Page 40 of The Love You Win

Me

Are you going to the silent auction dinner next week? They invited all the date winners. We could discuss the assembly more then.

Isla

I don’t know if I’m up for a big, fancy dinner.

I’d really like you to come. Please? It’ll be fun. Promise.

You’d really like me to come, or your friends would really like me to come?

Well, shit. I deserve that. On the plus side, this gives me a chance to fix my mistake from the other day.

Me

I’m an ass, aren’t I?

Isla

No comment.

I’d really like you to come. To the dinner, and to a game. You’re not the only one with a shitty dating history, and I’ve sort of forgotten how to behave around a woman. Not that I’m saying that excuses my behavior because it doesn’t. I’m sorry.

It’s okay. I get it.

Don’t get me wrong, the guys would love to see you, but I’m not asking for them. Please come.

I’ll think about it.

We can take another selfie for your social media profiles. Really make your ex jealous.

LOL! That would be a perk.

I’ll even put my arm around your waist and look as smitten as you want.

Smitten?

What?

Nothing…

Come on. Say you’ll go.

Well, you did make sure my apartment was creep-free the other day. I guess I owe you.

No, you don’t owe me anything. But I’d like to see you.

Do I have to get all fancy?

It’s not black tie or anything. Just don’t show up in a stained sweatshirt and I think you’ll be fine.

Do you have a spy cam in my apartment or something? How’d you know what I was wearing?

LOL. I was using my own wardrobe as an example.

I don’t buy it. I’ve seen the photos of you in your suits. There’s no way you own a stained sweatshirt.

She’s been looking at pictures of me? I grin like an idiot because maybe Isla Harding isn’t as disinterested as she’d like to appear. Maybe, just maybe, I can convince her to be my friend. Or go on a date with me. A real one, not some awful auction date in a stuffy restaurant with the threat of an interview hanging over our heads. I want to take her somewhere fun and low-pressure. Fancy dinners are great once in a while, but they’re not my thing. I’d pick a chill night out almost every time, and something tells me Isla is the same.

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