Page 59 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Maybe I didn’t do such a great job of fixing things after all,” Jake said. “I’m assuming her fiancé isn’t a complete jerk.”
“He’s very nice, actually. They have small fights here and there, like all couples do.” I listened for a second and caught the wordmother. “Sounds like they’re onto fighting about his mom now. Every relationship’s got a sore subject; theirs is his mother. It’s the kind of problem girls get together to complain about, but after a little venting it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. It’s the big stuff—like lying and cheating—that’s unforgivable.” I pulled my attention off Steph’s conversation and looked back at Jake. “You claim guys say whatever they’re thinking, like they’re honest all the time. I’ve been around too many liars to believe that.”
“The things we think will get us into trouble, we keep in,” Jake said. “That’s why when we say something we think is totally innocent, we’re so shocked and confused when you get mad. Then we use the classic, ‘You’re overreacting.’”
“Which, by the way, women really hate. If you want me to overreact or be grouchy, just tell me that I am.”
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.”
“Let’s try this out,” Jake said.
I raised an eyebrow, silently warning him he better be careful.
“You’re completely crazy…about me.” He leaned in, his lips near mine. “Did it work?”
I shook my head, but couldn’t help smiling. “See, this is the problem. You know how to spin everything to your advantage. In my experience, it’s the charming guys who are the most dangerous. They make you think they care, but they’ve got ulterior motives. In fact, you just told me that you’d keep in the things that would get you into trouble. So how am I supposed to trust you?”
He put his hand on my knee and ran his thumb across the top of it. “I guess my insisting that you can won’t change your mind if you don’t trust me in the first place.”
“Exactly.”
“I guess I’ll just have to prove it, then.” His eyes locked onto mine. “However long it takes.”
Chapter Twenty
Stephanie rinsed off her plate and stuck it in my dishwasher. “Last night was just what I needed. It felt good to relax and laugh and forget about everything else for a while.” She wiped her hands on the dishtowel hanging from my oven handle and spun to face me. “I still feel bad for messing up your date with Jake, though.”
I drained my glass of orange juice. “You didn’t mess it up. Jake’s lived without a coffee table for weeks. Another day’s not going to make a difference to him.”
“You know, back when I dated bad boys, I was always yelling and fighting with them—”
“Then making up with them and breaking up the next day.”
“Only to make up again.” She shook her head. “What a mess. But Anthony and I never fight. We occasionally disagree, sure, but not the yelling fight like we got into last night.” She leaned against the counter. “I thought that getting together with Anthony had made me mellow. Turns out, I can still get fired up.”
“Nothing wrong with that.” I stuck my glass in the dishwasher and closed it. “It’ll keep him on his toes.”
“I read this article that said the reason you fight more when you get engaged is because you’re more committed to the relationship. Since you’re working to stay together, the little things seem more important.”
The way Stephanie looked at me, I knew I was supposed to step in and make her feel better. “You know that your married friends would be better for this ‘everything’s going to be great’ pep talk.”
“I want to hear it from you,” she said. I could see the vulnerability in her eyes and hear it in her voice.
I thought of the things Karl had said about her and Anthony, how I could recite his opinion but knew it would come out insincere. I wanted to tell her that it was going to be difficult, but they could give it a fighting chance, and not to take it too hard if it didn’t work out. That wasn’t what she needed either, though. So I dug down deep, focused on the hope I was working on letting in, and said, “Anthony loves you, you love him, and your minor problems are ones that you can easily work through and live with. You two are going to make it.” I shot her a smile. “If only to prove me wrong.”
She pulled me into a hug. “Thanks. I needed to hear that.” She glanced at her watch and sighed. “I better get going. Thanks for the loaner outfit. Slumber parties are awesome. We should’ve never stopped having them.”
“I’m game anytime.”
“I should probably call first. You and Jake might want to have a few slumber parties of your own.”
“Okay, let’s not get carried away. I’ve barely been semi-dating him for a few weeks, and as you know, I have a strict rule about that.”
“Ah, yes,” Stephanie said. “The No-love, no-making-love rule. Now that’s one I agree with.”
“Yes and it’s a rule that no one, regardless of how hot or amazing he is, will convince me to break.”
