Chapter 3: The Man Who Chose Her
By the time Tasha approached the table again, the restaurant had grown busier.
A birthday party had arrived near the windows, and a family celebrating an anniversary occupied a large table beneath the chandelier. The kitchen doors swung open and closed as servers moved through the room with trays of desserts and fresh drinks.
Marcus and Nia seemed untouched by the commotion.
They had finished their meal and were discussing dessert.
“Peach cobbler,” Nia said, studying the menu.
“It's Georgia. We have to get the peach cobbler.””
Marcus smiled.
“I knew you'd say that.””
“Then why did you even ask?””
“Because I enjoy watching you make decisions you made before we left the house.””
She laughed and nudged his foot beneath the table.
“You're annoying.””
“And yet, here you are.””
“Unfortunately.””
He reached for her hand, kissed her knuckles, and returned to his menu.
It was such a casual gesture that neither of them noticed Tasha approaching until she was standing beside the table.
But Tasha had noticed everything.
She had seen the kiss.
She had seen the way Nia smiled afterward.
And something inside her had finally snapped.
“Ready for dessert?”” she asked, directing the question at Marcus.
He looked up.
“Yes. One peach cobbler to share, please. And could we get two spoons?””
Tasha's eyes shifted toward Nia.
“One dessert? That's all?””
Nia frowned.
“Yes, thank you.””
Tasha gave Marcus a playful look.
“You know, we have a chocolate lava cake, too. It's much better than the cobbler.””
Marcus shook his head.
“We'll stick with the cobbler.””
“Are you sure? I could bring you a little taste of the chocolate cake.””
“No, thank you.””
Tasha lingered.
“Maybe I should just bring both. My treat.””
Marcus's expression became unreadable.
“Please don't. We ordered what we wanted.””
The rejection was unmistakable.
Nia turned slightly in her chair, watching Tasha with a mixture of disbelief and growing anger.
Tasha's lips tightened.
“Some people really don't know how to have fun.””
Marcus put the menu down.
“And some people don't know when to stop.””
For the first time that evening, Tasha had no clever response ready.
She stood motionless for a beat, then snatched up the menu and walked away.
Nia exhaled slowly.
“I'm trying very hard not to lose my temper.””
“You don't owe her a performance,” Marcus said.
“I'm not performing. I'm genuinely trying not to tell her exactly what I think.””
He laughed softly.
“That's fair.””
Nia looked at him.
“Does this happen to you a lot?””
“What?””
“Women flirting with you when you're with somebody.””
Marcus considered the question.
“Sometimes. I don't pay much attention to it.””
“Why not?””
He looked at her as if the answer were obvious.
“Because I'm with you.””
Her expression softened.
“Marcus.””
“What?””
“You can't say things like that and expect me not to fall in love with you all over again.””
He grinned.
“Sounds like a good problem to have.””
She laughed, and he leaned over to kiss her forehead.
Across the room, Tasha watched.
This time, she didn't bother pretending to be busy.
She saw Marcus's lips touch Nia's forehead. She saw Nia close her eyes for a moment, trusting and comfortable in a way Tasha could not imitate. She saw Marcus return to his seat and continue talking as if the gesture required no explanation.
He wasn't trying to show off.
He wasn't trying to make Tasha jealous.
He was simply loving his girlfriend.
That should have ended the matter.
Instead, Tasha felt the last of her pride twist into anger.
She collected their dessert from the kitchen herself, even though another server had offered to take it.
When she reached the table, she placed the cobbler between them.
“Here you go,” she said flatly.
“Thank you,” Nia replied.
Tasha put down the spoons.
Then she looked at Marcus.
“You're a lucky man.””
Marcus nodded.
“I know.””
Tasha seemed unprepared for the answer.
Her eyes flicked toward Nia, who had already picked up her spoon.
“I mean, some men don't realize what they have until it's gone.””
Marcus's face changed.
Not dramatically. He didn't slam his hand against the table or raise his voice.
He simply turned toward Tasha and held her gaze.
“I'm well aware of what I have.””
Then he reached for Nia's hand.
“And I have no intention of losing it.””
The words fell between them with the finality of a locked door.
Nia stopped moving.
Tasha stared at him.
For several seconds, she looked as if she couldn't understand what she had heard.
Marcus brought Nia's hand to his lips and kissed it, then rested their joined hands on the table where there could be no confusion about his intentions.
He wasn't embarrassed by her.
He wasn't hiding their relationship.
He wasn't leaving a door open for someone else.
He had chosen Nia, and he was making that choice visible.
Tasha's cheeks flushed.
“Well,” she said, forcing a laugh, “somebody's serious.””
“Very,” Marcus replied.
The single word was enough.
Tasha took a step backward.
“Enjoy your dessert.””
She turned away before either of them could respond.
Her heart pounded as she walked toward the service station. She felt exposed, as though every customer in the restaurant had watched her reach for something and come back empty-handed.
Denise saw her approaching.
“Oh, no.””
Tasha ignored her.
“Don't say anything.””
“I wasn't going to.””
“Your face was.””
Denise glanced toward the couple.
“Maybe it's time to let them enjoy their night.””
Tasha grabbed a stack of napkins.
“I said don't say anything.””
Denise lowered her voice.
“I'm serious, Tasha. You're turning this into something it doesn't need to be.””
Tasha shoved the napkins into a drawer.
“He didn't have to embarrass me like that.””
“Embarrass you? He asked you to stop flirting with him.””
“He could have been nicer about it.””
Denise stared at her.
“He was nicer about it three times.””
Tasha looked away.
The truth of that statement only made her angrier.
She had been the one crossing the line. She had been the one making personal comments. She had been the one repeatedly returning to the table after being asked to stop.
But admitting that would mean admitting that her humiliation had come from her own choices.
And she wasn't ready to do that.
At the table, Nia tasted the cobbler and smiled.
“Okay. This is good.””
Marcus took a bite from his spoon.
“Worth the wait?””
“Absolutely.””
He watched her for a moment, then reached into the inside pocket of his jacket.
“I have something for you.””
Nia raised an eyebrow.
“What did you do?””
“Why do you assume I did something?””
“Because you have that look.””
“What look?””
“The look you get when you've been planning something and you're trying not to smile.””
Marcus laughed and pulled out a small cream-colored envelope.
Nia stared at it.
“What is that?””
“Open it.””
She carefully unfolded the flap and pulled out a card. Inside, he had written a short note about the life they were building together, the home they hoped to buy, and the promise that he wanted to keep choosing her, even when life became difficult.
Beneath the note was a reservation confirmation for a weekend at a coastal resort in Georgia.
Nia covered her mouth.
“Marcus.””
“I know we've been putting it off. I wanted us to have something to look forward to.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You planned all this?””
“For months.””
She shook her head, laughing through her tears.
“You are unbelievable.””
“Good unbelievable?””
“The best.””
She leaned across the table and kissed him.
It was not a hurried kiss or an apologetic one. She cupped his cheek, and he rested his hand against her waist, drawing her closer as if the crowded restaurant had disappeared around them.
Tasha came around the corner carrying a tray of water glasses.
She stopped.
The tray tilted slightly in her hands.
There was Marcus, the man she had spent the entire evening trying to draw toward her, kissing his girlfriend as if nothing else mattered.
There was Nia, the woman she had tried to provoke, holding his face with the effortless tenderness of someone who knew she was loved.
And there was Tasha, standing in the aisle with a tray in her hands, suddenly unable to move.
Marcus pulled back from the kiss and rested his forehead against Nia's.
“Love you, baby,” he whispered.
Nia smiled through her tears.
“Love you more.””
Tasha heard every word.
Her mouth parted slightly.
For once, she had no smile to offer, no clever line to deliver, and no way to pretend that she was in control of the situation.
She had tried to create a contest between herself and Nia.
Marcus had refused to participate.
Now the truth stood before her, impossible to misunderstand: he had never been tempted to choose her.
Nia noticed Tasha frozen in the aisle.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither woman looked away.
Nia slowly turned back toward Marcus, took another bite of the peach cobbler, and smiled at him as if Tasha weren't there.
That small act of indifference hurt more than an argument could have.
Tasha stood rooted to the floor, her fingers trembling beneath the tray.
May you like
And Nia, after one last look at the woman who had spent the evening trying to undermine her, began to turn in her chair.
The next moment would leave no room for misunderstanding.
