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He chuckled. “That’s the goal. So how about you come out with me tonight, and I'll show you around the city?”
“I'd love that,” I replied. I'd never been to Atlanta before, and it would be good to get my bearings.
“Great. I'll come by and pick you up for dinner in an hour. Sound good?”
“Perfect,” I said.
As soon as we got off the phone, I called Birdie and Henrietta on a conference call and showed them around my apartment.
At the end of the virtual tour, Henrietta laughed and said, “I might be coming to live with you.”
“I have an extra bed,” I replied. “But that’s not even the best part. Bradley. Freaking. Mason is showing me around town tonight.”
For a second, I thought the phone had frozen until I heard Birdie’s excited cheer come through the line.
“That’s amazing!” Hen said.
“I’m so excited. Knowing someone like Bradley could behugefor my career, take my life in an entirely new, different direction.” It already had. I was in a place that I'd never been before, in a new apartment, with a new car, in a city full of new people.
“As long as it doesn’t take your life so away from us,” Birdie said.
I winked at her. “You know you girls are my besties for the resties.”
Hen chuckled. “You’re going to have so much fun.”
I nodded. “I better go get ready for dinner!”
We said our goodbyes, and then I showered and did my hair, curling it just the way I liked. I got one of my new outfits from the bag, ripped the tags, and put it on. I felt good. Damn good.
When Bradley Mason came to the door, it was like an entirely different version of me answered. Because this was my new life. The new me who wasn’t pining over her ex-boyfriend. Who was confident in her choice to be here and chase this dream.
He looked me up and down, slowly studying my body in a sexy, appreciative way. It made my heart hurt, made me miss Jonas like crazy.
“Are you ready, beautiful?” Bradley asked.
I nodded, shoving down all my feelings about Jonas. They would go away eventually, fade over time. But I needed to be patient.
I clutched my purse around my shoulder and said, “Let's go.”
We rode the elevator down, making small talk about my flight and the apartments, then walked out front to a car that was idling in the circle drive. Instead of getting in the driver's seat, though, he sat in the back and I did too. He had a personal driver, which was just a level of rich that I had never completely comprehended. But here I was, living a new life, going down this fork in the road.
The driver took us to a fancy restaurant that outmatched even La Belle. I was excited to try the food, but mostly I kept my eye out for the dessert cart. When the waiter came to take our orders, I immediately pointed at the dessert cart at the next table. “I want one of those chocolate things, and then I’ll have the steak and mashed potatoes.”
“Do you want me to bring the dessert afterwards?” the waiter asked.
“First,” I replied.
Bradley asked with a teasing grin, “Won’t eating dessert first spoil your dinner?”
I had déjà vu to Jonas sitting with me at Waldo’s Diner, asking me the same question about a dessert named after my favorite waitress.
I looked back at Bradley, only seeing Jonas's face, and smiled. “You need to have the sweet stuff first.”
“I like it.”
The waiter actually pulled the dessert I wanted directly off the dessert cart and set it in front of me before going away to put in the rest of our order. I dipped my spoon through the cake and drew it to my mouth, savoring a decadent chocolate.
Bradley said, “Now I feel like I’ve made a mistake by starting with the salad course.”