The following Friday, Edward stopped beside my desk just before lunch.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you busy Saturday?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat depends.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOn?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy you're asking.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was going to invite you somewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
My heart gave an irritating little jump.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
I waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust dinner?\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless you're planning to bring the girls, in which case it becomes dinner with an interrogation panel.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey'd interrogate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I closed the file on my desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you asking me as my fake boyfriend?\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile faded slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer changed the air between us.<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
He didn't move.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen why?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I want to take you to dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n
I swallowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sounds dangerously real.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked down at my hands.<\/p>\n
The strange thing was that I wasn't afraid.<\/p>\n
I was nervous.<\/p>\n
There was a difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d<\/p>\n
His smile returned.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He walked away.<\/p>\n
I watched him until he disappeared around the corner.<\/p>\n
Then I realized I had been holding my breath.<\/p>\n
Saturday evening arrived too quickly.<\/p>\n
I changed outfits three times.<\/p>\n
The first dress felt too formal.<\/p>\n
The second made me feel as though I were trying too hard.<\/p>\n
The third was simple.<\/p>\n
Dark blue.<\/p>\n
Long sleeves.<\/p>\n
Nothing dramatic.<\/p>\n
When Edward arrived, he looked at me for a moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou look nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNice?\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n
I shook my head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou're learning.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI've had a good teacher.\u201d<\/p>\n
We drove to a small restaurant on the other side of town.<\/p>\n
It wasn't expensive.<\/p>\n
It wasn't fashionable.<\/p>\n
It was warm, quiet, and full of people talking over plates of food.<\/p>\n
I liked it immediately.<\/p>\n
Over dinner, we talked about work.<\/p>\n
Then childhood.<\/p>\n
Then our families.<\/p>\n
Then the subjects we had avoided for years because coworkers were supposed to remain coworkers.<\/p>\n
Edward told me about his father, who had been a mechanic and believed every problem could be fixed if you were willing to take something apart.<\/p>\n
I told him about my mother, who still called every Sunday and asked whether I was eating enough.<\/p>\n
We laughed.<\/p>\n
At one point, Edward leaned back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what I find strange?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe've worked together for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd somehow I know more about you after one week than I did before.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe we weren't paying attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restaurant door opened.<\/p>\n
I didn't notice who walked in.<\/p>\n
Edward did.<\/p>\n
His expression changed.<\/p>\n
I turned.<\/p>\n
Max stood near the entrance.<\/p>\n
Beside him was Claire.<\/p>\n
They had clearly not expected to see us.<\/p>\n
Max looked at Edward.<\/p>\n
Then at me.<\/p>\n
His face became unreadable.<\/p>\n
Claire looked embarrassed.<\/p>\n
I expected anger.<\/p>\n
Instead, Max simply nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cVeronica.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMax.\u201d<\/p>\n
He approached our table.<\/p>\n
Edward remained seated.<\/p>\n
Max stopped a few feet away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know you came here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know you did either.\u201d<\/p>\n
He gave a faint smile.<\/p>\n
\u201cApparently we have similar taste.\u201d<\/p>\n
Claire stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cHi.\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
There was no hostility in her voice anymore.<\/p>\n
That made the encounter stranger.<\/p>\n
Max looked at Edward.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo this is a real date.\u201d<\/p>\n
Edward answered calmly.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Max looked at me.<\/p>\n
I waited for the insult.<\/p>\n
It didn't come.<\/p>\n
Instead, he said, \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n
I blinked.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou deserve one.\u201d<\/p>\n
He turned to leave.<\/p>\n
Then stopped.<\/p>\n
\u201cI meant what I said before.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knew what he meant.<\/p>\n
His apology.<\/p>\n
I nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He and Claire walked away.<\/p>\n
Edward waited until they were seated across the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat's new.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at Max.<\/p>\n
Then at Edward.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
And I realized I meant it.<\/p>\n
After dinner, Edward walked me to my car.<\/p>\n
The parking lot was quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou handled that well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo did you.\u201d<\/p>\n
He smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
I laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou didn't look terrified.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI've had years of practice looking calm when I have no idea what I'm doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stepped closer.<\/p>\n
\u201cEdward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmm?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy did you really agree to the wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo. You told me why you remembered me.\u201d<\/p>\n
He waited.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut not why you cared enough to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
His expression softened.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I liked you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I stared at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the wedding?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLong before.\u201d<\/p>\n
The answer left me speechless.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow long?\u201d<\/p>\n
He laughed quietly.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you remember the office Christmas party two years ago?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou wore a green dress.\u201d<\/p>\n
I smiled.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don't remember.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to ask you out.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy didn't you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou were married.\u201d<\/p>\n
I looked at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew my marriage was bad?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew you were unhappy.\u201d<\/p>\n
I lowered my eyes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn't know.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn't going to become another person making demands on you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Something inside me tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was why you said yes?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPartly.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was the other part?\u201d<\/p>\n
He looked directly at me.<\/p>\n
\u201cI finally had a reason to stand beside you.\u201d<\/p>\n
I didn't answer.<\/p>\n
Neither of us moved.<\/p>\n
Then he said, \u201cBut I don't want you to choose me because you're trying to prove something to Max.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won't.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI need you to mean that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI do.\u201d<\/p>\n
He nodded.<\/p>\n
Then he stepped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodnight, Veronica.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGoodnight.\u201d<\/p>\n
I watched him walk away.<\/p>\n
For the first time in years, I was excited about what might happen next.<\/p>\n
Not because someone else had chosen me.<\/p>\n
Because I had started choosing for myself.<\/p>\n
The next morning, however, Max called again.<\/p>\n
This time his voice was different.<\/p>\n
\u201cVeronica, there's something you need to know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I sat down.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt concerns the divorce.\u201d<\/p>\n
My stomach tightened.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat about it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was something I never told you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The following Friday, Edward stopped beside my desk just before lunch. \u201cAre you busy Saturday?\u201d I looked up. \u201cThat depends.\u201d \u201cOn?\u201d \u201cWhy you're asking.\u201d He smiled. \u201cI was going to … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6581,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharestory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6587"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6599,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6587\/revisions\/6599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onesharedstory.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}