Page 36 of Vitamin Sea

“Do you want to talk to him?” he asked.

Chloe shook her head.

“No. I mean, yes. I mean, not talk talk to him. I only want to find out what he wants to talk to me about.”

Jack nodded in understanding.

“I get it.” He looked at her with resignation and then drained his glass of wine.

“Listen,” he said, placing his empty glass on the coffee table, “I’m going to call it an early night and give you a bit of space to process.

I know we aren’t committed or anything, but I really like you and I really like where things between us have been heading.

I also know what happened between you and your ex and I can tell what a shock tonight was for you.

It’s probably best if I give you some space while you figure things out. ”

That snapped Chloe out of it.

“No!” she protested. “I don’t want any space,” she said sincerely. “I’m over Liam. Honestly, Jack.”

“I believe you.” He nodded his head. “I just know that when things are unresolved, that’s where problems can creep in. And I wouldn’t want to keep you from any resolutions.”

“Please,” she pleaded. “You’re not keeping me from anything. I love spending time with you and I’m over the moon with how things have been going between us.”

He looked reassured at that.

“I believe you,” he said again. “Why don’t you sleep on it and text me in the morning.”

Chloe nodded. She could live with that.

Jack stood up and brought his glass and plate to the kitchen before heading for the door.

“Thanks for dinner tonight, Chlo,” he said as he was putting on his shoes. “It was great.”

She went in for a hug when he stood up and she kissed him on the lips. Softly at first and then harder. He kissed her back with just as much enthusiasm and planted a kiss on her forehead before he walked out the door.

Left with her own thoughts, she went directly for the apple pie before finishing off the remainder of her glass of wine. With her belly full and a lubricated mind, she went to bed and spent an hour tossing and turning before she fell into a deep slumber.

◆◆◆

Beep!

Chloe blearily reached around on the bed beside her, searching for her phone.

Her alarm hadn’t gone off yet, which meant it was before 6:30 a.m. She berated herself for forgetting to turn off her ringer. Who could possibly be texting her at such an awful hour?

Her hands connected with the rectangular object and as she clicked it on, she squinted her eyes: 6:14 a.m. Damnit. She could have slept for another sixteen minutes.

A jolt went through her when she saw who the text was from—Liam. Unable, according to him, to stop himself from messaging her so early because she was on his mind.

What in the everloving fuck , she thought.

Was this some kind of sick joke? Some cruel irony the universe or Jesus or her ancestors were playing on her? She was finally over her ex and had moved onto someone new and now Liam decided to make an appearance?

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. After all, she didn’t actually know what Liam wanted. And just because he had reappeared, it didn’t mean she had to let him back in her life.

It was ironic, really. When she was going through the misery of their breakup, she had fantasized about him appearing on their doorstep, begging for her back and apologizing for breaking up with her.

She snorted to herself. Good lord, she really had been in a sorry state back then.

Clicking her phone back off she closed her eyes and savoured the comfiness of her mattress.

Last night Jack said he was going to leave her alone to process her thoughts, but all she seemed to have processed that night was the wine. A breakfast of coffee perked her up and she sat there in silence with the lights dimmed and a candle burning. She thought, she thought, and she thought again.

At work that day she was distracted and had finally texted Liam back around noon. She had texted Jack first thing in the morning, and he had responded back within the hour.

Liam, in stark contrast to what his pattern of communication had been in the last six months of their relationship, messaged her back in three minutes.

It was unnerving.

Meet me for dinner this week? he asked.

She pondered.

Dinner with him hadn’t gone so well last time.

She still hadn’t found it in her to go back to the restaurant she had walked out of looking like she had been on an all-night bender.

But things were different now. Sure, his appearance last night had shaken her, but that was mostly because she had been so shocked. No matter what Liam had to throw at her, she was confident that this time, she would walk out of the establishment with her head held high and her mascara intact.

She texted Liam and agreed to meet him for dinner.

In another surprise, he responded by asking Chloe where she wanted to eat. It was a sign that he was trying to make up for his behaviour.

Poor effort, really.

If he wanted to make up for what he had done, he really had a lot of work ahead of him.

Not that she wanted flowers and chocolate and groveling.

Although, it might help. Not in the ‘getting back together’ department, but in the ‘I was a total asshole, I apologize and plead with you to forgive me for being such a jerk’ department.

If she had been feeling in the punishing mood, she would have chosen Don Alfonso, Nobu, or St. Thomas.

Trendy, hard to get into, and sky-high prices.

Instead, she opted for Toca. Fine dining for sure, but not something out of the ordinary or something that screamed ‘special occasion’.

It was one of her go-to restaurants when she was in the mood for familiar and fancy food.

You’re sure? Liam texted in reply. You don’t want to go somewhere nicer? Nobu or Butcher Chef?

Chloe texted him back and told him she was sure. But his question did make her curious. If Liam was offering to take her to Nobu, she didn’t need to be in the punishing mood—it seems he was flagellating himself.