from the pig mailbox comment. “Girl, if that were the case, I’d have put a muzzle on you when we were twelve.”
Jillian leans back and takes a drink. “Now to explain to Rob that he’s your live-in lover and he has to escort you to a gala. Oh, and that you’re deeply in love. This should be fun.”
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
I’m surprised to find myself driving back to the ranch on Sunday afternoon. I told Rob I’d arrive on Monday morning, yet after the weekend I had, I just wanted to get out of town.
First, it started with the run-in with Patrick at the coffee shop. After that, I went home and tried to get work done, but I was distracted. I had my kickboxing class, which drove up my endorphins and made me feel like I had control of my life again. I went out for happy hour to a pub near the train station. The financial guys head there to unwind after a long week, and I’ve had success over the years, meeting men. Problem is, I’ve been on that scene a while now, and I’ve tapped out most of the resources, and I was not interested in double-dipping.
“Are you a time traveler? Because I can see you in my future,” one particularly saucy gentleman asked as he sat on the counter-height seat beside me.
My response was the same as when he’d delivered that pickup line to me two years ago. “You also saw me in your past. We went out to dinner. You ordered the lasagna and drank an entire bottle of wine. I had to drive you home.”
He looked at me with a smooshed face. “A bottle of wine’s not that much.”
“On a first date, it is, especially when you picked me up. I wasn’t planning on going back to your house that night.”
“Did we …”
“The fact that you can’t remember the answer to that makes me thankful I took an Uber home.”
“I remember that. Yes, we did go out. We had a nice time. That’s why I drank so much. I was nervous. Let’s pick up where we left off.”
I gave him a closed-mouth smile. “We should. Let’s start with me going home solo because you were too drunk to continue the night.”
I grabbed my purse and walked out of the bar before eight o’clock.
On Saturday, I ran errands around town and found myself constantly looking over my shoulder. The last two times I had run into Patrick, I had been caught off guard. Luckily, I didn’t see him, his wife, or their fruit, but I was uncomfortable all day. On edge. I hated it.
At night, I went on a date with a man I’d connected with on a dating app. We met at a French bistro I love and had a great meal, and it was going well until another woman walked in and sat at a table on the other side of the restaurant.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. I thought it was odd at first, and then it became obvious. After some prodding, I learned she was someone he had gone out with before and liked very much. We spent the next hour discussing all the ways he might be able to get her to notice him again. At the end of the night, the two were at the bar in an intimate conversation while I ate my chocolate soufflé, alone.
I hope they name one of their future children after me.
Sunday morning, I went for a run in the park with my running group. I’ve connected with some amazing new people and met some great men, but today was not that kind of day. I just wanted to be in my own world, listen to music and get my workout in.
After I showered, I looked around my apartment and felt bored. There was nothing for me to do, and I suddenly felt very cooped up in my sacred space. I packed a bag, hopped in the car, and drove out to the ranch.
I pull up next to Rob’s truck and am surprised when he comes out the front door before the kids. He’s wearing his jeans that hug his thighs just right and a cotton T-shirt.