Page 118 of Love Is an Art
The waiters remove our salad plates and serve dinner. Tom leaves to pick up their dinner plates from the other table.
“Dylan tells me you two are dating.” Paisley turns to Brooke and Ben. “Another couple at Capital. I definitely didn’t have you on my bingo card, especially after Zeke and I didn’t work out.”
Brooke puts down her bread.
Ben says, “I never had you and Zeke on my bingo card.”
Paisley laughs. “You were so surprised.”
Ben blushes.
“Ah, well, I’m sure you and Brooke are more well-behaved in the office.” Paisley smiles saucily at Zeke.
They were fooling around at the office?
I put down my fork. I’ve lost my appetite.
“Ben and Brooke are perfect together,” Zeke says. “They both make each other very happy.”
“How is working at Red Can?” Ben asks.
“It’s definitely different,” Paisley says. “I like finance, but I also like working for a food product company. And I wanted to work in a start-up. And one benefit so far is more women in upper management.”
Tom returns with their dinners. The food is good, and now we have an excuse not to talk.
Paisley says, “And you guys met on a deal too.”
“We didn’t meet on a deal. We met at an art gallery,” I say. Again.
Ben mutters to Zeke, “Never a dull moment with you.”
“We ended up dating after a deal.” Paisley glances at Zeke. “You do have a habit of dating the lawyers you work with on deals. All those late nights, I guess. But how’s that working for you?”
Zeke reaches for my hand under the table and squeezes it. “You learn a lot about a person in those late nights under deadlines.”
A waiter comes around to refresh our water glasses.
Ben whispers to me, “He actually didn’t want to date another lawyer. You overcame that bias.”
Ben is such a sweet wingman. It’s a good sign when a guy has good friends.
The music starts up again.
“Shall we dance?” Zeke asks.
It’s a slow song, and he pulls me in close. He smells of fresh air. Yummy. I want to be here in this moment with Zeke. The air smells of roses and orchids, mixed with the scent of some citronella candles, and Zeke. He kisses me quickly on the lips.
We dance to a few more songs and then take a break to get refreshments. Sebastian pulls Zeke aside for a moment, so I suggest I’ll pick up the drinks.
As I wait at the bar for the bartender to pour our two glasses of wine, Paisley comes over.
“Zeke looks very happy with you,” she says. “He’s a good guy, so I hope you guys work out. I wanted to apologize to him and see that he was okay.”
I busy myself grabbing an extra paper napkin. That intimate discussion in the gazebo did not look that innocent. And both of them feel the need to tell me that it was?
I’m not sure what to say in response. It’s Zeke’s place to tell her his feelings. And I definitely don’t want to appear worried. “Thanks for telling me. Maybe Tom and you?”
She shrugs. “It’s too early to tell. He’s very focused on work—and competing with you. It seems like you will have to maintain those billable hours to keep up with him.”
