“Balance,” I repeat, and rummage through my bag for my keycard to Exciteur. “Definitely. That’s really important.”
She sighs again. “You’re still coming home in a few weeks, for Mia’s birthday party, right?”
“Of course I am.”
“Excellent.” Her voice brightens. “Robbie is invited too.”
I groan. “Why on Earth did you invite my high school boyfriend?”
“Because he and his brother helped us re-paint the garage, and I wanted to be nice,” she says. “Also, I want to set you up with him.”
I sit down on the bench opposite Exciteur and reach into my bag for my pumps. Methodically, I unlace my ergonomic walking shoes, one at a time. “You can’t set me up with someone I’ve already dated. That’s not how set-ups work.”
Rose lowers her voice. “Just flirt a bit. Have a nice little fling. Backslide.”
“Backslide?”
“Yes, I think that’s what the kids call hooking up with an ex. I think. Anyway, he’s safe and familiar, isn’t he?”
“Yes,” I admit, and fasten the clasp to my slingbacks. “I suppose. But—”
“All I’m saying is, don’t close off the possibility of having some fun, or just getting laid. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”
“Rose, I don’t—”
“Be open-minded,” she says. “That’s all.”
“Rose, I think I might be close to sleeping with someone already.”
There’s absolute silence on the other end. Then her voice, no longer hushed.“What?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Start from the beginning,” she demands. “No, scrap that, Mia’s almost finished with her food. Start from the middle. Don’t leave out any of the important stuff, and text me all the unimportant stuff later.”
I laugh and pull out my headphone case. I need to go to work soon, too. “It’s with someone I’m working with.”
“An employee? Oh, I can see where this is going,” she says.
“No, he’s a client.”
“A client,” Rose repeats.
“Yes. He’s not really my type anymore, but… well, I guess that’s not true,” I say. “He’s definitely my type. But after Percy, I can’t date those kind of men anymore.”
“Soph…” she says.
“No, no, he’s notlikePercy. They’re night and day, personality-wise. But they have similar backgrounds, if you know what I mean.”
She makes a humming sound, like she really does. “And something’s happened between you two?”
“Flirting, and definitely more conversations than are appropriate.”
“Oooh.”
“He also helped me make Percy jealous at a few parties.”
“Yes! I love this guy!”