Page 122 of Maneater

“Promise?” I ask in a whisper.

“Promise,” he agrees. We stand there for a moment, and I contemplate forcing him to take me to his bed and fuck me, but then I remember the intricately planned date—datesaround us.

“So, these dates—you gonna explain them?”

He grins down at me and nods, leading me around the room, starting at the table with no tablecloth and paper plates.

“This would have been After Hours. Pizza, mozzarella sticks, cheap beer,” he says, referencing the restaurant on campus that pretended to be a restaurant but was really just a dive where students could eat junk and hang out. There’s aGo Ravens pennanton the table, cheering on our school team, and my chin wobbles, understanding this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision of his.

“Where did you get that?” I ask. “Whendid you get that?”

“I ordered it the day after you explained what happened all those years ago. That you didn’t even remember turning me down, and I’d been holding a one-sided grudge like an idiot.”

“You knew you wanted to do this then?” I ask with a laugh.

“I knew I needed to.”

Something in me melts, but I can’t focus on it because he leads me to another spot in the room.

“This is the restaurant where I technically had dinner with you and Stephen. You ordered the salmon and potatoes with green beans.” I laugh and shake my head, remembering that was what, in fact, I had ordered that night, mainly because, despite being excited about it, Rowan being there and the nerves that accompanied it made me lose my appetite.

He moves us to the low table, pointing out that when he bumped into me there, I was in a red dress and barely even said hi to my date because he couldn’t keep his eyes away from me. Then he shows me the final table, a steak house where I took a man who was embezzling, and Rowan was so mad about it because he already knew the man was a piece of shit.

“How do you remember all of this?” I ask after he shows me each table.

He shrugs, a light blush on his cheeks. “I can’t seem to forget a single detail about you, Josie, no matter how hard I’ve tried.”

I turn to him and smile up at him softly, my hand moving to his cheek as it all comes over me. The past few weeks, the revelation that has been Rowan, the fact that we both want this to work outside of this mission—it hits me with such clarity, it makes my throat tighten.

“This is going to work,” I whisper.

“What?” His brows furrow, not understanding.

I shake my head and smile wider before explaining. “After the assignment, you and I. We’re going to work.”

He returns the smile now, pressing his lips to mine gently. “I’m going to make sure of it. I’m not losing something this great, Josie,” he whispers. I have to fight back the lump in my throat. He must see it because he changes the subject. “Now, where do you want to eat tonight?”

I look around the room, around the five-star meals that were created specially for me, for this moment.

“You know, I could really go for some mozzarella sticks,” I say, and he lets out a loud laugh. But he doesn’t question me, doesn’t try to sway me toward any of the other more luxurious meals; instead, he grabs my hand and leads me to have dinner like we’re young lovers in college.

And even though I do end up tastingallof the meals, our first missed date was my favorite.

FORTY-SEVEN

ROWAN

I wake with Josie in my arms and take in a deep breath, reveling in the relaxation that comes with being with her.

After all these years.

All those missed opportunities.

All those stupid fucking assumptions I made.

And yet, somehow, she’s here in my arms. Somehow, she gave me a shot, and now she’s mine. She’s so worried about what will happen once we leave here, and I know there’s nothing I can say that will ease those nerves, but I can try. And I can show her, long term, just what she means to me.

Josie’s body starts to awaken, and her drowsy eyes open slowly before she smiles at me.