She Made a List of the Perfect Man — Then Fell for the One Who Failed Every Rule
Chapter 14
A year later, Jessica sat in the same bar where she had first met Cody.
Jean sat across from her.
“So,” Jean said, “do you still have the list?”
Jessica smiled.
“No.”
“Not even somewhere?”
“Nope.”
“Not one requirement?”
Jessica thought for a moment.
“Okay. One.”
Jean raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Michael has to let me choose his clothes.”
Jean laughed.
“That doesn’t count.”
“It absolutely counts.”
Across the room, Michael walked toward them.
He was wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit.
Jessica looked him up and down.
“See?”
Jean smiled.
“You trained him well.”
Michael heard her.
“I can hear you.”
Jessica stood.
“You look good.”
“Thank you.”
“I chose the tie.”
“I know.”
They kissed.
Jean watched them with a smile.
“Do you know what the funny part is?”
Jessica looked at her.
“What?”
“You spent all that time trying to find the perfect man.”
Jessica glanced at Michael.
“And?”
Jean smiled.
“You found someone who wasn’t perfect.”
Jessica nodded.
“Exactly.”
Michael took her hand.
“Ready?”
“Always.”
They walked out together.
Jessica looked back at the bar one last time.
She remembered the woman she had been when she walked through those doors.
A woman convinced that love could be calculated.
A woman who believed the right checklist could guarantee the right future.
She smiled.
She had been wrong.
And she was grateful.
Because sometimes the greatest love story begins when you finally stop searching for perfection.
