Page 22 of Thanks for the Love
Lila shrugs. “Probably Jordan. Enrique is cute and sweet, but Jordan is so yummy. And we have amazing chemistry.”
“Poor you,” I tease. “Choosing between two sweet and yummy men must be very difficult.”
Lila lets out a dramatic sigh. “It’s torture.”
“I think you should give the sweet one a chance,” Reagan chimes in.
The server interrupts our conversation to pour water into our glasses and take our order. I finally choose the maple-glazed salmon, based on the server’s recommendations.
“This place is really nice,” Lila says. “That chandelier is exquisite.”
I have to admit Golden is very impressive. From the outside it’s just a plain brick building, but inside is gorgeous. There are touches of gold everywhere, the vaulted ceilings really open up the space, and there’s a grand golden chandelier hanging in the middle of the dining room.
“Thanks for making the suggestion. I can’t wait to try the food.”
“Dante is an amazing chef,” Reagan gushes. “He’d cook for a group of us on the weekends when we were in college. We all told him he should drop out and go to culinary school." She pauses. “And here we are. I’m so proud of him.”
Lila and I glance at each other. I don’t know who this Dante guy is, but it’s obvious that Reagan is very fond of him.
“Okay … so tell us about Dante?” Lila asks. “Is he hot? Dante—that name rolls off the tongue just right.”
I giggle, and Reagan turns bright red. I guess that’s her answer to Lila’s question.
“He’s a good-looking guy. We’ve known each other a long time. It’s funny that we both ended up in Miami. Of course, he’s been here a lot longer than me. I’m not sure I would’ve come here if it weren’t for my sister.”
I keep forgetting that Reagan is from Illinois. In fact, I still don’t know much about her. She seems really easygoing and low maintenance, which is great because Lila is definitely more intense. Unfortunately, my drama monopolized most of our conversation last night. And to top things off, I roll into the house in my PJs after having an impromptu breakfast with Theo. I have to wonder if my new roommates think I’m a hot mess.
That would be an accurate description of my life over the past several months. In my defense, the two people I trusted more than anyone devastated me.
“Is Dante here tonight?” Lila asks.
Reagan gets a panicked look. “I’m sure he is, but I don’t want to bother him.”
“Maybe we could see him for a minute—you know, to thank him for the wonderful meal,” I suggest.
Granted, we haven’t eaten yet, and the food could be complete crap. I don’t say that out loud though.
“Right on time,” Lila exclaims, practically jumping out of her chair.
She throws her arms around a man with brown spiked hair and glasses then does the same to another guy, who reminds me of Joey fromFriends.
She waves to our server and asks if he can bring over two more chairs.
I glance at Reagan who raises her eyebrows. It doesn’t take me long to figure out that these are two of the men Lila wanted to introduce us to.
“Harry and Paul, these are my new roommates,” she says excitedly.
We all introduce ourselves and make the usual small talk—where we are from, what we do for work, and then come the questions about what happened to my wrist.
The fact that I fell out of hammock seems to amuse everyone. The guys are both friendly and nice looking, but in the back of my mind I know this is Lila’ attempt to steer me away from Theo. I don’t mind meeting them though because I’m open to all possibilities. It would be ridiculous to close myself off after a handful of moments with Theo.
I’m not going to lie though—I’d love to accidentally catch him swimming laps again. When I made the decision to come to Miami, I was hopeful it would be an easy transition, and I have no complaints so far. That doesn’t mean I’m naïve enough to think that it’s going to be smooth sailing the whole way.
“I worked in Orlando for a few years,” Harry tells me. “I liked it, but Miami is more my speed. I think you’ll love it here.”
“I already do,” I say with a grin.
Like clockwork, my phone buzzes from beside me. There’s a tiny part of me that’s hoping it’s another referral from Theo.
