Page 61 of Blindly Yours

With a sigh, I slump down further on the sofa and throw my elbow over my eyes. Daisy jumps off and meows her annoyance before heading to her bowl.

“I don’t know what to do…” I groan into the silence. Why did he have to kiss me? If he didn’t kiss me,maybeI could have moved on. I could have forgotten how sweet he was and the way he smirked when he teased me. I could have forgotten that grumpy façade he put on. I could have forgotten those blue eyes.

But no, he had to push me against my car and devour me. He had to make me feel like the only girl in his world. And that’s who I want to be to somebody. Theonlygirl.

Somehow, even though Nate lost his wife—who was probably the love of his life—he still treated me more like the sole person in his universe in that single moment than Malcolm did during our entire relationship.

And because of that, I’m doomed.

I’m doomed because none of this will work.

I’m doomed because I have to tell him no.

The future my parents have planned for me—the one I’ve planned for myself too—will crumble if I end up with Nate. I’ve had my eyes set on my goals for so long. I can’t throw them all away because of one simple kiss.

The best kiss I’ve ever had.

I sit forward and turn my bottle of water in my hands. Am I out of my mind? I pull out my phone to text Junie. I need a reality check. She’ll tell me if I’m crazy.

And twenty minutes later, she comes through the door.

“Alright, spill it. What happened?” She hands me an iced mocha latte and then stares at me with her hands on her hips.

I take a sip and set it aside. “Remember I told you about the guy I met on the app?”

She sits down in the armchair across from me. “The spoon guy?”

I nod and take a breath. “It’s Nate.”

She blinks and jerks her head back and forth. “I’m sorry, what? The repairman you just spent the weekend with?”

I bring my hand to my forehead and sit forward. “Yeah… We had no idea.”

“Wait, I’m not following.” She furrows her brow.

“It’s him,” I repeat. “Nate is the guy on the app. I’ve been talking to him this whole time.”

“No!” She gasps. “I thought you said he was all sappy and introspective? Nate’s not like that at all.”

“Iknow.” I reach for my drink. Caffeine is gonna have to get me through this. “But it’s him. And now I don’t know what to do.” That’s a lie. I know what I have to do, but I’m trying to gauge her reaction.

Junie still looks confused. “Well, for starters, he’s blue collar and your parents would flip.”

I fall back into the sofa and sigh. “He owns his company though, it turns out.”

“He owns the building management company?”

I nod.

“Well ok, but we thought you were talking to someone with two homes and at least a master’s degree. Nate’s hot, and yeah, I’ve been making jokes about it, but you know your mom wants you to marry money, and—” She pauses, eyeing me closely. “I thought you wanted that too?”

“Ido,” I groan. “But…” I shake my head. “I don’t know anymore...”

She half-laughs. “Well, I mean, I’m all for you expanding your horizons and rebelling against your parents… Maybe you should go for it”

“Junie…”I groan again. “This is so…ugh, this is bad.”

Junie watches me for a moment with studying eyes. “What happened this weekend?”

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