Page 73 of April

“So, can you let me know your answer by the end of the day tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” Asher repeated after her and then stood. “Okay.”

She wasn’t convinced she’d have an answer for her by tomorrow, but she didn’t really have a choice. When she left Carolyn’s office, she walked like a zombie back to her own and closed the door behind her, needing privacy. This was a lot to think about. She had been to Dallas a few times, but she had never thought about living there. Asher also hadn’t planned on starting a new office for Carolyn. She had always thought that if she opened an office, it would be one of her own. Now, she needed to pull up an apartment website and check out the Dallas area. How much would rent cost? What kind of an apartment could she get with her budget?

Then, she remembered Stephania’s message.

???

“Asher?”

Asher looked up and saw a supermodel standing right in front of her; all six feet of her. It was real. This was reallyhappening. Stephania was standing in front of her, and she had a smile on her face as she looked down at Asher.

“Hi,” she replied in a higher-pitched voice than she’d thought she possessed.

“Hi,” Stephania said and sat down in the hardbacked booth across from Asher. “So, a pizza place?”

“Yeah. Sorry. It was all I could think of. It’s not somewhere I expect to see a lot of tourists, and it’s usually not that busy this time of the night.”

“Do you come here a lot?” Stephania asked.

“Sometimes. With my coworkers. It’s one of our lunch spots,” she said.

“So, it’s nice to meet you in person,” Stephania noted.

“You too. I’m still kind of surprised that I’m actually meetingyouand not some crazy personpretendingto be you.”

“The video didn’t help?”

“No, it did. I wouldn’t be here without the video. But it’s still hard to believe thatyou’re on a dating app.”

“It’s hard to believeyou’re on a dating app.”

“Me? Why?” Asher asked.

“Because you’re gorgeous. And from your profile and our messages, it’s clear that you’re accomplished, successful, and kind of funny.”

“Kind of funny?”

“Your messages; some of them were funny.” Stephania shrugged a shoulder. “Some were adorable.”

“Oh, God. I’m a mess, aren’t I?” Asher laughed a little.

“No,” Stephania replied. “It was just cute that you told me that you had friends inlowplacesin case I wasn’t who I said I was.”

“I didn’t know how else to say that.”

“Where are these low places, anyway? Are we talking mob connections here?”

“No,” Asher replied with a laugh. “Just my friends on speed dial in case I need them to rescue me. I also chose this place because there’s a frontandback door for customers.”

“So that you could make a quick exit?”

“Exactly.”

“Smart, too. I like that,” Stephania said with a nice smile.

“Practical,” Asher pointed out.

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