“Young lady”—old man Johnson stopped at our table and gave me a pointed look—“your father would be so disappointed in you.” He tsked at me before walking away.

Any hope I’d thought we might have dissolved into thin air right in front of my eyes, bitter reality replacing it in its wake.

Oh God.

What the hell had I been thinking?

I pushed away from the table, the smile on James’s face instantly falling to a frown.

“Don’t. Julia, don’t,” he begged, but it was too late.

That little comment from Mr. Johnson was all it took for me to doubt it all. I was usually so levelheaded. James had apparently made me stupid.

“I never should have come. We can’t do this. Your family might not disown you for being out with me, but mine will.” I reached for my purse and my coat, fumbling with them both as I tried to leave before he could stop me. “I’m sorry,” I said before rushing away from him and pulling up the number for the only cab company in town.

GET THE GIRL

James

No, no, no, no, no, no! I paced back and forth between my seat at the table and hers.

Everyone in the restaurant was looking at me like I was half-mad. Maybe I was. I was about to throw my hands in the air and ask the gawkers for advice when Ginny appeared at my side, our dinner in her arms.

“So, I guess you want this to go?” she asked in a smart-aleck tone.

“Sure. Yes. Sorry,” I said before sitting back down, my head in my hands.

I shot up in the next breath and ran, chasing Julia like my life depended on it. Hell, maybe it did. Maybe it always had.

Throwing open the front door, I burst outside, and the cool night air hit me like a slap to the face.

“Julia, please. Wait. Let me at least drive you home.” I sounded broken as the words tumbled from my lips, but I didn’t care. My pride was forced to take a backseat in this moment.

She turned to face me, her long, dark hair blowing in the breeze. Holding her phone toward me, she said, “I already called a cab.”

Defeated, I nodded.

Why was I always losing when it came to Julia La Bella? No matter what I did or how I uncharacteristically put myself out there for her, I couldn’t win.

“I really don’t want you to go,” I said, giving it one last shot.

I watched as she swallowed hard, her hazel eyes focusing on my feet as opposed to my face. “I know. We just can’t, James. We were stupid to think we could.”

The cab pulled up, and my heart sank as she moved closer to the curb.