Page 32 of The One I Love
“Huh?”
“What if this works? What if this is forever?”
He’s right. I haven’t even considered that side of things. I’m glass-half-empty. My favorite Winnie the Pooh character is Eeyore because he’s relatable.
But it can’t be that simple, can it? Just believe it’s going to last? That’s not how this works. At least, not in my experience. No way that my forever has been my best friend the whole time. No way the man I kissed at the wedding, who was also the boy who played in the creek with me, was always the person I was supposed to be with.
“I haven’t thought of that.”
He leans over and takes my hand again. I don’t even look to see if anyone is looking. I can’t. I’m too mesmerized by Shane at this moment.
“I know, and I get why,” he says. “But, just for a second, forget the bad things. Forget the scary stuff. Just think about how maybe it’s only good things coming.”
I try to do as he says, I really do. But as soon as one of those good thing pops into my head, the scary and unknown come right after.
“I want to, Shane. There’s just so much we need to consider. For starters, the kids. How are we going to tell them about us?”
“We’ll sit them down and talk to them like the young adults they are.”
“Okay, but what about the guys? Oliver will have a heart attack out of excitement. Simon would be relentless. Wes would have to deal with them, and then Betsy would have to deal with Wes.”
“They’re big boys. They can handle it.”
“And then there are our mothers! They’ll be the worst.”
“I’ll agree they are the scariest, but they’ll also be our biggest cheerleaders.”
“Okay Mister I-Have-All-The-Answers, have you considered how hard this will be because of our jobs? My baggage?”
My freakout only makes him smile. “I have. Let’s start small. If I asked you on a date, would you say yes?”
“Yes.” I shock myself a bit with how fast that came out. “But?—”
“Uh-uh. No buts.” Shane’s thumb starts moving back and forth across my hand. The move is so simple, but also so bold. “Let’s take this one situation and one question at a time. That sound good?”
I nod. “Yes. I will go out with you. On one condition, though.” I might be slightly swept up in the moment, and the touch of his hand, but I need to say this for my own sanity.
He smiles and lets go of my hand, which I instantly miss. “Name it.”
“That this is a test.”
“A test?”
“Yes, a test.” I sit up a little straighter in the booth, needing him to know this is make or break for me. “Besides the reasons I just listed above, neither of us know what the hell we’re doing. I haven’t been in a relationship since the divorce, and no one knows what your story is in the dating department.”
“I have a story.”
“And I can’t wait to hear it. But you have to agree this is unchartered territory—in more ways than one—for both of us. Yes?”
“You’re right.”
“Thank you. So, we need to go in with no expectations and forget that we’ve already kissed.”
His lips form a devilish grin. “Amelia, there is nothing you can say or do that will make me ever, and I meanever, forget that.”
Same, but I can’t tell him that. Not when I’m trying tomake a point. “You know what I mean. This needs to be a clean slate. As much as you might not want to admit it, there’s a lot of ramifications if this happens. And before we rock that boat, we need to make sure this is real and it’s not just a fleeting thing.”
“It’s not.”
