Page 96 of Cinderella Screwed Me Over
“Whoa,” I said as the elevator lurched to a stop. I steadied myself, then stepped off the elevator into the empty hall. I got past the first door—only three more to go—then froze.
Oh my gosh, what am I doing? I’m going to show up drunk and desperate just so I don’t feel lonely tonight? That’s seriously pathetic.
I hurried back the way I’d come, the wall getting closer with each step. Stumbling, I made it back to the elevator. Pushing the button over and over, I prayed Jake wouldn’t be coming up or leaving or anything that would force me to see him.Liquid couragewas the wrong word. It gave you courage to do what you usually had common sense not to.
The doors opened and I lunged inside. For the first time tonight, I felt lucky to be alone. I punched my floor and almost tipped over when the elevator started its descent.
Tomorrow, I’d go out with Porter. Then my life could finally get back to normal. Or what constituted as normal for an anti-love, I-don’t-need-anyone-but-myself person like me.
Chapter Thirty-three
The black wrap dress caught my eye as I scanned my closet for what to wear on my date. Going out with Porter seemed like a much better idea than starting over with someone completely new. He already knew about my stance on love, I cared about him, and he’d stuck up for me before. With him back in town, I figured he’d be someone I could spend time with when Steph was busy. In fact, I was starting to think his coming into town at the same time everything else started going wrong with Jake was a fortuitous coincidence.
My phone rang. I picked it off my nightstand and glanced at the display.Drew.
I bet he and Lisa broke up and he wants to come trolling for women. Maybe I won’t have to live alone forever.
“What’s up?” I said.
“I was thinking that tomorrow morning you and Jake might want to come get a late breakfast with Lisa and me.”
“Yeah, about that… You see, Jake and I… We’re not—”
“Don’t tell me you broke up with the only decent guy you’ve dated in years,” Drew said.
“Let’s just say, I hope you’re making enough money to find us a nice place to retire in.”
“Oh sure. I’m rolling in the dough.” Drew sighed. “So, what did you find wrong this time? Not stuck up enough? He got along with us?”
“Well, that did concern me,” I said, attempting a joke.
Silence.
I clenched my jaw, the ache I was trying to pretend didn’t exist squeezing at my heart. “Nothing, okay. He’s going to start up a restaurant in another city and be gone all the time, and I ran into Porter and—”
“I swear if you go out with that prick again, I’m disowning you. Then when it doesn’t work out—because we both know it’s not gonna—you’re going to live alone, because I’m not moving in with someone who doesn’t have any common sense.”
“You know what, Drew? I don’t need anyone to tell me that I’m not good at relationships. Especially not someone likeyou.” Fuming, I hit the disconnect button and threw my phone on my bed. “Argh!”
Who does he think he is, telling me who I can and can’t date?
I took a few deep breaths to try to calm myself.Just forget about him. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“I’m not moving in with you if you don’t have any common sense,” I said, mimicking Drew’s words. “Yeah, well, I don’t want to live with you, either. In fact, living alone forever suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.”
…
Porter took me to Palace Arms at the Brown Palace Hotel, the same placed he’d taken me on our first date. The first time he’d brought me there, I didn’t even know what some of the things on the menu were. No matter how many times he insisted the foie gras was amazing, I didn’t even like liver, much less duck liver.
While we ate, he told me all about his time in New York, how much his company had grown while he was there, and how he’d sold his shares so he could pursue other interests. I just sat there, soaking it all in. Feeling a strange sense of déjà vu.
After he’d finished his meal, he dropped his fork and looked at me. “I’m sorry. I’m so excited to see you that I’ve been going on and on, and you’ve hardly said a word. How’s work going?”
“I’m busy doing this commercial job for Patricia.”
“I know you get frustrated with those,” Porter said.
It was nice to skip all the stupid getting-to-know-you crap. “I’m totally frustrated. I’m passing up jobs I’d love to do because of it. Jake thinks…” My stomach dropped, and it took me a moment to recover. “Uh, I’ve been toying with the idea of going into business for myself.”
