Page 23 of Irresistible

“I’m just worried that it won’t work out for me like it’s worked out for you two. What if this is just another repeat of my last few relationships?” Scarlet asked, her lip quivering.

“At least you’ll know. If you don’t take a chance, you’ll be wondering forever what could have been,” Charlie replied.

“But the downsides are so severe. He’s my boss. He could fire me whenever he wants. You hear the stories in the news. There’s no reason he couldn’t retaliate against me if things go the wrong way. I need this job, and so do my coworkers. He could get rid of all of us. You don’t know just how powerful he really is,” Rebecca whined.

“Look, I can’t sit here and guarantee you that there are no potential downsides to this. I’m your friend, and I would never lie to you like that. But there’s a reason you’re here. You would not have come here tonight if you weren’t seriously considering this. I can’t speak for you, but it really sounds like your mind is made up. You don’t do things you don’t want to do,” Charlie noted.

“Yeah, I guess I can be a bit stubborn.”

“That’s the understatement of the year! You practically have to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing anything you don’t want to do. The fact that you’re going back and forth means that you want this. I know you.”

Scarlet let out a deep sigh. She knew he was right, just like he always was. Once again, he knew her better than she knew herself. That’s why she came to the restaurant. On any other night, she would have just driven home, plopped down on the couch, and watched terrible television until it was time to go to bed. But tonight she chose to have Charlie talk her into something she was already going to do.

“You’re right. Thanks, you two. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Charlie and Rebecca swung around the counter to sandwich Scarlet in a hug. They talked some more about unrelated topics, laughed about some of the latest gossip in town, and eventually said goodbye for the evening. They were expecting a big dinner reservation to arrive soon and Scarlet needed to get home to get some rest before heading out with Richard in the morning.

As she pulled into her driveway, she realized that she had no idea what the next day was going to bring. There was no way of knowing whether she and Richard would grow closer with more time alone or realize that they had too many differences to make things work. But she resolved to give it her best shot. It seemed as though all of her biggest obstacles had been moved from her path, and now she was the biggest thing standing between her and a real opportunity at a relationship with Richard. She had to sidestep her own feelings and take the plunge, and she resolved to do just that as she took the key out of her engine.