Page 10 of Kissing My Soulmate

“How about Saturday afternoon, keep it casual by starting with drinks and see what happens.”

She’s very confident and I definitely like that. That’s one of the things I loved most about Lorelei. Of course, there was so much about her I loved, or who am I kidding, love. I haven’t heard if she’s dating or not. A part of me hopes she’s not because I’m not sure how I would react.

Fuck, I just want her to be happy, even if it’s not with me.

“Jasper?”

Shit, I let my mind wander. “Sorry. The afternoon sounds good.”

Before we hang up, we decide where to meet and what time. Maybe this is exactly what I need.

***

Pulling into the parking lot at Tavern Bar and Grill, I’m having second thoughts about going in. I’m not sure I’m really ready for this, but I still get out of the car. My phone pings, and I see it’s a text from Spencer.

Spencer: Hey, man, hang in there. Call me if you need to talk. He knows about Lorelei and knows I’m meeting Claire for a drink.

I send him a quick thanks and stick my phone in my back pocket before I head inside. Claire is standing by the hostess stand; I see her the moment I step through the doors.

“Hey, Jasper.” She smiles when she sees me.

“How is it going?” I say as I approach her. I’m not sure if I should shake her hand, kiss her cheek, or what.

Claire grabs my hand, giving a squeeze. “It’s good, I’m glad you came.”

She’s in a pair of light pink hot pants and a white sleeveless T-shirt. On her feet are flip-flops. Her style is definitely different from Lorelei’s, but it is nice.

We reach the patio, and I pull out her chair for her and then take the one across from her. It is sunny and hot, but we’re under an umbrella and the breeze makes it tolerable. The waiter comes and takes our order. I order a Budweiser and she orders a vodka soda with lemon.

“Thank you for having drinks with me today.” She takes a sip of her drink the moment the waiter sets it down. “Tell me about you. You’re a good-looking, successful man, who obviously loves animals, and yet your single.”

I’m surprised she didn’t look me up. I’ll admit I looked her up. Of course, if she looked me up, she’d see Lorelei in most of my pictures. I can’t take them down, I’ve tried. I haven’t checked her social media to see if she’s removed me. The thought of her erasing me from her life kills me. “I’m separated. Recently separated, but I figured you should know that.” I take a drink.

“Ahh…that makes sense.” Claire nods as she says it.

I raise my brow. “What?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you’ve been very nice, but you look completely uninterested.” She looks at me closely. “She’s still got your heart.”

I sigh. “You’re very intuitive. It was love at first sight and after the night we met, we were inseparable.” I grab the menu and look it over. “Then we just wanted different things.” That’s putting it mildly.

If I close my eyes, I remember that night so clearly.

I’m flipping the steaks when I hear the garage door open. A friend/co-worker of Lorelei’s recently had a baby and she was going over to see them. I take a sip of my beer when my beautiful fucking wife comes sauntering out onto the patio.

“Come here, woman,” I joke and pull her toward me, kissing her hard and deep. “Did you have a good time?”

Her face goes blank and she nods. This isn’t like her. She has never shut down on me before. She shares everything with me, all details. That’s just who she is.

“Baby, what is it?” I step closer to her and grab her shoulders, but she won’t answer me. “Please.”

She looks into my eyes and all I see is love. I lean in and kiss her softly, showing her I’m here for her, whatever it is.

“I don’t know what happened. Sadie put Celeste in my arms, and she blinked up at me. Something happened, I don’t know—I just felt this ache begin in my chest. She let me hold her the whole time and the baby even grabbed my finger.” Lorelei smiles softly. “I think I want a baby.”

I look at her, waiting for her to laugh, and her to say she’s kidding. We’ve always said neither of us wanted kids. Neither of us had good role models and didn’t want to mess up kids the way our parents did. Lorelei doesn’t start laughing, instead she places her hands on my chest. “I want us to have a baby. You’d make an incredible father.”

Stepping back, I shake my head. “That’s not what I want. It’s not what you want.”

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