Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 25896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25896 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 129(@200wpm)___ 104(@250wpm)___ 86(@300wpm)
“This is true. I might have to spend some time in the sunroom. Do you happen to know where my mother and son are?”
“Mrs. Wainwright has taken Trey to Discovery Land for the rest of the afternoon, and Senior Wainwright has gone into Boston for a meeting.”
“So, it’s just us?”
“I’m afraid so,” George laughed.
“All right then, let me ask you this.” Rhys went through the story, from their clumsy meeting at the grocery store, to the story in Missed Encounters.
“Oh, I read that this morning.”
“What? How come everyone reads this column except for me?”
George shrugged. “It’s entertaining and I’m a sucker for romance.”
“George, do you watch Hallmark movies when you’re not working?”
“Of course, I do. Most of the time Mrs. Wainwright and I watch them together.”
This news didn’t shock Rhys. His mother was a hopeless romantic and had urged him to make a go of things with Celeste for the sake of Trey.
“Anyway, what do you think I should do?”
George pulled a chair out from under the island in the kitchen. “If it were me, I’d go. She’s only asking for dinner. It’s not like she’s asking you to go on a cruise or something outlandish. She’s asking you to sit down and share a meal with her to give you both a chance to see if what you felt in the store is real or was in the moment. You have nothing to lose.”
Rhys digested George’s words and couldn’t find many faults with them. The truth was, Rhys could find just as many reasons to go as he could to stay home, but he felt the desire to go, to see this Maisie person again and to have another first chance at meeting someone.
“What if I’m wrong?”
George shrugged. “Then you’ll never be left wondering if the story was about you or not.”
five
Valentine’s Day
Maisie wanted to puke. She regretted ever sending, strike that, letting Dorian send the personal statement to Missed Encounters and wished she had let it all go as a missed opportunity—a learning lesson—if you see someone, talk to them. Instead, she listened to Dorian, who had the best of intentions, and was now so queasy she could barely stand up.
It was a good thing Maisie was sitting, but her knees quivered, nonetheless. Dorian stood behind her, singing whatever her favorite song was at the moment, while curling and pinning Maisie’s hair. Dorian had found a picture of a hairstyle she thought would look very elegant on her bestie and would work well with the dress Maisie planned to wear. And it would keep Maisie from twirling her hair around her finger or running her hand through it, which was a nervous habit of hers.
“This is a mistake.”
“It’s not,” Dorian said optimistically. “He’s either going to show or he’s not. You’re not losing anything by going.”
“Yes, I am. My dignity,” Maisie said for what felt like the millionth time since she told Dorian about the haphazard meeting in the aisle.
“If he doesn’t show you’ve lost nothing.” Dorian reiterated as she took the next section of Maisie’s hair and twirled it around the curling wand before pinning it in place.
“And what if he shows and tells me he wants nothing to do with me?”
Dorian looked at Maisie through the mirror. “Then you’ve dodged a bullet. If a man can go out of his way to be a dick, then you don’t need or want him in your life.”
While Dorian wasn’t wrong, Maisie had a hard time grasping the entire concept of their plan. It didn’t help that Maisie had never been on a blind date before. Every date she had ever been on was with someone she knew, even if they’d met through mutual friends. It was how she met Mitchell. He was her suitemate’s lab partner and had come to their suite to study. The next day, Maisie and Mitchell went for coffee, and they were inseparable until he dropped the bomb that he planned to move. Maisie would’ve gone with him if he’d asked her to, but he hadn’t.
Once Dorian finished with Maisie’s hair, she began her makeup. Light and natural was the look they both agreed upon. This man had already seen Maisie after a long day at work and in her yoga pants. She could only go up in her looks department.
Every dab, swipe, and brush brought Maisie closer to perfection. She glanced at the mirror every chance she could and was surprised that her stomach wasn’t as rumbly as it had been when she sat down. Her nerves had started to calm a little despite Maisie suspecting they’d be out of whack once she got to the restaurant. The plan was for her to get an Uber there, mostly because she would need a drink, or ten, to get her through the night. It had been Dorian’s idea and Maisie suspected her friend wanted to make sure she actually arrived at the restaurant.