Brynn suddenly grew curious, and she leaned forward to make sure she didn’t miss anything. She didn’t know that Hallie was dating. Like… she knew conceptually that, at any time, any single person could go on a date if asked—people inrelationships, too, as Grant had taught her—but her dating life hadn’t come up in their conversations over the last week and a half.
“You’ve got a captive audience, Hallie,” Sydney said as she shot Brynn an impish smile. “And I know for a fact that you downloaded a dating app over a month ago. I was literally there with you.”
“And I had to rewrite almost everything you tried to lie about,” Hallie defended immediately.
Sydney threw her hands up. “It’s not a lie that you’re beautiful and hilarious and the best person I know.”
Brynn was appreciating—and agreeing with—all the kind things that Sydney had just said about Hallie when Hallie cut back in, her voice rising. “Except that people don’t actually write those thingsaboutthemselves. They put something witty and charming in one of the prompts and pick super flattering photos. You, my dear best friend, literally wrote, ‘I’m the best person you’ll ever meet,’inmy profile. Just call me Narcissus—because if I got a match, it would’ve been my own reflection.”
Brynn’s ears perked up, wondering if they’d get into a conversation about Greek mythology. That had been another one of her short-lived fixations.
Sadly, it wasn’t to be the case. Sydney folded her arms across her chest and argued, “Well, I’m sorry, Hallie. I’ve never made a dating profile before.”
“Exactly.” Hallie looked triumphant. “It’s bad out there. Likebadbad. Men are now wearing mullets unironically, and women want to know my astrological sign to determine compatibility.”
Reese laughed and placed a steadying hand on Sydney’s forearm, looking at her lovingly. “She’s got a point, babe. Neither of us have been on the apps.”
Neither was Brynn, and from the picture that Hallie was painting, she didn’t know that they’d be in her future either.
Hallie nodded seriously and then pointed her fork at Sydney. “Listen to your girlfriend. She’s a smart woman.”
Sydney gave Reese an adoring look back before setting her sights on Hallie again. “You gonna stab me with that?”
Hallie squinted and half-heartedly jutted the fork forward. “Will it get you to shut up about this?”
It only made Sydney smile wider. “Not even a chance.”
Hallie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, putting down the fork. She quieted for a moment before she cleared her throat, attracting everyone’s attention. “Well, misery loves company. If I do end up going on dates, you can be sure that I’m going to come over afterward and cuddle up on the sofa, right between you two. It shouldn’t take me more than two, maybe three hours to retell the evening.” She lifted an eyebrow and looked between Sydney and Reese. “Especially with all this extra time I have. I may even sleep over in the guest room.”
Reese finally looked like she wasn’t sure if Hallie was joking or not. “For the record, I was on your side, Hallie.”
“Well, you two are a package deal now. You have a king bed, right?” Hallie asked as she looked toward the staircase across the room. “I probably don’t even need to use the guest bedroom. We can all just shack up together and have a slumber party.”
Brynn was watching all of this play out, transfixed by the three women’s verbal sparring. It felt like she was living inside of a sitcom, where the characters bantered at rapid speed but the episode always ended with everyone smiling, like her three dinner companions were doing right now.
She finished off her glass of wine at the same time Sydney finally acquiesced. “Okay, Hal. You win this round.”
Hallie pumped her fist. “Yes! You get true love, and I get…?”
“People who love you, truly.” Sydney’s voice was surprisingly full, her eyes trained on Hallie.
Hallie struck her hand out for Sydney to shake. “I’ll take it.”
After shaking Hallie’s hand, Sydney stood up from the table and started clearing the plates. “I need to do something before this devolves any further.”
Reese stood up, too. “I’ll help.”
Despite Brynn and Hallie’s attempts to assist with the post-dinner cleanup, they were told to stay in their chairs while the plates were taken to the kitchen.
Hallie looked toward her then. “You’ll see what I mean, if you join a dating app.” She hitched her thumb over her shoulder, toward the kitchen. “Don’t tell these two, though. They’ll be so excited at the possibility of love for you that you’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Sounds like this has been an ongoing conversational topic?” Brynn asked, shifting her body so they faced one another.
“They mean well. It’s just… a lot,” Hallie breathed out into the space between them. Her cheeks were a little red—maybe from the warmth of the house or the few glasses of wine she’d had or a little bit of both—and Brynn wondered, truly, how anyone in their right mind, bad profile or not, wouldn’t want to go on a date with someone like her.
CHAPTER FIVE
“Are you going to tell me why you look like you’re about to throw up all over my car?” Sydney asked as she navigated lanes on the way to the airport.
