All Grown Up(10)

I gulped back the rest of the margarita in my glass and stared at my phone for a long moment. The party was going on all around me, yet everything was suddenly quiet.

I was single.

I hadn’t been happy in a long time.

My son was a grown man and no longer needed me.

Pretty soon, I’d be making a major career change.

Why was I constantly looking back at my failed marriage?

Valentina: I might have daydreamed a little about how you would look in a fireman’s uniform. And…

I took a deep breath.

Valentina: If you still want to go out on a date, let’s do it.

Donovan: You just feel bad for me because I’m going to die five years earlier, don’t you?

I laughed out loud. It felt good. Like taking in a deep breath on the first day of spring.

Valentina: I just had an epiphany. I’m looking forward now. And forgetting all my self-imposed rules of the past.

Donovan: Now you’re talking. When do I get to see you in person?

Adam was heading back my way with a filled margarita glass.

Valentina: Can we talk tomorrow? I’ve been rude to the gentleman who just fetched me a drink.

Donovan: Gentleman?

Valentina: Yes…Adam.

My face brightened at yet another forward-thinking thought. Only this one, I probably shouldn’t have shared with Donovan. I was just so damn excited, though.

Valentina: Maybe I’ll go out with Adam, too! Chat tomorrow! Have a good night.

After that, I tucked my phone into my pocket and gave Adam my full attention. The world was suddenly brighter.





Chapter 4




* * *





Valentina



“What the hell do I wear for a date? I haven’t been on one in twenty years.”

I frantically tore through my closet. Everything I owned suddenly seemed to scream soccer mom. I pulled out a new outfit I’d worn a few weeks ago and held it up against me, showing it to Eve.

“Is he taking you to a funeral?”

I actually had bought it for a funeral. Oh my God. I had nothing to wear.

I tossed the hangers on the floor of my closet and joined Eve on the bed. Covering my face with my hands, I grumbled, “I can’t do this. I can’t go.”

“You have a closet full of clothes and a kick-ass figure. There’s something in there you can wear. Besides, all you really need is nice underwear. That’s all he’ll care about.”

My eyes widened. “He’s going to see my underwear tonight? On the first date?”

Eve took pity on me, letting me off the hook easier than she normally did when she screwed with me. “Relax. I’m joking.”

I reached for a tissue on my end table. “Achoo!” My other hand covered my rapidly beating heart. “Thank God. Honestly, I have no idea what he’s expecting. What I’m expecting. What the hell I’m even doing.”

“You’re taking your life back. It’s your turn, Val. That’s what you’re doing. And it’s about damn time.” Eve got up from the bed and walked into the closet. “And if you want to show this young hottie your underwear tonight on the first date, you do that. You do whatever makes you happy. It’s time you put your own needs first.”

“But what does he expect to happen?”

“If he expects anything to happen, he’s an asshole and not worth your time.”

“Maybe it’s too soon.”

Eve popped her head out from my walk-in closet and spoke to me sternly, not unlike how I might’ve warned my son at times. “You’re going.”

My shoulders slumped. “Yes, Mom.”

“And don’t sneeze on the poor guy!”

Oh God. What if I do sneeze on him? I hadn’t thought of that. Ever since I was a little girl, I sneezed when I got nervous. It had been in check for years—probably because my mundane life didn’t have anything going on in it to get excited or nervous about—but lately I’d noticed it happening again.

Eve had disappeared into the closet, but she came back out. “And stop worrying about sneezing on him now!”

She knew me so well.

It took another forty-five minutes for us to agree on what I should wear, and in the end, almost the entire contents of my closet were in a heap on my bed. I had on a red skirt, cute, strappy, high-heeled sandals that I’d bought but never had occasion to wear, and a form-fitting black top that showed off a hint of my cleavage.

“You don’t think this top is too tight?”

“You look sexy, yet classy.”

I reached for a sweater, even though it was a warm evening. Eve swiped it from my hand. “You don’t need a sweater. You just want to cover up.”

She was absolutely right. I sighed, pushing out a nervous breath. “Fine.” We left the bedroom a disaster and walked to the kitchen.

“What time is he picking you up?”

“He’s not. I’m meeting him.”

“He didn’t offer to pick you up? Wait, let me guess. He did. But you told him you would rather meet him somewhere instead.”

“It’s safer that way.”

“And you can’t chicken out if you give him your address.”

That, too.