Chapter 2

Two

AVA

"Hey girl! How's engaged life treating you?" I press the speaker button on my desk phone as Nina's call connects and continue to scroll around on my laptop. I'm still trying to catch up on work after being in Colorado. And now that we have this added business, my head is spinning with crazy timelines. I did take two hours out of my day to set up my Christmas tree and string lights around my house. I even added a small tree here at the office. I love this time of year and wanted to lift my mood by surrounding myself with the romantic, Hallmark Christmas feel that always seems to increase my creativity. This year it has been a bit hard to get into that feel good space.

Nina giggles, making me smile. "It's wonderful. But a better question is, how's the book boyfriend building going?"

I groan and lean back in my chair. "That's what drinking those crazy wine and vodka drinks from JoJo got us." We laugh together. "Honestly, I'm kind of excited for it now that the shock has worn off and the memories all came flooding back. It's definitely out of my comfort zone and will push me to experience something new, but trying to manage it all is hard. We each decided we'd take on one client, but I think I may host an open class to start and see who is really there for the right reasons. If I'm going to go all in with this, I want to make sure it's with the right guy."

She's quiet on the other end of the line, and after a minute I ask, "You there?"

"Yes," she replies meekly.

"Nina, what's wrong?" We've only known each other a short time, but we've grown close, and her tone sets me on edge.

"Nothing. But I want you to know I signed someone up for your class."

My hands stop on the keyboard and I stare at the phone. " You signed them up? Why didn't they sign themselves up?"

"Well, because he doesn't necessarily think he needs help."

I groan out loud. "Great, this is the type of guy I'm trying to avoid. I don't want hi?—"

"He's exactly the type you do want! He's the type who needs to be trained," she exclaims.

"I don't think it's a good idea?—"

"Please girl, I'm begging you. We already paid for him, and I think it's going to be good for him."

"What did he say when you told him?" I do not need a reluctant guy who thinks he's a Casanova in this class.

"Well, he kind of agreed. We talked to him about it when we got back from Colorado. I'm not sure he'll even show up, but I know he loves a challenge."

"That's even worse, Nina. If he doesn't want to be there, it's going to waste everybody's time."

"Just trust me. I really think this is a good move."