Page 367 of The Sinner: James

“You can’t get enough of him, Rain. That’s the problem, but most people don’t get any of these things.”

She laughs softly while a grin creeps across my lips.

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“You should count your blessings. You have no idea how bad it is to be still working on finding a man, any man, forget about the one, and coercing him into anything resembling something romantic. Not to say something lasting longer than a weekend.”

We both laugh, realizing this is much more serious than I thought.

“Is it that bad out there?”

She nods a few times.

“You have no idea.”

“Even in New York?”

“Even in New York.”

I look at her, baffled.

“I thought there was a lot of fish in the sea,” I say.

“Yes, there is a lot of fish in the sea. That doesn’t mean I can find someone.”

“I can’t believe it’s that bad.”

“It is. And trust me. I’ve tried everything. Casual hookups, blind dates, dating sites–everything that's out there––and it all ended the same way. Or we couldn’t get anything started. I don’t want to talk about it. It would ruin this lovely evening. All I can say is that I’m willing to try something new.”

“Like what?”

“Being single?”

“Oh... Okay.”

“Yeah. I’m sick of wasting my time. I’ll let fate pick a man for me if it wants to. If not, so be it. I’m not going to go crazy over it.”

“You have your whole life ahead of you, Eve,” I say, soaking in her beautiful face, having a hard time understanding why men can’t see her for who she is.

She pops another strawberry into her mouth.

“Anyway,” she murmurs, trying to be at peace with it. “Back to your problem. I don’t know what to say. Considering that your relationship with him is good, I can only imagine it’s a matter of time, patience, and better circumstances.”

“Yeah. Probably,” I say, tipping my gaze down.

“He didn’t use to work that much back in the day,” she says. “How was your life back then?”

I raise my eyes

“It was good,” I say, my voice softening as sweet memories come back to me. “We used to travel, see things, and do stuff. It was fantastic, but even then, I knew it wouldn’t last. He’s not the kind of man who kicks back and does nothing.”

I pause, contemplating my situation.

She doesn’t say a word.

“Anyway... We’ll see. I’m trying to find a balance. I wish he’d see value in spending time with me.”

“I’m sure he does.”

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