I choose an outfit that doesn’t look like I spent an hour trying on everything I own. I finally settle on tight dark blue jeans with a cashmere sweater with ruffled sleeves tucked in the front and falling off one shoulder. I grab my camel thigh-high suede boots and put them on, making my legs look even longer than they are, and grab my brown Gucci belt. I walk out the door right on time, my hands shaking and my stomach dipping. I really need to eat something, so I grab a cab there, and when I walk into the Starbucks that we decided on, I look around and see he isn’t here yet. I look at my clock, and it’s 5:35. I walk to the counter and order myself a chai latte and then go to sit in the corner, facing the door. I wait, checking the door the whole time, and I finally see him walking up to the door. It’s a good thing I am watching the door to prepare myself. He pulls open the door and steps in, and all eyes turn to him. He runs his hands through his long hair. He is wearing a black suit with a white button-down shirt, opened at the collar.

His eyes roam the room to spot me, and when he finally does, he smiles at me and walks over. “Hey there, sorry I’m late,” he says, leaning down, and again, I wait for his lips to hit mine, but he kisses my cheek again. His hands graze mine as he sits down, sending a tingle all up my arm, and by the time I look down, his hand is gone.

“No worries. I just got here,” I tell him, and grab the menu. “I didn’t get you anything. I wasn’t sure.”

“That’s okay,” he says, smiling. “I have to say I was surprised to get your phone call this morning,” he says, and it’s at that moment I gasp.

“I forgot the fucking fish.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Mark

“I forgot the fucking fish.” She gasps, and I want to laugh at her. Was she as nervous as I was about this meeting that she forgot the whole reason we were supposed to meet?

After I left her place last night, I could still smell her on me. I knew I was leaving the fish, so I was just waiting for her to call me back. When she called me this morning, I purposely let it go to voice mail. It was a free day, so I didn’t have to go into the arena and I didn’t have to work out. I spent the day going over emails and planning things with Tracy about opening another location in LA.