“Take some time to think,” Josh said. He moved toward the door. “I think we both know where we stand and how we feel. I don’t want to lose you. If you’re breaking up with me now, well, I refuse to accept that.”
“You refuse?”
“If I thought that you didn’t want to be with me, I’d walk away right now. But you do want to be with me. These obstacles between us? I think these are things we can overcome. But if you’re not willing to fight for it with me, then maybe this is a lost cause. Because I’ve been through that once before and I won’t put myself through it again if I can help it. So you think about what you really want. And I’ll go for now. Okay?”
“I…” Paige bit her lip and nodded. “Okay.”
“Good.” Josh walked to the door. Then he changed his mind and walked over to Paige. He leaned over and kissed her, and it quickly became something bigger, hotter, the sort of kiss that stirred something in his chest. He ran his fingers through her soft, silky hair just in case this was the last time he’d be able to do that. And he made it clear where he stood.
But he knew, too, that he could not be the only one fighting for them. If she wasn’t with him all the way, this really was over.
He pulled away, leaving her looking dazed. She gaped at him as he walked to the door.
“Something to think about. Good night,” he said. Then he made himself leave.
Chapter 19
Josh walked into the Cat Café and was relieved to see Paige was not working that day.
It was close to closing. The sun had started going down outside. Most of the staff was busily cleaning the café. Monique walked over, probably to tell him to leave, but then she recognized him.
“I just need to talk to Lauren,” said Josh. He’d come here to finally have that talk. It was Monday evening, three days after Paige had tried to break up with him, and although he figured convincing Paige to take a risk on him was going to be a challenge, he thought he might be able to convince Lauren to back off.
“She’s in the cat room.”
Josh nodded and found Lauren there wiping down tables.
Rather than preface his comments with anything charming, he asked, “Did you tell Paige to break up with me?”
She looked startled. She tossed the rag she’d been using on one of the tables. “No, of course not.”
“Are you just saying that to appease me?”
“No. I promise. I told her I was okay with you guys dating.”
“Okay. She broke up with me. Or she tried.”
“She…what? Why?”
Josh squinted and tried to measure whether Lauren was genuinely surprised or not. While it was true that he and Paige had left things ambiguous, the fact that Paige had not returned any of his calls or texts over the weekend told him a lot of what he needed to know. And now he was mad, but he didn’t know where to put his anger, so he started with Lauren. “Well, she got the impression that you did not approve of our relationship.”
Lauren looked chastened for a second, but then her brow furrowed. “That’s not what I said.”
“She also thinks that, if something goes wrong between her and me, you will choose me over her, and she doesn’t want to lose you as a friend. Although honestly, if you did try to talk her out of what could have been a really great relationship, you’re not a very good friend.”
Lauren frowned. “Are you kidding me right now?”
“I like this girl! We get along great! I think we could really have something. But she dumped me because your approval is more important to her.”
“Okay, first of all, stop yelling. Second, that’s not what I told Paige. I mean yes, if you guys got together and broke up, this would all get very complicated, but Paige is one of my best friends and I wouldn’t dump her just because she and my brother dated. Ididwarn her that Megan had done a number on you.”
That Josh brought up short. “What did you say, exactly?”
“Just that you took your breakup with Megan hard, so I was worried about you because I didn’t want you to get your heart broken again. Maybe I didn’t say it well, but what I was trying to say was that Paige should only keep dating you if it was for real.”
“Well, it is for real,” said Josh, although now he was less sure. What had Paige been trying to tell him the other night?
“And, no offense, but it’s not like you have an abundance of free time.”
