Page 76 of Until Forever

“I told you it would happen,” she winked.

“What about you? Are you ready to start dating again any time soon?”

She slumped back in the booth and pursed her lips. “I don’t know. Not yet. It’s a lot, you know? I’ve only ever been with Chris. I’m a divorcée, and it’s not like Silver Point has a ton of single hot guys to choose from.”

“You’ll find someone. You’re sweet, pretty, and smart. A world where you’re single, and I’m not doesn’t make sense,” I argued.

“What, like you’re not all of those things?”

“No,” I laughed. “Okay, maybe I am smart and pretty. But I’m also mean. I was just lucky enough to find someone who likes that about me.”

“You’re not mean,” she defended.

“You only say that because you’re so sweet. Your ex would agree with me. How is that jerk anyway? Do you ever hear from him?”

She leaned forward with excitement in a way that told me she was about to spill some tea, and it was good, too.

“Oh, have I got a fun story to share with you,” she grinned. “You know that woman Chris was cheating on me with?” She held up her index finger. “Wait. Before you ask which one…I’m referring to the lady you saw him at the hotel with.”

“Yeah, I know the one.”

“They got married as soon as our divorce was finalized.”

I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Of course, because that sounds like a great idea. What could go wrong?”

“I’ll tell you exactly what went wrong. She swindled him out of his business and all of his money. I heard he had to move out of state, back in with his mom.”

We rolled over in the booth in laughter. I wished I could say I was surprised, but it sounded exactly like the kind of mess that guy would get himself into. He got everything he deserved.

Claire and I talked over dinner and a few more drinks, then I drove her back to her car at the school.

“Don’t stay up too late working!” I called out to her from the window of my van.

“Enjoy snuggling up with Keith,” she teased.

I laughed and shook my head, but when I checked my phone—I realized I was the one who might be working all night. There was a message from Keith asking me to come to the marina as soon as Claire and I were done hanging out. It sounded like something was wrong. I drove off towards the marina in a frustrated panic. I was already swearing to myself that we weren’t going to let anything stop us from going to LA for our vacation.

But when I walked up onto the dock, I was surprised to see candles lit up everywhere, twinkling and reflecting across the water. They weren’t the usual citronella candles either. There were tons of tiny white tea lights…hundreds, maybe. Rose petals were sprinkled all around them, and someone had strung paper lanterns across the outside of the building and across the dining area on the patio.

Keith walked out to greet me. A charming smile spread across his face, and he was wearing my favorite shirt of his. It was a blue button-up that made his eyes pop. It looked great against his tan skin, and the way he rolled up the sleeves made his arm muscles bulge.

“What’s all this?” I asked as he walked over and gave me a kiss.

“I know you already ate, but I thought we could share one more round of drinks together. It’s a nice night out, but it’ll be too cold for this soon.”

“I thought something was wrong!”

“How else was I supposed to get you out here at this time of night?” he grinned.

He took my hand and led me over to the patio. The table was decorated, too, with more rose petals and candles.

“You went through all of this just to share a drink with me?”

“Hey, there was a time when having a drink with you was something I had to beg for, and usually got shot down. I want to enjoy how far we’ve come.”

“Whatever you say,” I smirked.

One of the guys who worked on the marina appeared. He brought over a pitcher of drinks and poured us both a glass.

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