The Do Over (29 page)

"First of all, good morning."

He pulled out the chair across from me and sat down. Françoise rushed over and brought him a menu.

"Thank you, and please bring me a bottle of Evian," he said to the server. "I can ask you the same thing," he said smugly.

"Really? This should be very interesting." I crossed my arms in front of me.

"If you think about it, the first time we ran into each other could be blamed on serendipity. The second time was maybe a coincidence. But now…Daniela, come on, I told you I run this way every Saturday, and here you are
again
." He smiled, showing off his dimples.

Françoise brought his water.

"Thank you. Now,
this
is water."

I was in the twilight zone. I sat, staring at him, and then I laughed. "
What?
You've got to be kidding me." My elbows were on the table as I still held my keys in my hands.

"Are you dangling the keys to my heart in your hands?" he asked in a deep voice.

As his lip curled into a smile, our eyes connected, and my heart beat faster. I looked away and set the keys down.

"No, they're not the keys to
your
heart," I said with a hint of sarcasm. I rested my chin on my hands, regaining most of my composure. "Now, tell me, what are you doing here?"

His eyes met mine as he matched my posture. "So, whose heart do those keys open?"

I looked away. I felt awkward and very uncomfortable. That was personal and hit too close to home. I sat up and shifted in my seat.

"You haven't answered my question. What are you doing here?" I asked again.

Sitting back, he picked up the menu. "I'm having breakfast. That's what I'm doing here. What do you recommend?"

"I recommend you get your ass up out of that chair and get the hell out of here. You cannot have breakfast!"

As he started laughing, I glared at him.

"
Cariño
, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I've been running, and I need to replenish. I think I'll have the seasonal berries and yogurt." He signaled for Françoise who rushed over to our table. "I'll have—"

I interrupted him. "He's not ready yet." I smiled at Françoise and then returned my grimace to Rick. "Macy and Candace will be here soon. This isn't a good idea. Eat your most important meal of the day but not here."

"Okay," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "Where do you want to go?" He put the menu down and pulled out some money.

"No, I'm staying. You're going." I smiled flatly and then buried my face in my hands.

"You know I don't like to eat alone. If you won't go with me, then I'll just eat quickly before your friends come. Will that make you more comfortable?"

"I can definitely see that my comfort is of your utmost concern," I said sarcastically.

"
Ugh
," he said, clutching his heart, "that hurt my feelings, Daniela. What's the big deal? So what if your friends see me at the table?" His eyes were pleading.

"You're not exactly their favorite person," I deadpanned.

"No, but I've changed. I'm man enough to face them and own up to how I treated you."

"You're not going to let this go, are you?"

He shook his head.

I relented. "Fine, but I need to be back in half an hour,
and
I can't lose the table."

His eyes danced with excitement as though he'd won the lottery. Rick had the ability to wear anyone down. He never took
no
for an answer. He was great at sales as evidenced by the fact that I was about to do something that I didn't even want to do.

"No problem." He winked and then went over to speak to Françoise. The next thing I knew, he was back and pulling my chair out for me. "After you."

I reached for my purse, grabbed my keys, and got up. "Are you sure my table is going to be here?" I was nervous. Somehow, I'd convinced myself that this was the lesser of the two evils.

"Relax. I took care of everything." He winked again.

As we started walking down Lincoln Road, he said, "By the way, you look beautiful. You know how much I've always liked it when you wear your hair like that."

"Thanks, I think. And what are you talking about?"

I quickly became self-conscious. It was true. My effortless look generally meant that I had my hair pulled up.
Nah
. I shook off any thoughts that he was right. I wasn't expecting him. I'd just worn my hair down. It meant nothing.

He glanced over at me as we continued walking. "Accept the compliment and stop looking for ulterior motives. It looks good. You should always wear it down."

What the hell am I doing? I shouldn't be walking down Lincoln Road with Rick of all people.

"Thank you. Listen, I don't want you to get the wrong idea."

"What idea would that be?" He stopped.

I glanced away. "That…I don't know, Rick. I have a boyfriend," I stammered.

"Look at me."

As I looked back to him, his eyes caught mine and held the stare. I hadn't been this close to him in years. When he reached down, grabbing my hands, a shiver traveled up my arms. I looked away.

"
Cariño
, relax. Why can't we just be old friends grabbing a bite to eat?"

I gently pulled my hands away. "Because we're not old friends," I said softly. As I tucked my hair behind my ears, I could feel the beating of my heart in my throat.
He shouldn't have this effect on me.

"Then, let's be new friends." He cocked his head and gave me his signature dimpled smile.

For a brief moment, I wanted that.

"Come on, there's a bookstore over here that sells breakfast," he said, leading the way.

When we arrived, he ordered at the counter while I secured a small bistro table outside. I settled into my chair and took in the surroundings. It was a beautiful day. The palm trees swayed to the soft breeze against the backdrop of the bright blue sky.
The color of Liam's eyes.
I sighed as my stomach dropped.

Rick walked over with his food and our drinks. He set the tray down on the table, opened my can, and poured it into a cup. He looked up at me and smiled. I didn't know what to make of him. I always knew he had it in him to be
that
guy.

I sipped my soda, looking up at him through my lashes. "Thank you for the drink."

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat?"

I shook my head.

"This is nice. I miss
this
." His eyes were sad.

A part of me missed it, too. "Please, we can't go there. I have a boyfriend." Bringing the straw to my mouth, I sipped my drink.

"You have a boyfriend. You keep saying that. Who are you trying to convince? I already told you that I'm not a threat. Or am I?" His eyes danced as they locked on mine.

"No, you're not. I don't want you to think that you are just because I'm sitting here. You're not. It's just that I don't think Liam would appreciate this. In fact, I know he wouldn't." I started to push back from the table.

"Wait, don't go." He started to get up as he reached his arm out to stop me. "Please. I give you my word. There's nothing inappropriate going on here. I just want to eat my granola and yogurt and catch up as much as we can in the next fifteen minutes."

"As long as we're straight, okay? I love him, and I don't want to hurt him." I looked at Rick with pleading eyes. "I suppose we can't really do anything
inappropriate
in fifteen minutes."

"That's not true. There's plenty I can do in fifteen minutes." He had a mischievous smirk and a sparkle in his eyes.

"Stop it!" I said, rolling my eyes. "And when on earth did you start running and eating yogurt? Really? Wild berries? Granola? You?"

"I run every morning and eat healthy. I won't lie. On occasion, I might cheat and have a
pastelito de guava y queso
. I recall someone loved those."

I couldn't believe he remembered.
Then again, who doesn't love those?
It might have been a lucky guess.

"I already told you that I'm reinventing myself. Now, it's your turn. Tell me something," he said as he looked down at his watch.

Ordinarily, I would've been offended, but something in his eyes told me he was aware of how much time we had left.

"I'm still trying to figure out this coincidence that doesn't feel like one. I've been coming to this area every Saturday for more than a year, and I've never seen you here before. Now, surprisingly, I see you three weeks in a row. That just seems suspicious."

"Let me see if I follow your logic. Just because you've never noticed me before, you think I'm stalking you." Sitting back, he put his arms behind his head as he laughed.

I was amusing him. We quickly fell into the old pattern of his laughter disarming me.

"I didn't say that
exactly
. When you put it that way, it does sound creepy and pathetic," I said.

"I'm glad I ran into you. Maybe this doesn't feel like a coincidence because it's fate. Why complicate things? Just enjoy the moment. Who knows? Maybe this'll be the last time we see each other. We have this moment, so let's enjoy it."

Something about potential finality made me sad. As crazy as it sounded, spending this time with Rick felt therapeutic
.

"I'm not buying it. Fate? No, you're stalking me. Just so you know, I'm here every Saturday."
Shit. I did not just say that.

"What a coincidence, I run here every Saturday. Come on, Cinderella, our time's up."

He pulled back my chair and walked me back to Van Dyke's, and true to his word, my table was waiting for me.

"It was great seeing you. Thank you for breakfast," he said.

He leaned in and grazed my cheek with a light kiss, sending tingles throughout my body. I stood there, stunned. He turned around, placed his earbuds in, and ran into the crowd.

He was still the man I had known, but there was a glimpse of the man I'd hoped he would be. I quickly released those thoughts. I just couldn't let myself go there.

As soon as I sat down, Françoise came back with a fresh diet soda and a menu. I settled into my chair, staring at the sweating glass. A droplet rolled down and puddled on the table. I flashed back to the bead that traveled along the side of Rick's face. Quickly, I banished that image. I didn't have the luxury of remaining in this Rick-stupor. It was bad enough that I'd gone and kept him company. That would not be happening again. I was not about to allow him to invade my thoughts, too. That train had left the station. He'd had his shot. I didn't know what his agenda was, but if he was as sincere as he claimed to be, then I figured this was harmless.

I had more important matters to contend with, namely the brunette that was walking in my direction. She was wearing a maxi dress and toting her Louis Vuitton. Macy had tried to apologize earlier this week. Basically, she had told me to get over it because it wasn't a big deal. In the past, this approach would've worked because I'd always known that her intentions were either good or benign. She had crossed the line this time, and I was tired of taking it.

Candace was walking next to her. She was a sight of perfection. Candace's minidress, brown leather belt, and the most amazing wedges showcased her runway look. Glancing down at my effortless look, I was grateful for the effort I'd made in leaving my hair down, especially since the lip gloss had since faded.

I motioned for Françoise as the girls made their way to the table. He quickly brought them menus. Macy sat across from me as Candace sat to my side. The tension between Macy and me was thick. We barely greeted one another. We both wore our sunglasses intentionally to avoid making eye contact. Maybe I had taken things too far. Although I missed my sidekick, I didn't trust her. This clearly was going to be a battle of the wills. When we closed our menus, Françoise came back. He refilled my diet soda and then took our orders. I had to admit that he required no training.

Candace obviously came with an agenda as she quickly brought our meeting to order. "I hate it when any of us fight, so the two of you really need to stop this. I refuse to take sides." Bringing her blonde hair over to the side of her shoulder, she started playing with the ends.

This was a first. Candace was being neutral. She was always strongly opinionated, even if she presented herself in the most polished ways. Her behavior was out of character. First, she hadn't responded to my text when I was returning from the Keys with Liam, and now, she wasn't taking sides.

"Candace, what's going on with you? The woman who staged a Kindle intervention and confronted me about my lack of a sex life is now not taking control of the situation?" I raised an eyebrow, even though it was hidden behind my sunglasses. I thought it would've been more effective if I took them off, but the moment was lost now.

Macy just sat in her chair, playing with her earring.

"You guys need to learn how to talk it out without my arbitration. I've been mediating between the two of you for too long. List your grievances, hash it out, and make it work. You can't count on me to fix everything."

"Oh my god, Candace, are you dying or something?" Macy asked, placing her hand on Candace's arm.