Page 58 of Love Unexpected
@RandomIOfficial: I am offended on behalf of all Southerners who know how to eat breakfast.
@Briarsandthorns: Are you nervous about tomorrow night?
I leaned back in my seat and considered her question. Weirdly enough, I wasn’t, really. I’d told Ana I was trusting my gut when it came to her. And I was. There was just something that felt...rightabout our interactions. I’d never admit it out loud because the guys at work would never let me live down sounding like some cheesy romance movie. But it felt as if we weremeantto be together. Like there was something bigger connecting us.
Before replying to Ana, I pulled up my text messages and typed out a message to Jade.Heads up. If you haven’t already noticed. Rosie is getting some attention in the comment thread of the live video we posted.
Jade’s response came right through.I’m aware. #teamrosie. I’m not surprised though. She was adorable in that video.
Yeah, she’s a natural,I replied.But I don’t want the hashtag to pick up steam. I’d rather viewers get excited about the actual woman I’m making this trip to see in the first place. Can you kill the hashtag for me?
Jade texted back several laughing emojis in a row.You seriously overestimate my abilities. Unless I’m deleting half your comments, I can’t kill anything. And doing that would only make things worse.
I ran a hand through my hair.
Just let this play out,Jade texted before I could respond.If you and Ana are meant to be together, it won’t matter what some random viewer said in some random comment. You’re all about trusting your gut, right? Trust it now, too.
It was good advice, but something about the whole thing still made me uneasy. No, something aboutRosiemade me uneasy. Because as good as I felt about Ana, I couldn’t ignore the fact that when I was with Rosie in person, something felt really good about that, too.
I went back to my exchange with Ana and keyed out a reply.
@RandomIOfficial: Yeah. I am nervous. You?
@Briarsandthorns: I’m terrified. But also so anxious to just get the first meeting over with so I can eat a full meal without feeling like I might vomit. You do weird things to my insides, Isaac.
@RandomIOfficial: Thank you, I think?
@Briarsandthorns: I definitely meant it as a compliment. But I hope this feeling doesn’t last forever. Apparently, I need to try some cheesy bacon sand—I mean grits—in order to know what real breakfast tastes like.
@RandomIOfficial: It’s a date. See you tomorrow.
I added a winking emoji to my last message and closed out the Instagram app not even sure what I was feeling. How I was feeling. Whether or not I ought to be feeling anything at all.
A text popped up from Rosie—the address to Marley’s house, followed by a quick message.So you can find your way back.
A cool sense of relief washed over me. I didn’t want to think. And if it was time to go back to Marley’s house, I wouldn’t have to.
***
It’s possible I was overly confident. After a couple of hours of hanging out with Marley and Rosie, I was more confused than ever. I liked Rosie. I liked the way she laughed. And the wry way she joked without making fun of other people. A lot of people were funny. But to be funny at no one else’s expense was an entirely different level of skill. I liked the way she listened, with her eyes laser-focused on whoever was speaking. She was just...easy. It had been a long time since I’d dated a woman who felteasy.
But I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about dating Rosie.
Marley stretched her arms over her head. “Are you guys going to stay?” she asked, her voice hopeful. She looked at me. “There’s an extra bed in Shiloh’s room that Rosie usually takes, but you’re welcome to the couch.” She patted the cushion next to her. “It’s plenty comfortable.”
“Oh, I don’t want to impose on your family time.” My gaze shifted to Rosie. “I can just head back to the hotel and then come back in the morning to pick you up.”
“Please stay?” Rosie said. “Shiloh has a soccer tournament in the morning and they’re leaving really early, but I would love for him to get to meet you. He’s a huge fan. It would be dumb for you to drive all the way back to Nashville only to return here by six a.m.”
“Ohhh, true. That’s early.”
“Please?” Rosie said again. She shot a knowing look at Marley. “Things have been really tough for Shiloh lately. It would mean a lot.”
A startling realization crystallized in my gut. I couldn’t tell Rosie no. To this. Or anything. I held her gaze for a long moment, reading her eyes, trying to figure out if I was making up the connection that, thread by thread, was slowly weaving us together.
She finally blinked and looked away, a hint of color filling her cheeks. Had she felt it too? For all I knew, Rosie had a boyfriend back in Charleston. I couldn’t assume that just because we had on-air chemistry and I liked the way she laughed that she was into me. That she would ever be into me. The smarter decision was probably to decline Marley’s invitation and drive back to the hotel, giving myself some much-needed distance.
But Shiloh seemed like a good kid, from what I’d been told about him. If I could do a small thing to help brighten his day? That was exactly the kind of thing that Isaac ofRandom Iwould do.
