Page 37 of Unscripted Love

“Love you too.”

As much as I enjoyed the conversation, it had been a long time since I’d had lunch. Rule number one in weight management is never let blood sugar get too low or risk eating the wrong foods. I told Jenn I’d check in to see how she was doing in a few days and fixed myself a frozen, diet dinner.

The spinach and ricotta stuffed ravioli looked like rubber and didn’t taste much better than it appeared. “I need to learn how to cook.”

I spent the rest of the night trying to get into playingWoWand failing miserably. I didn’t feel like watchingFriendsbecause I would spend the night moping and missing Chaz. I decided to watchQueer as Folkinstead. It was the distraction I needed to get me through the night.

I received a text from Chaz right before I fell asleep.Maybe I can sneak away from the salon for lunch tomorrow. What time works for you?

I replied immediately.I go to lunch at 12:30. Meet me at the diner?

See you then.

My outlook was suddenly a lot brighter. It was the second time Chaz sought me out that week. We weren’t blazing a trail toward happily ever after by any stretch of the imagination, but we seemed to be inching closer every day. I considered myself a patient man, but no one had tested me the way Chaz did. I was certain if I could just hang on that it would work out in my favor.

No longer tired, I lay in the darkness thinking of nice gestures I could do for Chaz so he couldn’t mistake my interest. What did perfect book boyfriends do to show someone how much they cared? An idea came to me, but I wasn’t sure how Chaz would respond. Still, it was worth a shot.

“Go big or go home, Dr. D,” I said into the darkness.

The weather was stunningly perfect on Josh and Gabe’s wedding day, but that didn’t surprise me one bit. Not even Mother Nature was going to fuck with Josh Roman on his big day. I knew that one of Josh’s famous looks or a raised fist would be enough to bust up any rogue rain cloud that was ballsy enough to form. It wasn’t just the amazing weather or the love drifting on the breeze that had my spirits soaring with the birds.Ugh, I was starting to think in purple prose.

I had finished the rough draft of my manuscript the night before the wedding. I felt a huge sense of accomplishment because writing the second book was much harder than writing the first. I had zero expectations when I published my first book and no readers to please. I didn’t want to be some one-hit wonder or make fans of my first book scratch their head and wonder why they wasted their time, energy, and money on my second attempt. As scary as it was, I knew my second book was better than the first. Not only did I improve technical skills and fine tune my processes, but I also put pieces of myself into the characters which made them feel more real to me. If they felt more real to me, there was a good chance my readers would form a stronger connection to them also.

Kyle was the first person I told about finishing my book. Well, technically I sent a text before I crashed hard, but he was still the first person to know. I’d been running on fumes for so long that I slept like the dead; in fact, I slept so long I nearly was late getting to the salon. Curl Up and Dye wasn’t open to the public, but Josh planned a day of pampering for the mothers of the grooms. Josh was calm and relaxed the previous night during the rehearsal and dinner that followed, but I wanted to be on hand early just in case his mellow mood had evaporated.

The first thing I noticed when I entered the salon, were the stunning Tropicana roses that Kyle had sent me the previous day. No one had ever sent me flowers before, and I stood staring at the delivery woman like she’d made a mistake. Mere finally came over and took the roses from her and set them on my desk.

“Blink, baby. It’s going to be all right,” Mere had said on her way back to her station.

I had so many things on my to-do list that day, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the vibrant orange roses. I knew they were from Kyle without looking at the card nestled in the foliage. Who else would send me roses? I was dying to know what he wrote in his message, but I didn’t want to read it with everyone looking at me. I waited until it was time to meet Kyle for lunch and took the card with me. My hands trembled with nerves when I pulled the message out but then my body shook with laughter when I read it.

Orange you glad we met? I find you very a-peeling. I’m looking forward to lunch.

Kyle

I had slid the card in my back pocket and grinned like a fool for the entire walk to the diner. It was only a few blocks, but I knew I looked like a goober. Kyle waited for me outside the diner wearing a sappy grin like mine.

“Thank you for my flowers,” I said. “They’re beautiful, and I love them.” I rose on my tiptoes and kissed Kyle, not caring where we were or who was watching. The feelings he brought out in me were too beautiful to hide.

“You’re very welcome. I wanted you to have something pretty to look at in case today is as hectic as yesterday,” Kyle had told me. He opened the door to the diner for me and followed me inside. “Orange flowers aren’t easy to find, but I was on a mission since it’s your favorite color.”

I stopped walking and turned to face him so fast that he nearly ran into me. “I can’t believe you remembered that,” I said softly. We’d talked about our favoriteFriendsepisodes, and one of Kyle’s was the episode that Ross’s spray tan went hilariously wrong. That led to bad spray tans in general and how some people looked orange. I’d said to Kyle that orange was my favorite color, but that didn’t mean I wanted my skin to match it. It was one small conversation we had five months prior and he still remembered it.

“I remember everything you’ve said to me,” Kyle replied.

Oh, damn.I fell so hard for Kyle at that moment and prayed there was something soft to catch me when I landed. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came. I was one who always had something to say and rarely used a filter before speaking. In fact, the only thing that followed closely was the number of times I stuck my foot in my mouth. Luckily, more people considered that one an endearing trait instead of an offensive one. Kyle, though, rendered me speechless. The sly grin that spread across his face proved that he knew it too.

Kyle leaned forward and whispered, “I only have forty-five minutes left. I was kind of hoping to have a few minutes left to make out once we finished eating.”

That snapped me out of my trance. “I’m not hungry.”

Kyle grabbed my shoulders and turned me back around to face away from him. “Yes, you are.”

I let out an irritated huff and walked to an empty booth in the rear of the diner. Kyle didn’t so much as look at the menu, but I needed to find something healthy to eat that was hearty enough to get me through the day. That puny-ass salad we ate the other night wore off before I got home. I couldn’t live like that.

“Hey, guys,” Daniella cheerfully said when she arrived at our booth. “Ice water with lemon for the good doctor and a Mountain Dew for you, Chaz?” she asked.

“I’ll have ice water with lemon too,” I told her.