Chocolate for Two (22 page)

A half hour later, I’d just surfaced at the Clark Street subway stop in my neighborhood when my phone rang. I fished it out of my purse.

Davey!

I answered as fast as I could.

“Do you hate me?”

He laughed. “Did you just answer the phone with
Do you hate me?”

“So it seems. So do you hate me?”

“Why would you think I hate you?”

“Because I flaked on you twice, and then you didn’t return my calls or texts. I figured you’d given up on me and deleted me from your life.”

He laughed again. “Okay, Bryson, slow down, take a deep breath, and please come back to the land where the sane people live. I don’t hate you, and I didn’t give up on you, and I certainly didn’t delete you from my life. I was in Europe for a couple weeks, so I’m just now digging through a mountain of voice mails and text messages.”

“So when can we get together? I’m dying to see you.”

“You’re dying to see me? Those are words every man loves to hear, but you do realize I’m married, right?”

I laughed. “Shut up. So when are you free?”

“How about tonight? Lindsay has class.”

I nodded enthusiastically, even though he couldn’t see me. “Tonight would be perfect. Anywhere you want to go. Just let me know where and when, and I’ll be there.”

“I’m liking all this eagerness. Very good for the ego.”

“So where should we meet?”

“I just read about a place in the West Village called Bobo. You know it? Apparently they make a mean jalapeño margarita.”

“Nope, but that means nothing. I’m not very hip, Davey.”

He laughed. “Please. It’s on West Tenth at Seventh Avenue. Meet you there at seven?”

“Perfect. And thanks for not deleting me out of your life.”

“Bryson, stop with the crazy talk. See you soon.”

“Holy missing persons agency, it’s really you.” I stood just inside the entrance to Bobo and put my hands on my hips. Davey was sitting on a barstool to the right, halfway between me and the wall and halfway through a jalapeño margarita.

He stood up and held out his arms. “Bryson! Come give a guy a proper hello.”

I trotted over to the bar and hugged him tight. “I’m so happy you’re here, Davey. I honestly can’t remember the last time I saw you in person. Can you?”

He turned and gestured to the bartender. “Hold that thought. You still drink Blue Moon with an orange slice?”

I put my hands over my heart. “You remembered.”

He gestured to his margarita. “You sure you don’t want to try one of these?”

I shook my head. “Waverly Bryson and mixed drinks do not a happy couple make.”

He laughed and ordered me a beer, then sat back down on the barstool. “I think the last time we saw each other was when I told you I’d eloped and was quitting JAG.”

“That’s right! You left me working for that horrible woman who took over managing our agency. She was awful to me, you know. Basically got me to quit.”

He put his palms in the air. “What can I say? I’m irreplaceable.”

“
Then
after you ditched me at work, you went traveling and basically fell off the face of the Earth, which finished off my fragile little heart.”

“You’re killing me.” He pretended to stab himself in the chest and die.

I laughed and accepted a cold beer from the bartender. “Clearly your flair for dramatic interpretation hasn’t changed.”

“Touché. But lots of other things certainly have.
You
went and turned into a bona fide TV star.”

I coughed. “TV star? Please. Have you even seen the show?”

“No, but I hear it’s quite popular with the Midwestern homemaker crowd,
which
, as everyone who works in marketing knows, is a coveted demographic. Impressive stuff, Bryson. Very impressive.”

I patted my lips with a napkin. “Ah, now, there’s the Davey Mason I’ve missed so much. Always has an eye on the analytics.”

“So any news on the dating front?”

I nodded. “You always had an eye on my dating life too.”

“Of course. Got to live vicariously through my single friends while I still can. So what’s the word?”

“Actually, I’m engaged.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“The heartbreaker is finally settling down?”

“Stop it, Davey. You know I was never a heartbreaker.” When he was my client, Davey had always liked to tease me, but he knew how insecure I was about my track record with the opposite sex.

“Who’s the lucky guy?”

“His name’s Jake McIntyre. He’s from Florida.”

He clinked his glass against mine. “Look at you, Bryson, not a pup anymore. You’re all grown-up now.”

“Thanks. I’m doing my best.” I set my drink down, and then held up my bare hand. “Sometimes I don’t feel that grown-up, though.”

He gave me a strange look. “Why are you showing me your hand?”

“Because it’s where my engagement ring would be if I hadn’t lost it.”

“You lost your engagement ring?”

I grimaced. “All signs indicate…yes.”

“Ouch.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

“So when’s the wedding? Talk to me, goose.”

“Presidents’ Day weekend, which is approaching too fast for my comfort. Will you come?”

“Of course. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’m engaged…again.”

“It’ll be a layup this time. I promise.” He pretended to shoot a basketball.

“How do you know that, may I ask?”

“Because you’re glowing.”

I squinted at him. “Did you just say I’m
glowing
?”

He nodded. “I know I just lost some testosterone by saying that, but it’s true.”

“I forgot how funny you are.”

“And smart too.” He tapped a finger to his temple. “Don’t forget smart.”

“And so
modest
.”

“But seriously, Bryson, you look happy. When I looked you up online, I could tell you were doing great, but it’s awesome to see it’s true in person.”

The perfect segue.

I cleared my throat. “So, smart guy, tell me something. When you looked me up, did you happen to see anything about my other business, the one with the Honey products?” Davey had been there back when I first came up with a line of greeting cards called Honey Notes, the original idea that eventually led to Waverly’s Honey Shop.

“I did.”

“What did you think?”

“I think it’s fantastic. Seriously, Waverly. I’m beyond impressed with what you’ve done since we last caught up.”

“Thanks. So, um, do you think it’s a business that you would find interesting?”

“Waverly’s Honey Shop?”

I nodded.

“It seems like a cool business. Cool products, very creative.”

I shifted on the barstool and took a deep breath. “Cool enough to want to…run sales and marketing for it?”

He looked surprised. “What?”

I gave him an awkward grin. “Would you like to…come work for me?”

“For real?”

I sighed. “It’s sort of a long story, but I need you, and I need you yesterday. Are you interested?” I interlaced my fingers in front of me and pleaded with my eyes.

He took a long sip of his margarita, and then slowly shook his head. “Damn, Waverly, I wish we’d had this conversation a couple weeks ago.”

My heart sank. “A couple weeks ago?”

“Before I took a job with Blush and Company.”

“What?”

He nodded. “I just accepted it.”

Blush and Company was one of the biggest—if not
the
biggest—high-end cosmetics and women’s accessories companies in the world.

“Blush and Company, as in
the
Blush and Company?”

“Yep. I started on Thursday. That’s why I was in Europe. Lindsay and I had one last hurrah before I jumped back on the corporate treadmill. You’re looking at the new VP of global sales and marketing.”

“Were you talking to them before you moved here?”

“Not at all. It all happened really fast, actually. I was surprised, given how big they are, but they moved fast, and it was a good fit, so I decided to go with it.”

I put my face in my hands. “So I just missed my window?”

He nodded. “Looks like it.”

I kept my face in my hands. “And if I hadn’t stood you up that first night, you might not have taken it?”

“Do you really want to kick yourself when you’re down?”

I sighed and finally removed my hands. “I can’t believe this. Do you have to take it, Davey? Can’t you turn down your big fancy corporate-glamour job to come work for my little fledgling startup?”

He laughed. “I wish I could help you, but alas,
hell no
.”

I pressed my palm against my forehead. “If I don’t find someone to run this company for me soon, it’s all going to fall apart before my eyes, and I’m going to lose everything I’ve worked so hard for.”

“How about I score you some free Blush products. Would that make you feel better?”

I raised my eyebrows. “I do love Blush products. The makeup artists on
Love, Wendy
use them, and I always feel like a new person when they’re done with me.”

“That’s what everyone says. That’s why the company makes so much freaking money.”

I laughed. “I can’t believe
you’re
working for a cosmetics company.”

“That makes two of us.”

“Are you the only straight guy there?”

“I suspect so. It’s quite a change from the world of sporting goods. I have a serious learning curve ahead of me, that’s for sure.”

I reached over and touched his face. “Have you been using them? Your skin looks amazing.”

He swatted my hand away. “Enough about me. Tell me about this Jake guy who’s stolen your heart. What does he do?”

“He’s the head of physical therapy for the Brooklyn Nets.”

“The Nets? Nice. I’ll have to hit you up for some tickets. How did you meet him?”

I took a sip of my beer. “Actually, you were there.”

Davey gave me a strange look. “
I
was there? How so?”

“I met him at the Super Show.”

“In Atlanta?”

I nodded.

“Which one?” We’d gone to several together.

“The last one before you left JAG.”

“The one with Shane Kennedy, when he was still with the Knicks?”

“Yep. Jake went to college with him.”

“You met this guy way back then? And you never mentioned him to me? Where’s the love, Bryson?”

“Please. You know I love you. Besides, I
met
him then, but we didn’t start dating until nearly a year later, after you’d quit to go globetrotting. We did the long-distance thing on and off for a while, and then he moved to Brooklyn early this year.”

“So then it was just…
on
.”

I smiled. “And then it was just on.”

“And now you’re engaged.”

I nodded. “And now I’m engaged.”

“And he’s a good guy?”

I got happy just thinking about Jake. “He’s a
great
guy, Davey. He’s smart and funny, and he even beats me sometimes at Scrabble. That’s not easy to do, you know.”

Davey put a hand on my arm. “And he treats you well?”

“He treats me very well. Thanks,
Dad
.”

He sipped his margarita. “I used to worry about you a little bit, did you know that?”

I tilted my head to one side. “Worry about me? How so?”

“I know I used to give you a hard time about your love life, but to be honest, I always felt like you were too guarded with men.”

I rolled my eyes. “I know. You used to tell me that
all the time
, remember? Just what I wanted to hear in a client meeting, by the way.”

He laughed. “I was just worried that you wouldn’t ever let anyone in, that’s all.”

“It’s okay. You were right to be worried. It took me a long time to get over Aaron and trust that someone would love me for
me. But I finally did, and I found a really great guy, so you don’t have to worry about me anymore, okay?”

“I’ll always worry about you a little bit. You’re like the little sister I never had.”

“And you’re still like the big brother I never had. Always getting in my face about something.”

He held up his glass to me. “But in a caring way.”

I laughed. “Sometimes. So how’s Lindsay? Things are good?”

He nodded. “So far, so good.”

“How long have you two been married now?”

“We celebrated two years in August.”

“Wow, two years already?”

“Yep. When it’s good, it goes fast. You’ll see.”

I laughed. “And when it’s not good?”

“Like watching paint dry. Or so my unhappily married friends say.”

“You have unhappily married friends?”

“Sure. Everyone does.”

I shook my head. “I don’t.”

He laughed. “Sure you do.”

“No, I really don’t.”

“You do, but you just don’t know it.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you implying?”

He laughed. “I’m just saying that you never know what’s really going on in a relationship unless you’re in it.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but then I realized he was right. I also thought about Andie and Nick.
What is going on there?

I blinked, then nodded. “Actually, I know someone I thought was
the
poster girl for a happy marriage, and she turned out to be a lesbian.” I didn’t want to mention Wendy Davenport by name.