Page 28 of I Choose You

How could I forget?

He grins at that, but it’s humble. “I’ll be heading back soon. I extended my stay for tonight, but I work remotely while I’m away.”

I nod in understanding, appreciating the way the flashing lights illuminate his features.

Rather than continuing to shout at each other, he leans down. His breath fans across my cheek when he dips close to my ear. “Care to share why you’re here?”

Without the alcohol in me, I wouldn’t be embarking on reaching out to touch Owen’s arm, but it’s giving me courage I don’t otherwise have. “I’m with a friend.”

He glances down at my hand and steps away to offer space before looking around the club. “Ah.” Realization dawns on me that he assumes the friend I’m with is a guy.

“A friend from work.” I clarify while pulling my hand back to my side. “She likes this sort of scene.”

Here, in this club, with the music blaring and alcohol feeding my desires, Owen is not work. He is not a potential forever home for our animals. He’s just Owen, and just Owen looks beyond attractive in his electric blue dress shirt. Potential desire pools in my lower abdomen when his lips curl into a grin, and I wonder how it would feel to be with him, even though little connection has happened outside of his grandmother’s interest in adopting a dog.

“I should get back to my friends,” he admits. “But they’re kind of getting obnoxious over there.” He looks around the place, then back at me with a finger hooked over his shoulder. “What do you say we find a place at the bar, get a drink, and catch up? My treat?”

“Only if you keep the boring lawyer talk to a minimum!” I shout.

He tosses his head back with a chuckle. “Deal.”

12

Mackenzie

“The worst part is, I like him…”

“Why is that a bad thing?”

When Owen asked to buy me a drink, I contemplated my retreat as he guided me toward the bar. Part of me thought it would be better not to mix work with friendship, but that was a few beers and a box of donuts ago. It didn’t take long to comprehend that our connection is purely platonic. Don’t get me wrong, Owen is out of this world attractive, but judging how well we hold a conversation, I have a hunch we’re going to be great friends. And Lord knows I could use someone to vent to.

After we decided to leave the club—and bail on our friends, oops—we walked to a fast-food donut shop down the street that’s open twenty-four hours. Now we’re sitting on the curb discussing the ins and outs of my current dilemma. Owen is so sympathetic and genuine that it took little effort on my part to blab once he asked for the real reason I was at the club.

Where Nelly is pushy, Owen isn’t at all. He sits and listens and asks questions where they’re needed to help him understand more. Talking with him is a pleasant change. One that I welcome from the regular sass and pushiness that I get from Nelly. Though I don’t forget that I wouldn’t be here with him if it weren’t for her. It seems they both have their place in the new developments of my life.

“Sounds like you’re doing it all wrong,” he says.

I lick vanilla icing off a sprinkled donut, nibbling at the tiny confetti dots. “What do you mean?”

He inspects the assortment left in the donut box. Three options remain—a blueberry cake, a kind of lemon and raspberry creation, and a Boston cream. He darts for the one with chocolate frosting on top. “I just mean that…” He licks a spot of chocolate off his thumb. “It doesn’t sound like you to be in a club doing things that work for your friend.”

I tilt my head and look out over the road below. It’s a cool fall night, but the heat from the alcohol is keeping me warm. We sit perched on a curb that sits high on a hill, and I can almost see the club from where we sit.

“All I know is that Nelly has a point. I can’t keep waiting and thinking what I want will magically appear, you know?”

“No, you definitely have to work for what you want. That’s the question, though. What do you want out of life, Mackenzie? I think it’s great that you’re putting yourself out there. It’s inspiring, but at what point will it backfire?”

I want to tell him that there’s nothing inspiring about me. I’m a mess. A twenty-five-year-old who is in shambles over having feelings for her best friend who will be gone in less than fifty days. Maybe this isn’t the way to move forward, but I’m at a fork in the road.

“I want to be happy. I don’t want Mason to leave, but that’s out of my hands.” My tongue swoops at the last bit of frosting on my donut, and I sink my teeth into the freshly fried dough.

“Your feelings for him aren’t out of your hands.”

“Thank you for the reminder.” I yawn, the few beers from before finally catching up to me now that my adrenaline isn’t pumped up from dancing. “I’ll pick up a new hobby, work more, find a nice guy who doesn’t mind that I’m not interested in commitment.” A sigh tumbles from deep in my chest. “Honestly, sometimes it’s annoying as hell that I care too much.” I wouldn’t be in this situation if I didn’t.

He eats half of his Boston cream in one bite. “It’s not annoying. Just the opposite, I think it’s one of your best qualities. To care so deeply is something to admire. You don’t come across many people like that. I appreciate that about you. I’m sure Mason and Luke do as well. Nelly sounds very free-spirited, but it’s possible that what works for her won’t for you.”

I exhale, the number of donuts I’ve consumed finally hitting me. “Maybe, but I still feel like I need to do something, and until I figure it out…this is the best I got. I need to give it enough time to see results. It can’t be that hard to find an attractive guy who can live without having expectations.”

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