“Oh no.” I shook my head. “Not happening.”
“—and with any luck, I’ll be with my wedding date.”
“Yourdate.” I blinked and felt a cold burn wash across my skin. “Ah. The truth behind your selfless desire to findmea date becomes apparent. Did you have a candidate in mind for yourself? Some cousin of Ash’s who’s in town for the wedding? Or is that Boston friend of Cal’s conveniently out of his relationship?” I tried to force my tone to be light, rather than oddly angry, but I wasn’t entirely sure I succeeded.
“No cousins, and Ethan’s still disgustingly in love. But as a matter of fact”—Dare grabbed his phone off the table and shook it slightly in front of me—“I have several guys I’ve been chatting with.”
I rolled my eyes. “Those are hookups, Dare. You don’t bring a Grindr hookup as your plus-one.”
“I’m not chatting with a potential hookup. I saiddateand I meantdate.” He shrugged uncomfortably. “I actually filled out an online dating profile, and I got a bunch of, you know, strong matches. It’s still early days yet, but who knows what might happen?”
“But, since when—” I coughed and rubbed at my aching chest, where a piece of muffin must have gotten stuck in my esophagus. “Since when do youdate? I thought you”—I licked my lips—“fucked. Hard and thoroughly.”
Not that his comment had been playing on repeat in my brain for days and days or anything.
Dare shrugged again, apparently fascinated by the springy yellow and white daisies painted on the window. “Since my best friend reminded me earlier in the week that I haven’t been on a real date in a long-ass time?”
I frowned. “No, but I didn’t mean you should—”
The bell over the bakery door rang out, startlingly loud.
Dare glanced over my head at the door… and his brown eyes flashed with determination. “Don’t look now, but your man is here,” he murmured.
“Who?” I went to turn in my seat, but Dare’s hand on mine stopped me.
“Jesus, Brian. Head in the game,” he whispered, squeezing slightly. “Mark. He just got in line. Now. Take a deep breath”—he inhaled, nodding at me to inhale along with him, which I reluctantly did—“and go talk to him. Just be yourself, okay?”
“No.” I shook my head firmly. “I don’t want to. I’m over this, Dare. I—”
“Mark!” Dare called, lifting a hand. “Hey, Mark! Come here a minute?”
I gave Dare a hard look. “Are you kidding me?” I demanded.
Darewinked.
He was going to die.
“Don’t you say anything to him, Dare Turner,” I whispered. “Not one damn sylla—”
“Mark!” Dare said again, his teeth flashing bright white against his olive skin as Mark approached the table. “Brian and I were just saying how good it is to see you again, man.”
“Oh. Hey, Brian.” Mark looked at Dare in confusion. “Sorry, have we met?”
“Yeah. Dare Turner. We met last weekend at the farmer’s market,” Dare fuckinglied.
“Oh.” Mark’s frown remained. “Sorry. Right. Nice to see you.”
Did the man literally start every sentence withoh?like he was surprised by every perfectly normal thing someone said to him? How had I not noticed how fucking annoying that was?
Jesus. If he was perpetually startled by the most mundane shit, the man wouldn’t last two days withmycrazy overenthusiasm, let alone lasting decades and decades like Dare had!
Ha.
No way wasthis guygonna laugh along with me at all of life’s ridiculousness like Dare did! Or comfort me through disappointments like Dare. Or cheer me on through every success like, um… like Dare. Or drive me insane with his jokes… also like Dare. Or wrap me up in his big, strong arms and hold me against the comforting strength of his body until even my bad days were—
Oh,motherfucker.
My stomach wobbled and my fingers flexed against my thighs in a way that had nothing to do with excitement over seeing the guy I’d thought was the physical embodiment of perfection five days ago, and everything to do with the nauseating realization thatMarkwas not my man and never would be—nevercouldbe—because I, Brian Carr, the guy who’d never had a single successful relationship, the guy who’d been dumped and rejected so often it had almost become a joke, wasalreadyin a loving, committed relationship and had been fordecades.
