you do, Ali? Are you a professional dancer?”
I threw my head back and laughed. “Oh, god! No! Normally, I can’t even dance at all. Not sure what came over me during the last two weeks, but don’t depend on that.” I smiled at him, feeling very comfortable. “I’m a chef.”
“What? Like you like to cook?”
“Yes, I love to cook, but I’m a Head Chef at Randolph’s French Restaurant. Do you like to cook?”
He snickered. “I have issues boiling water.” At least he admitted it, and I wouldn’t have to deal with him cooking in the kitchen. “You are welcome to cook for me anytime, although you don’t have to cook.” He backpedaled as if he wasn’t sure he should have said that.
“It’s okay; I enjoy cooking. I’d love to cook for you sometime. What do you do?”
“I work in finance.”
“Finance?”
“Yeah, I manage a bank.”
Well, you couldn’t get more stable and reliable than that, now could you? The two of us finished our drinks and took a walk in the nearby park. The camera crew followed us for a little while, then quietly disappeared. I enjoyed my conversation with Blake and honestly felt that I had made the right decision.
At the end of our time, we traded phone numbers and made a date for lunch later in the week. Our schedules were going to be a little tough to work around, but if it was meant to be, it would work itself out. I felt good about my decision, and as I caught a ride to the restaurant, I returned the phone call to Charlie.
“So is he as sexy in person as he was on camera?”
“I didn’t pick Harvey.”
“Harvey? That was his name? Wait! You picked the blond guy? Why?” she cried over the phone.
“Because I needed safe, not sexy in my life, Charlie. You know I don’t have time for a crazy romance. I need to find someone who can slip into my world and not make waves. Harvey looked like he would have brought along hurricane-sized waves.”
“Oh, my god! Have I not taught you anything? Damn, Ali! You should have gone for the sex! Just once, you should have listened to me!”
“Blake is really nice. I think we are going to be able to build a nice relationship. You’re going to like him.”
“Blake? He sounds like a surfer dude. What does he do?”
“He manages a bank.”
“Bor-ing! Holy smokes, Ali. I can’t believe you picked Mr. Safe. You are going to regret it.”
“No, I’m not. Charlie, can’t you just be happy for me? He’s a really nice guy, and I know that we are going to get along really well.”
She sighed. “Fine, I’ll support you because you are my best friend, but I still think you chose wrong. How did you find out what his name was?”
“I asked Holly.”
“What’s his last name?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to look him up. You might not be interested, but I sure am. Besides, I’d love to see him move from behind the camera.”
“You stay away from him, Charlie!” I hissed at her.
“Why? You don’t want him. Why can’t I have him? It’s not like you two slept together, and it’s messy seconds. You danced with the guy a couple of times.”
I closed my eyes, rubbing my temples. “Fine, whatever. I’ll give you Holly’s phone number, and you can call her yourself.”
“You don’t want to do it for me?”
“I don’t want to know any more about him than I already do.”
“Yeah, why not? Afraid you are going to regret your decision?”
“No!” I snapped. “I am not going to regret my decision. I like Blake. He is exactly the type of man that I was looking for. I know that things between us will be great. You just wait and see.”
“Yeah, okay. You tell me how great things are in eight weeks when your episode goes on air. Let’s see if you two are still together or not.”
“I do not doubt that we will be together, Charlie. It feels right. I know I made the right choice.”
Chapter Nineteen
Harvey
Seven Weeks Later
“How was the flight back?” Jake asked as I took a seat in his office.
“Better than the flight out. I wasn’t sure we’d make it there in one piece. There were a few times I wanted to beg the pilot to turn around.”
“Yeah, I’m surprised they wanted to fly with that storm off the coast, but I’m glad you all got over there safely.”
“I think all of us were a little airsick by the time we got to