VERSUS (Second Chances 2)

Just like that, we’ve slid back into business partners.

I know he has my back. Griffin would do almost anything for me, including giving me the space I need to work things out on my own.

“You can count on it.”

***

I asked Eden to meet me at Calvetti’s because I wanted to give her a second chance to enjoy the spaghetti.

I interrupted her dinner the other night when I showed up at her office.

That’s why I sent her a text earlier telling her to stop by here at seven, so we can share a meal.

I watch as she walks through the door wearing the blue dress from earlier.

The owner, Marti, approaches her with the greeting she gives almost everyone.

She takes each of her patrons’ hands in hers and explains how happy she is that they chose her restaurant out of all the restaurants in the city.

Marti Calvetti is the grandmother of a friend of mine.

She’s a sweetheart and without a doubt, the best Italian chef in the five boroughs.

She offered me a hug when I arrived. I gladly took it.

“I found a pretty little lady who knows you,” Marti says as she brings Eden to my table. “I told her she was lucky.”

I stand and button my suit jacket. “I’m the lucky one.”

Marti’s gaze moves from my face to Eden’s. “There’s something special here.”

Eden lets out a nervous giggle. “We’re fighting each other in court.”

Marti tugs on the back of a wooden chair next to the one I’ve been sitting in. She motions for Eden to take a seat. “You’ve been doing a lot more than that.”

Eden’s mouth drops open. “What?”

“He looks at you like you know the secret to his heart.” Marti smiles. “You look at him the same way.”

Eden doesn’t respond, so I step in to change the subject. “I’m starving. What do you recommend tonight, Marti?”

“Sit.” She points at my chair. “I’ll bring some wine. You’ll both have the spaghetti. I made it myself.”

Chapter 31

Eden

I glance over at a family of four enjoying a platter of spaghetti and meatballs. The parents are busy talking while their two young sons slurp up long strands of pasta in a race with one another.

I never had a sibling.

I didn’t realize how much I missed that bond until my dad passed away, and I was left alone.

Noelle thinks she fills the role of my sister, but our connection isn’t the same as the one she shares with her brother.

“What’s on your mind, Eden?” Dylan asks from across the table.

We ate dinner while we traded stories about law school. Dylan went to NYU. I studied at Harvard.