Page 57 of Love Is an Art
“I’m sure,” I say.
Our glances meet. Time to ask her to come back to my place for a drink. I’m so rusty.
The waitress taps my credit card right at the table and hands me the pad to sign.
We walk outside to Sixth Avenue. Yellow cabs race uptown, competing with black sedans for the most direct route.
“Thank you. I had a great time, despite the lecture,” Tessa says. “I have to work tomorrow, so I should go straight home. Should we grab Citi Bikes? I didn’t bring helmets, but we can go straight up the bike path on Central Park West.”
She’s rambling.
She must think I’m not over Paisley.Good going.
I need more than one dinner to show her I am.
“Sounds good,” I say. “I’ve purchased a Citi Bike membership now.”
“I have to confess something.” She faces me, but she’s looking down, biting her lip. Her shoulders are curved, slumping. She looks miserable.
If she’s going to say that she doesn’t think this works because I’m not over Paisley, I don’t want to hear it. I want to have another chance.
“You can tell me next time,” I say.
“No. I can’t,” she says.
Chapter seventeen
Zeke
“I’malawyer.”Shedoesn’t break eye contact. “I was dressed as a struggling artist when we met because we suspect Jurgen is scamming artists, and I was hoping he would try to scam me. He was in earshot when you asked me what I did, so I lied to you and said I was an artist. I’m so sorry.”
I step back.She lied?She lied.
“But why not tell me later?”Do I have a sign on my forehead that says sucker?
She swallows. “I was about to tell you when we were on the swing, but then you said you hated lawyers. So I ran away. I got flustered. That’s why I jumped into a cab and left you behind. And then the next day, I read your email correspondence. I was the White & Gilman lawyer on the North American litigation who settled it. I read your email to Ben about not dating a lawyer and saying you wanted to date an artist. And then I looked up your picture and was horrified to realize you were the same guy I’d really liked the night before.”
She continues, “And also, we saw you talk to Jurgen at the reception, and we were not sure if you were friends. And I also kept lying because I wanted a chance. I thought it was crazy to dismiss people because of their occupation. But I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t know how to tell you once it started. Because I was afraid”—she takes a big breath—“I was afraid you wouldn’t give me a chance.”
My stomach roils, and not in a good way. “I can’t … You read my email correspondence and took advantage of that? But did you know who I was when we were at the bar?”
Her face pales even further.
“No. I thought you were cute. I was horrified to find out you were Zeger van der Zee.”
“Horrified? So horrified that you then decided to deceive me?”
“No. Horrified because I thought you’d reject me. It seemed you had a pretty strong aversion to dating lawyers.”
She lied to me. “You were right. I’m not dating someone who lies to me. Especially not from the beginning. I’ve learned my lesson.”
“But I wasn’t lying about my feelings for you,” she says.
I shake my head and turn away. I need to get the hell out of here.
Tessa’s face is white.
“I’m so sorry,” she says again. She stands aside as I walk past her.
