Page 11 of I Choose You
I let my hands relax in front of me, my palms facing down. What I needed was to feel grounded. To feel like my life was my own. My decisions were mine to make. Let go of the guilt of disappointing my parents. They’d disappointed me too, and that was okay. We were all human, doing the best we could. Their idea of success looked different than mine, and that was fine. I couldn’t control if they were to ever come to terms with what my idea of success looked like for me. I could only control my own emotions, my own actions.
Breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly.
“Your mother sounds like a real fucking peach.”
I nearly jumped out of my skin—and I know I definitely squealed—when Reid spoke. He spoke in such a flat, emotionless tone that I couldn’t help but laugh. Only then I couldn’t stop laughing.
“Pack it up. We’re getting out of here,” Reid said. He stood in the doorway and raised a brow while I was still recoveringfrom my laughing fit.
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll finish the report from my room. I think I’ve been mortified enough for one afternoon.” I meant for it to sound like a joke, but Reid’s scowl only deepened as he waited silently.
The blast of chilly air hit me as soon as the large oak door opened to the outside. Goose bumps spread across my skin, and I wrapped my arms around myself. The blazer I was wearing didn’t protect against the cold weather, especially since I had been wearing it all day in the heated office.
Reid stopped at the passenger side of his truck and opened the door. “Get in.”
“Um, are you kidnapping me?” I asked with a laugh, already getting into his truck.
He rounded the truck without a word.
“Seriously though, where are we going?”
“Millie’s. Have you been there yet?” He reached behind him, pulled out a dark blue Wilder Construction hoodie, and handed it to me.
He didn’t look at me when he spoke, even though we were just sitting in the truck, waiting for it to warm up and the windows to defrost.
I debated putting the sweatshirt on over my blazer so I didn’t have to start undressing in Reid’s truck, but it looked so comfy, and I knew it would be awkward to wear both. “No,” I said, fighting to get my arms out of the blazer in the confines of the truck cab. “I heard great things though. Pizza sounds great right now.” Finally, I got the blazer off and threw the hoodie over my head.
Heaven.
It instantly warmed me up, unless that was the scent ofbergamot and cedarwood that enveloped me.
“It’s the best pizza in town, plus they have a liquor license. Just beer and wine, but it works.”
“Can’t wait!” I exclaimed a little too loudly. Reid shook his head slightly, probably regretting his impromptu dinner invite. I’d been in town for a few weeks already, but I hadn’t met anyone in a social setting. My mother was right in that sense, not that I would be with Will—that was well done and over—but I would have been busy with some friends, probably at some event that one of them would drag me to. Having dinner with someone other than myself was an exciting prospect.
Parking at Millie’s proved to be difficult, considering it was a Friday night, but Reid found a spot around back.
Inside, the tables were just as elusive as the parking spots had been. The enticing smell of fresh-baked pizza filled the room. It was larger inside than I would have expected, yet every table was taken when we walked in. The young girl behind the counter was staring at Reid like he’d just saved a box of kittens. She looked to be about seventeen, her light brown hair was pulled into a ponytail braid, and her youthful skin had a natural glow.
“Hi, what can I get for you?” she asked, solely focused on Reid. Her eyes might as well have hearts in them.
“Sausage pizza and a beer,” he said. He turned to me. “What do you want?”
The menu was posted on chalkboards behind the counter. I scanned it quickly but ultimately decided that the sausage pizza sounded good to me. “I’ll have the sausage pizza as well, but with a glass of white wine, please.”
Reid paid for the food, barely looking in the girl’s direction.He wasn’t necessarily being rude about it, just oblivious to her longing stares.
I scanned the restaurant again, looking for an open table so we could sit and eat rather than taking the food to go. A couple was just getting up from a small two-person table.
The woman approached us, and Reid instantly tensed. “Hi, Reid. How have you been?” she asked, her hand reaching out to touch his arm.
“Fine.”
“That’s good. I’m glad,” she said. Her eyes jumped to me before quickly moving back to Reid and dropping her arm. “I heard your brother was adopting the little girl he found.”
“Yup,” Reid responded, adding, almost like he thought he needed to, “Jane. She’s the best.”
“That’s so great. She’s a lucky little girl.”
