“Come on, baby, how can you resist me?” he purred, making sad eyes at me.
I didn’t know about magic, but that was enough to break any spell. “Seriously?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re resorting to puppy dog eyes? That, right there, is why we’re not right for each other. You want a girl you can win stuffed animals for at the fair, and I am so not that girl. We don’t even have the same idea of what’s romantic.” For instance, his whole romantic proposal scenario left me cold. I didn’t want to be surrounded by strangers for what was supposed to be a private moment. If I knew Owen at all, if he ever did propose, it would just be the two of us there. He wouldn’t make a big production out of it.
“So, it’s really over, then,” he said. “You won’t give me another chance?”
Had I ever been this whiny and needy about a breakup? Maybe in high school—at least, I hoped that was the only time. “Yes, it’s over. Thank you for the good times, but I think it’s best if both of us move on, really. I’ve got a new job at the store, and I’m really enjoying it here now. I don’t need you to take care of me.”
Ever so slightly, Josh glanced at the gray guy, and I saw out of the corner of my eye that the gray guy nodded. “Okay, then,” Josh said, backing away, but still holding onto my hand. “If that’s the way you want it.”
It occurred to me that if I’d stuck with Josh while retaining my memories, I might have had a chance to learn something. But I wasn’t that good an actress. He’d have probably figured me out before I learned anything useful. “It is the way I want it,” I said firmly.
He gave my hand one last squeeze, and I blinked as another wave of magic hit me. I had a moment of haziness, and then my head cleared. “Well, then, have a nice life,” he said.
“You, too,” I added, smiling fondly. He glanced over his shoulder, like he was looking for someone, but no one was there, and then he left.
As soon as he was gone, Florence exhaled loudly and said, “Good riddance to bad rubbish. If you hadn’t sent him away, I would have.”
“I guess I should have said something more before I ran off last night,” I said sheepishly. “When a guy asks a question like that, you owe him a real answer.”
“I can picture him kneeling in that restaurant with you already out the door.”
I winced. “How humiliating!”
“Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy. Now, let’s get this place ready for the afternoon coffee break rush.”