“You look beautiful.”
I jump at Michael’s voice, his nearness, and the excitement shooting through me. I spin around. He’s got a short beard, and it looks very attractive on him. His blue eyes are focused on mine, watching me warily, like I’ll turn to dust if he blinks.
“You came,” I say.
He’s got his hands in the pockets of his jacket and he raises his shoulders. “A funny thing happened. I messaged you, but you never responded.”
“What? I didn’t get a message.”
“I was trying to be romantic,” he says sheepishly. “So I messaged you on the dating app. The app that put us in each other’s lives.”
Oops.I guess I should have looked at the app before I deleted it. Not all bad things come from the internet.Who knew?
“I showed up at your apartment and banged on the door until your neighbor opened the window and told me to go to the North Pole, find an iceberg, and make like the Titanic.”
I bite the inside of my cheek. It must have been Cindy.
He scratches the back of his head. “But then you texted me.”
“I did.” I nod. “I… uh…” Why didn’t I practice what I wanted to say? I have much to apologize for, and much to ask of him, but I’m not sure where to begin. “I was wrong.”
Michael frowns. “About?”
I bite my bottom lip. “Well, a lot of things. For starters, about dating apps. I thought they werejust tools psychopaths used to find their victims.”
His lips twitch. “Well, I, for one, am glad you were wrong about that.”
“I was also wrong to lead you on when I wasn’t sure what I could give you.”
His expression falls flat, and he rubs his arm.
“But,” I continue, “what I was mostly wrong about was love.”
His eyes meet mine, a tiny spark of hope in those blue irises.
“I thought love was long gone. That it didn’t exist anymore. But it’s always been there even when I can’t see it.” I take a step closer to him. “Love is kind of like math. You can’t always see the solution from the beginning, but the process is always worth the outcome.”
The right corner of his lips curl up at my romantic sputtering.
I switch to the scientific side of my brain. “I suppose the sun loves the earth, or it wouldn’t keep it warm.”
Ugh. That isn’t any better.
What am I saying?
Out with it Juliet!
I pull at the bottom of my sweater and look up at him, trying to show him the real me. The one hidden behind the castle walls, full of flaws but ready to be vulnerable. “What I really mean is I’m no expert at love, but I’d like to try. With you.”
He takes a step toward me this time. “This is new to me, too.”
Hope springs to my chest. I know he’s going to be by my side while we figure this out, together. Which is how I should have faced things with the bet.
The bet.I back up a step. I guess I’ve still got a moat that’s not quite ready to dry up. “I have to know. Did you only fall for me because of a bet?” Before I let myself jump, I need to know what’s at the bottom.
“No.” He swallows, and I can see the pain in his eyes. “You were nevera bet to me. The only thing the bet did was give me the courage to message you in the first place. Sean told me I couldn’t fall in love in thirty days. I fell for you in twenty.” He inches closer, and my heart picks up speed. “And I suspect I’ll be in love with you for the rest of my life.”
Every ounce of logic is telling me to run fast and run far, but logic is wrong this time.
