Page 19 of Jilted

“Only you know the answer to that.”

I sighed. “Isn’t there a book that can tell me how to figure it out?”

Dr. Amherst smiled. “Let me ask you, when we met two weeks ago, we spoke about you joining a dating app. Have you done that?”

I shook my head. “Seeing that photo put a damper on the excitement I’d felt about doing it.”

“Sounds like you might not need a book. You just answered your own question.”

I thought about it. I supposed it made sense. I didn’t want to go through what I’d experienced with Josh ever again. When I walked down the aisle on my wedding day, I’d thought it was the beginning of the happiest moments of my life—until my dad lifted my veil and I looked over at Josh’s face. Iknewsomething was wrong. But I was so damn clueless, I thought someone had died. I actually asked him if his grandmother, who couldn’t make that day because she was sick, was okay. The fact that my fiancé of a year and a half was about to dump me in front of all of my family and friends didn’t even enter my mind as a possibility. And it wasn’t because he suddenly got a case of cold feet, because that does happen. No, it turned out my trusted fiancé had been pining for his ex the entire time we were together. A few days before our wedding, Josh had written her a letter, telling her he wouldn’t marry me if there was any possibility he could have a second chance with her. Apparently she showed up at his apartment on the morning of our wedding and admitted she still had feelings for him, too. Yet I’d had no clue about any of it.

So maybe my reluctance to move on did have less to do with getting over Josh and more to do with learning to trust myself again. I nodded. “I’ll unfollow him today.”

“Baby steps are still steps.” Dr. Amherst smiled again.

“Okay. And I didn’t sign up for the app, but I did meet someone. And we kissed.”

“Oh? Tell me about him.”

“He’s… sort of a jerk who says what’s on his mind without regard for hurting another person’s feelings. And we argued most of the evening.”

Dr. Amherst’s brows puckered. “Is there more to that description? Because I’m not sure that sounds like someone who would make a great partner.”

I smiled. “He’s actually pretty funny. He’s got a dark sense of humor. And he has these eyes…” I drifted off, remembering how captivating they were. Though it wasn’t like I had to do it from memory alone, since I’d looked at the photos Elijah took quite a few times the last couple of weeks. “They’re a bright blueish green, maybe turquoise might be the right way to describe them. I was originally calling them azure in my head, but then I looked up the definition of azure and realized his have more green in them. And they’re lined with the thickest black lashes.”

Dr. Amherst looked amused. “You looked upazure?”

I bit my lip. “You’d have to see the eyes to understand.”

She smiled. “Okay, well, handsome and funny are a good combination. How did you meet?”

“At a wedding. I was working. He was a guest.”

“Will you see him again?”

“Yes, but not for a date or anything. The kiss was amazing, but he’s not my type.”

“What is your type?”

That stopped me in my tracks. I wasn’t sure I knew my type at this point. Clearly it wasn’t a wholesome-looking, preppy, blond lawyer with nice manners. “I don’t know anymore.” I shook my head. “This guy just seemed like a player—you know, the cocky type who’s so good-looking he doesn’t need to put in more effort than finding a woman a cupcake to wind up in the coat closet for a make-out session.”

Dr. Amherst raised a brow. “Is that last part from personal experience?”

I chuckled. “Maybe. But in my defense, I’d had a few drinks. I don’t get to eat sugar often, and his eyes arethat incredible.”

She smiled. “We all have our kryptonite. You said you’re going to be seeing him again. Is that because you run in the same social circle?”

“No, I’m covering a series of weddings—twelve fraternity brothers who are getting married over one year. They’re his friends, so I’m guessing he’ll be at them all, too.”

“Oh my. So you’ll be seeing him a lot then?”

I nodded. “But what happened the first time won’t happen again.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because now that I know what my kryptonite is, I can stay away from it.”

I had a two o’clock marketing meeting upstairs after my lunchtime shrink appointment. So I grabbed what I needed and answered an email on my phone as I waited for the elevator. The doors slid open while I was typing, so I entered without looking up. When I finally did, I froze.

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