Page 88 of Thanks for the Memories
One of the valets opens my door. “Good evening, miss.”
I step out of the car, and Jeremy joins me on my side. He offers me his arm, and I wrap my hand around it. He places his other hand on mine, giving me a wink. As we walk inside the restaurant, my head is spinning. These feelings I’m having are both bizarre and scary. It kind of feels like an awakening after walking around in a daze for all those months. I’m seeing the possibilities right in front of me, and they are electrifying.
All throughout dinner we talk about everything from our families to our hopes and dreams.
“I’ve almost gone skydiving twice,” he says. “I’ve bailed out at the last second every time.”
“I forgot about that,” I say, taking a sip of my sparkling water. “You were bragging for two weeks straight that you were going and then nothing.”
“Don’t remind me,” he says glumly. “I haven’t heard the end of it from my friends. It’s humiliating.”
I give him a sympathetic look. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Wearetalking about jumping out of a plane.”
“Maybe I just need the right incentive,” he suggests, giving me a hopeful look. “Like an amazing woman waiting for me on the ground.”
My pulse picks up. Holy crap. I wonder if he can hear how loudly my heart is beating.
“So, you want me to cheer for you while you plummet thousands of feet in the air?” I tease.
One corner of his mouth curls up as he moves his plate to the side and folds his arms on the table.
“You could always come with me.”
A feeling of panic comes over me at the thought of falling from the sky.
“Uh—I don’t think so.”
“So, you wouldn’t consider taking a jump with me?”
Is he still talking about skydiving?
“I think I’m better suited for waiting for you on land. I’ll be your biggest cheerleader and I’ll bring donuts to celebrate.”
He grins.
I don’t say anything for a few seconds, and when I do, we both start speaking at the same time.
“Go ahead,” I say.
“I just wanted to say that I love working with you.” He pauses, making my heartbeat faster. “We make a great team and that I don’t want to do anything to mess up the vibe we have.”
“I agree.”
“That being said, I can’t look you in the eye and tell you that I only want to be friends.”
Wow. I love how he’s not holding back. He’s being completely open about how he’s feeling, and I need to do the same.
“Okay,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I know this is unexpected,” he says, reaching across the table to touch my hand.
Yes. Unexpected and thrilling at the same time.
“And I know we briefly talked about his when we were in your backyard,” he adds.
“Yes, I remember.”
Hello. How could I forget? I don’t know if I’ll ever get the memory of him and me on the lounge chair out of my mind.
