“He can’t hear you,” I remind her.

“Oh, I’m sure he can read lips.”

The waiter drops down both of our drinks and Paige grabs hers, chugging half of it back.

“And how is he so perfect if he’s a stalker?” I ask, thinking back to her comment.

“He is. All-American boy. Probably grew up in a loving home with a perfect dad who didn’t cheat on his mom and destroy her with a broken heart. I’m sure he went off to the Marines and became a war hero, and now he’s back here running security for one of America’s biggest companies. He’s freaking perfect. It’s annoying as shit.”

“You like him,” I say, because it’s clear as day now. Paige gave away more than she realizes with her words. If there’s one thing Paige doesn’t like it’s asshole men or bad boys. And they seem to be drawn to her. Paige can be a little rude to men, but she likes them sweet. Men never seem to get that with her. You have to work past that first layer of stain her father left behind to find her, and I hadn’t seen a man who ever tried.

She picks up the beer again, finishing off the rest of it and turning so her back is to Captain.

“God, I hope it’s not that obvious to him,” she grumbles.

“Paige has a crush,” I say, and I’m not sure if I’m talking to myself or to her.

“It must be contagious. You infected me with your love bug and it’s disgusting. We should really detox or something.”

Her tone is so somber, I burst out laughing.

“Mal, I’m serious here. I can’t do this.”

I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. “You don’t have to do shit if you don’t want to,” I tell her. “He’s your boss and he’s following us.”

She picks up my beer and takes a few sips. “You should be careful,” she says, making me drop my arm from her shoulder and turn in the bar stool so I’m facing her. She continues to face forward. “Men like Oz aren’t always what they seem.” She actually sounds like she’s sorry she’s delivering this news. Almost like she knows it’s true. That Oz isn’t who he says he is.

“Not everyone is your father, Paige. You have got to let that go.”

She cocks her head to the side, looking at me.

“I’m not saying you have to do it today, but you can’t let it hold you back forever.” I pick up my beer and take a few swallows myself, then hand it to her. I’m not going to tell her that she might be pushing men away, too, that the walls she built because of her father are keeping out all men. I believe that a man who really wants to be with her will break through those walls, and that will be a part of how she heals from all that. Paige is worth fighting for, and I think if she falls in love, it’s going to be hard, because when Paige lets herself feel, her emotions go deep. I glance back at Captain again, and his eyes are on her before they come to me. He does a half smile, and I return it before turning in my stool again, giving him my back.

“We should have gotten an appetizer or, like, some fries for the walk back.”

“I got snacks in my purse,” I joke, but is it really a joke if I do have snacks in my purse?

“This is why we’ve worked well together all these years,” she teases.

The waiter comes over, dropping off a bag of our food and a check.

“I got this one. You got pizza.” I pull out my wallet and drop a few bills on the counter before polishing off my beer. Paige grabs the bag, and I put my wallet back in my purse and pull my phone out to check my messages.

I wonder how the time change is going to affect Oz texting me. He’s probably about to go to bed.

I don’t see any missed text messages, and it makes me a little sad.

“I’m going to call Oz real quick before he goes to bed,” I tell her as we push out of the restaurant.

“All right. I’m going to use the bathroom.”

He’s always the one calling me and texting me. I want him to know I miss him, too.

Pulling up his number, I hit Call as I exit the restaurant. I look at Captain, who nods at me. Maybe he’s waiting to talk to Paige, or maybe this is something they really do to security people. I know Paige had talked about wanting to be a personal bodyguard. Maybe he’ll test her on what all she saw when she was out. Maybe he’s taking notes on things he can ask her tomorrow. He’s in for a rude awakening; Paige remembers everything.

“Baby.” Oz’s voice comes over the phone. I hear loud noises in the background like he’s in a bar or something.

“Oh. I’m sorry. I thought you might be in bed, and I wanted to tell you good night.”

“I wish I was in bed talking to you.” It’s hard to make out what he’s saying with all the noise coming through the line. I hear a woman’s laugh in the background and irrational jealousy shoots through me. I’m not used to liking a man enough to ever be jealous.

“Miles, come on, man. I want you to meet someone,” I hear someone yell.

“You seem busy. I’ll let you go. Sorry to bother you.” I pull the phone away from my ear to hang up. The noise is too loud to make anything out.

“Mallory, is that you?” I look up to see my statistics professor from Yale standing in front of me.

“Oh my God. Professor Field.” I end my call, slipping my phone back in my purse.

He smiles at me and shakes his head. “It’s Joel. I’m no longer your professor. Or a professor at all anymore, for that matter.”