The Single Life with Zola Patterson Part 2 - Danielle Allen Page 0,49

chicken and then I went home and worked. Since Saint left the hospital late, by the time he got home and settled, it was late. When he called me, I’d just gotten in the bed and he was already in bed. He asked me what I had for dinner and I told him I picked up chicken and ate it while I worked. He said something along the lines of that sounds like a lowkey night. I said it was.” I leaned forward, lowering my voice. “And right when I thought about the meetup with Jordan, he started yawning since he had to work another twelve-hour shift at the hospital, so we said goodnight.”

“That’s not that bad,” Lilith commented.

“Yeah, you didn’t tell him, but it’s not like you cheated,” Kia assured me.

“I’m not done,” I groaned.

“You cheated?” Lilith gasped, just as the musician on stage stopped strumming the guitar.

When people stopped looking at us, I shook my head. “No! Not at all. I just needed to talk things out with Jordan and I knew for sure that I wanted Saint.”

“You questioned being with your boyfriend?” Lilith wondered.

“It’s complicated,” I told her.

Lilith opened her mouth, but Kia put her hand on her shoulder. “It’s complicated.” Looking over at me, my best friend changed the direction of the questioning. “How did he find out?”

I closed my eyes and let out a sharp breath. “His sister. I thought I saw her, but I wasn’t sure because she was wearing something different when I saw her an hour earlier. And I only saw the back of her head.”

“Shit,” Kia swore.

“You can’t deny your way out of that,” Lilith added. “Was he really mad?”

“He sounded distant when we were talking. And then he was quiet and didn’t want to talk anymore.” I shook my head. “We’re supposed to see each other tomorrow around lunchtime. At this point, I’m hoping he doesn’t cancel.”

“I’m sorry,” Kia whispered, reaching over to grab my hand. “It’ll be okay. It’s just the first little fight.”

Lilith looked away from me quickly and stared at the stage.

“What?” I pressed.

“If he thinks you cheated on him, this might be more than a little fight. He might be looking at it as a red flag.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I put my elbows on the table and let my head drop into my hands. “I just hope he believes me. I know it hasn’t been that long, but I hope he trusts me.”

“Would you believe him if I saw him at a restaurant with a woman and he told you he had a lowkey night of work?”

I tipped my head back and emptied the contents of the glass in my mouth. “I’m fucked.”

By the time I made it home, my stomach was in knots and my heart hurt. I never let men in and the one time I decided to let a man in, the relationship might be over. I liked him so much and the thought of not having him in my life was causing me physical and emotional pain.

I barely slept that night, and I woke up with a start the next morning. I knew exactly how I was going to talk to him and apologize. I called him to confirm our plans, but he didn’t answer. I didn’t want to keep calling and keep getting ignored, so I decided to move forward with our plans as if nothing had changed.

I took a long, hot shower and dressed in a sexy cream sweater dress with black thigh high boots. I wore my hair up high like a crown and big dangling earrings. I didn’t wear any makeup because I kept blinking back tears and didn’t want to risk having it messed up.

Hopefully he can see my sincerity if we’re face to face. I took a deep breath. If he’s going to break up with me, he’ll have to do it in person. And I’m going to at least make it hard for him, I thought as I checked myself out in the mirror. As I headed to the car, I felt confident and ready. I look good.

It didn’t take me long to drive to the printer and I felt good that whole time. But once I’d sent Miranda a thank you message, I headed to Birchwood Manor and the knot in my belly grew. When I parked, I felt like I could throw up. I hated how quickly he had infiltrated my heart and just the thought of losing that closeness, that connection felt