Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 516(@200wpm)___ 412(@250wpm)___ 344(@300wpm)
Maybe they are right. Maybe I need to let go of my idea of love, too. Maybe I need to meet Deanna halfway.
“What do you propose?” I ask. “An essay on my feelings?”
“Ugh, artists.” Fern throws her hands in the air. “An essay? Come on. Use your brain.”
“Use logic,” North says.
“Convince her I love her with logic?” I ask.
Fern nods. “A slide deck maybe. Bullet points. ‘Why We Belong Together.’ Face it, she’s totally a New Yorker. She would love the city as much as you do.”
I can see her there, but I don’t know if she would go there. Deanna wants to stay near her family. I respect that.
“You just need to explain it in terms she understands,” Fern says. “A business proposal. Come on. Let’s start now.” She stands and offers her hand. “I know exactly how to do this.”
Chapter Forty-One
Deanna
In the morning, I wake to a notification on my phone.
A Google Cal invite.
Meeting with River Beau re: business proposal.
We need to discuss the terms of our bet.
Monday. Three p.m. MeetCute conference room.
Your assistant says you’re free.
Until then.
Sincerely,
Mr. River Beau
Chapter Forty-Two
Deanna
All day, the wheels in my head turn. What the hell is River doing? I have no idea. I pack in a blitz, I drive too fast, I toss and turn all night, I run for too long, I shower and dress and arrive at work early.
Our office is a rented space in a big building. Pink walls, white desks, room for a dozen people, even though it’s usually the two of us, our assistant, and Lexi’s marketing trainee, plus any contractors we have on hand.
There’s the conference room, too, which we share with another start-up, one in the health space. They do some sort of sleep tracking. I’m not really sure.
Neither of us uses the conference room.
All day, I try to work, but I keep staring at the room. The glass walls, the long desk, the projector, the expensive ergonomic chairs.
When I try to shift my gaze to the view—the mountains in one direction, the ocean in another, all blue sky everywhere—I only manage to hold it for a minute or two. My thoughts keep returning to River.
Then it’s two, and I’m frozen in anticipation. Nothing distracts me. There isn’t a single thing in the world more important than this.
At ten to three, the elevator dings. River steps into the lobby in a sleek black suit and a pink tie. With his ink covered, he looks the part of the tech investor or maybe tech CEO. He’s not too tall or too built or too meek. He’s just right.
Lexi greets him with a hug, gushes over how well his tie matches the walls, leads him into the room. They set up something. A computer.
A computer with a…slide deck.
Is he seriously using slides?
But he’s an artist. A creative. He doesn’t make arguments with slides. He doesn’t make arguments, period.
What the hell is happening?
Lexi bounces to me. She knocks on my door once, then she pulls it open. “Your meeting, Ms. Huntington.”
“You’re being weirder than normal,” I say.
“I love you.” She pulls me into a hug.
It feels good. Safe.
“And I’ll love you wherever you are. You know that, right?” She squeezes me again. “Whether you’re here or in San Francisco or New York City or London. We’ll still see each other all the time. I promise.”
“Why would I be somewhere else?”
She doesn’t respond. She releases me with a smile and leads me to the conference room.
She motions for me to sit at the head of the table. “Ms. Huntington, this is Mr. River Beau.” She smiles warmly. “Your three o’clock. He has a proposal for you.”
“Unfinished business,” he says.
His voice sounds the same. Not too deep, not too high, sincere and musical, with that strange mix of firmness and wonder.
He knows there’s magic in the world.
He knows enough he convinced me.
“It’s lovely to see you, Ms. Huntington.” He nods goodbye to Lexi. Then, when she leaves and we’re alone, he looks to me. “And you, too, Ms. Huntington.”
There’s joy in his dark eyes. Joy and mischief.
“I believe we made a deal,” he says.
“A few.”
He smiles. “You held up your end of the bargain on some. But not others. No. There’s one major issue in the air.” He taps something, the button for advancing the slide.
And it appears on the screen:
Wager: Is love solely a chemical reaction in the brain or is there more to it? Is there a certain magic? A self-sacrifice?
River’s stance: Magic, everywhere
Deanna’s stance: All logic
Terms: if River wins, Deanna allows him to pursue Lexi. If Deanna wins, River backs off. Of course, at the moment, Lexi is happy with Jake, so the original terms are moot. But there is a second portion.
The other terms: if I lose, you get my right arm. If I win, I get your left.