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By the time we reached Chopt, I was glad she’d come. Her stories kept my mind from going down the rabbit hole it had been circling.
We ordered two Korean noodle salads and found a table in the back.
“So…” Serena said. “I have some more tea.”
“Then you obviously have my full attention.”
She grinned and leaned in, lowering her voice. “A guy in the office asked me out.”
“Oh, wow.” My brows lifted. “Who?”
“Rob from contracts.”
“Is he the one with the good hair?”
Her eyes lit up. “Great hair. Like Patrick Dempsey, minus the silvery streaks he’s grown lately.”
I smiled. “Sounds like you’re happy about him asking?”
She nodded. “We’re having drinks after work tomorrow.”
“That’s great.”
She bit her lip, her excitement dimming. “Is it? It’s probably a bad idea to date someone I work with.”
“He’s not your boss. He’s not even in our division.”
“I know but…what if I fall in love with him, and he dumps me for Wendy in accounting?”
My brows dipped together. “Did he go out with her or something?”
“Not that I’m aware of.” She shrugged. “But she has great hair, too.”
I laughed. “I don’t think lush locks is too high on the list of what makes people compatible.”
She sighed. “I know. I think I’m just gun shy.”
“Because you work at the same company?”
She shook her head. “It’s the first time I’ve been interested in anyone since my relationship ended last year.”
Something about the way she said it made me think there was a story there. “Did something happen that made you take a hiatus from dating?”
She frowned. “Will cheated on me. We’d been dating for two years.”
My fork stopped halfway to my mouth. “Oh, God. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” She smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “It sucked. I was blindsided and devastated.”
I swallowed. “That’s awful.”
“I knew something had been wrong the last few months. But I was in denial, you know?”
I absolutely did. But I didn’t want to. “Umm… What do you mean?”
She pushed lettuce around her bowl. “Little things just felt off. Like he suddenly had more business trips than usual.”
My stomach tightened. Like to Vegas… “Oh.”
