“So,” I said as he got into the driver’s seat, “let me guess. You boost cars for a living.”

Allen grinned, the dimples in his cheeks deepening. “I’m an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.”

“Sounds fancy.”

“It pays the bills.” Allen started the car and zoomed away from my apartment. “I was thinking we’d head up to Boulder. It gives me a chance to drive on the freeway, and there’re some nice places to eat there.”

“I’m game.” The fact he wanted to spend extra time with me seemed promising.

The night only got better from there.

Allen was thirty. He was different from all the other guys I’d dated in college. In fact, the whole relationship was quite the ride. Sometimes he couldn’t seem to get enough of me; sometimes he’d ignore me for a few weeks. After three months of trying to figure him out, I finally lost it.

“Look,” I said over dinner, my irritation now at a boiling point. “I know that no girl thinks of herself as clingy, but I’m really not. If you need some space, whatever. But I’m tired of the hot and cold. I never know when you’re going to be sweet or when you’ll decide that I don’t exist.”

Allen set down his fork and placed his hand on my knee. “I’m sorry. It’s just that…I’m a little embarrassed about my current situation. I’m staying with some friends, trying to get my life together. That’s why I always suggest your place.” He sighed. “I know I probably should’ve brought it up sooner, but I went through a really messy divorce last year. No matter what I did, it was never good enough for my wife. The money, my job. I was never good enough.”

He shook his head, pressing his lips together, and his voice came out strained. “I like you, and I feel myself getting really attached, and then I worry I’m never going to be good enough. So I throw myself into work.” He squeezed my knee and flashed me a smile. “Then I start thinking about you and call again. We have a great time, and the cycle repeats. I wish I could just forget about my past and stay in the perfect moments with you.”

I was happy he felt close enough to open up to me. “I think you’re good enough. I think you’re amazing, actually. Instead of ignoring me, just tell me what’s going on.” I looked up, into his eyes. “Cool?”

His posture relaxed and he nodded. “Okay. It might take me some time to readjust, though. Please just be patient with me.”

I walked away from that dinner feeling confident. His confession explained a lot. After that, he’d send a text saying he was thinking of me but was hanging with the guys. Or he had training. Sometimes an emergency surgery came up.

It always started with, Wish I had more time, or Wish I could be with you right now, but…

I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, Wow, she’s a moron. But I was young and naive, and I tended to believe people back then. I didn’t match the sob story with the fact that we always headed to a different town. At the time, I wasn’t even bothered by not knowing where he lived. I thought it was endearing how much he wanted to impress me.

One day, I decided to surprise him. To let him know how much I cared by showing up at his office. Because he often called me on his break, I knew he took lunch at twelve thirty. Most of the time I had client lunches, so I was especially excited to sneak in an extra hour with Allen.

His dental practice was in one of those older brick buildings with lots of medical offices inside. I took the elevator to the third floor and pulled open the door that had a Dr. Allen Booth plaque on it. The waiting room was empty except for chairs and magazines.

I walked up to the receptionist window. “Hi, could you tell Allen that Darby is here?”

The woman looked up from her computer. “Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I—”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. We’re about to close for lunch.” She slid out a business card. “Give us a call to schedule something.”

“Actually,” I said, “I’m here to see if Allen wants to go to lunch.”

“Dr. Booth has lunch scheduled with his wife.”

“You mean his ex-wife?”

The woman frowned. “No, ma’am. I mean Mrs. Booth.”

My heart dropped. Surely she didn’t mean—

“Is that Alicia?” I recognized Allen’s voice. “Tell her I’ll be right out.”

“Actually, it’s Darby,” I yelled back, rage taking over as I realized what this meant. “And I think you’d better get out here now.”

A few seconds later, Allen walked into the waiting room. “What are you doing here?” he whispered. “I really wish you would’ve called first.”

I didn’t bother whispering back. “I thought I’d surprise you and take you to lunch. You know, since you’ve been so busy lately. But I was just informed that you’re having lunch with your wife. I was sure she meant ex-wife, but she made it sound like there was no ex in front of it.”

“Look, it’s complicated. We were about to get a divorce, but then…” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “She’s pregnant. What am I supposed to do? Leave her anyway?”

I shoved him. “How about not keep calling me.” I stepped forward and shoved him again. “How about not telling me that you love me?”

“I do love you. Look, what I told you about her is true. She’s demanding. She makes me feel like I’m not good enough. Then I met you and you just lit up the room. You made me feel special.” He reached out for me. “Is it so wrong I tried to hold onto that?”

Instead of yelling all the insults I wanted to, I clenched my teeth, feeling like screaming and crying and not knowing which one to grab onto. I’d sworn that if this ever happened again—if a guy ever did me wrong again—I wouldn’t freeze up; I’d let the guy have a piece of my mind. But the giant lump in my throat made it impossible to say anything.

The door swung open and a raven-haired woman with a round, protruding belly walked in.

Allen’s eyes widened as he looked over at her, then back at me. “Please don’t say anything,” he whispered. “She’s already having a high-stress pregnancy, and they’re worried about her losing the baby.” He raised his voice, turning to his wife. “Honey, hi. Just give me a minute.”

He tried to tug me toward the back, but I was done being jerked around. I didn’t know if what he said about his wife’s pregnancy was true. She deserved to know her husband was a cheating dirtbag, but was I willing to risk her health? No. Besides, she’d probably just blame me anyway.

“He’s all yours,” I said as I bolted past her, out of the office.

For two days I called in sick to work. It wasn’t even a lie; I felt ill every time I thought of how I’d been with another woman’s husband.

Allen called off and on for a few weeks, leaving me sorry excuses and apologies in my voice mail I couldn’t believe. He told me how much he wished things were different. He said he still loved me.

See, in the end of Aladdin it was all okay because Aladdin came clean, admitted his feelings…and let’s face it, Jasmine was rich enough to take care of him, so it didn’t really matter. I think she should’ve held out for longer—maybe even ruled the kingdom without him—so girls out there wouldn’t think a little apology and flying off into the sunset repaired all. I mean, how did she know he wouldn’t lie again? He probably did.

But they never bother showing what happens after.

In real life, coming clean doesn’t always make a difference. Because some dirty laundry is too ruined to get clean again.

Time Wasted: Five months

Lessons Learned:

Don’t date someone obsessed with his car.

Insist on seeing his place.

Don’t buy sob stories.

Dentists are evil.

A person who lies about one thing won’t hesitate to lie about something big.

Never EVER date a liar!

Chapter Two

Nadine, my partner at work, insisted we go to lunch at Blue to get away from the office—our boss was on some kind of warpath today, and it was best to steer clear when she was looking for someone to blame. After what happened Saturday evening, I’d been planning on staying away for a while. Even though Jake didn’t own the place, he might actually work there, and I didn’t want to have an awkward run-in with him. Especially since I couldn’t stop thinking about his handsome face, his smile, and the way my heart jumped into my throat when he put his hand on my hip.

“Hey, Darby. Nadine,” Mindy said when we walked in. “Just you two today? Or do you have clients joining you?”

“Just us,” Nadine said.

Mindy ushered us to a table and left so we could look over the menu.

Nadine lifted her menu and studied it, even though we both knew she’d end up getting the grilled chicken salad. I lifted mine, too, simply for something to look at, when deep male voices caught my attention, and I glanced in their direction. Jake and Chad stood near the back, discussing something. I threw my menu up, not wanting Jake to see me.

Okay, so he does work here. He wasn’t wearing the normal waiter attire, either. Hmm, guess I’ll see what I can find out from Mindy.

“So, what do you think about Mrs. Crabtree’s remodel?” Nadine asked. “Are we going to go with the Pepto-pink color, or are we going to try to talk her out of it?”

I peeked around my menu—no sign of Jake—then lowered it. “I suggested a lighter pink that wouldn’t make me think of an upset stomach, but she insists she wants that particular pink.”

“It’s going to be the most god-awful bathroom.”

“I talked her out of painting all the walls—told her accent walls are all the rage these days. She seemed to buy it, so that’ll help tone it down. Then, next time we meet, I’m going to tell her that stripes are in. If we’re really lucky, we’ll end up with one pink-and-white-striped wall that we can work accent decorations into. It might be kind of cute, actually.”