“It’s no problem.” I wave my hand dismissively. “My dad can always stop by and give me a break. Maybe Jade can cover a shift or two. I don’t think she’s found work since you fired her. I’m guessing you won’t care.”
“No, I don’t mind, and I would actually love that because I don’t want you to overextend yourself.”
I roll my lips in, holding them in pause, feeling how heavy this conversation is. “You don’t have to worry about a thing. I ran this place by myself before you got here. Go now if you need to.”
“Thanks.” He runs his fingers through his hair, not doing anything to smooth it down as it becomes more disheveled. “I, ah, this is weird.” He balls his hand into a fist, holding it near his core. “I know this is not the right time, but I don’t know when I’ll be back, but something just happened.”
“What?” My heart’s skipping along, waiting for the punchline.
He doesn’t speak. Instead, he turns back to his phone, clicks on something and flashes it back at me. I squint, ready for another cryptic message from his grandma, but it’s something I recognize.
My eyes spring open, and I literally scream. “What!”
It’s my website.
My dating website on his phone, and a Match Name Reveal is on his phone:
Portia Grant from Long Island.
What?
I yank my phone out from my pocket. My fingers flutter as I trace my password, and sure enough on my phone, there’s a Match Name Reveal:
Christian Hanson from Long Island.
I’m dead. How did that happen?
“I, ah,” he stutters while staring down on my phone. “El found a free match card outside and made me use it.”
“It’s my website,” I blurt out. “I own it, and I, ah, dropped all those cards.”
“Matchmaking?” He plants his feet an arm’s reach away from me. Not my arm. My arms are quite petite, but his arms. His arms are long and muscular, and all of the sudden I can’t stop looking at them.
“Yeah, it’s a small, inclusive matchmaking app I run with my dad. It was initially my idea. He helped me research and paid to have it developed. It’s one of the most fine-tuned matching algorithms in existence.”
“So, this is real?” He motions back to his phone, my name still flashing in the middle.
“I think so.” I feel the smile he gives me all the way to my toes. Relieved we are on the same page, I wish I could take another step closer, but now isn’t the time. I can’t leave him hanging, but what do I say? I’m stunned, and shocked, and stunned again. “Ah, I’m so glad you said something, because I hadn’t checked my phone yet. That might have been weird if we’d never brought it up.”
“Not going to be weird at all.” He chuckles, dropping his hand back to his side as his face lights up in a glowing rouge. “I mean, I’m always a little weird, but I can’t change that. I’ve honestly tried.”
“Good, because I don’t want things to beweird.”
“So right. It’s not going to beweird.” He flashes a glance at his wristwatch and then back at me. “I hate to leave like this.”
“Go.” I wave him out the door. “I’m fine.”
His feet cement to the floor, and he gives me that look again. The one that borders between flirting and pining, and I do everything possible to stay in control of my legs. All I want to do is lean in for a kiss. Thankfully, he steels his gaze to the exit. “I’ll text you when I get there.”
Ah, yes!I scream in my head, while excitement pulses through my veins and I force myself to remain calm, despite my insides scrambling in a tangled knot. “Sure, I’d like that.” I hold my hand up, as he pivots and heads out the door. “Drive safe.”
My heart instantly plummets. I’m spending New Year’s Eve alone, working. It has such a different ring to it after planning to spend the shift with Christian. I pick up my phone to text.
Me: Dad, chili sounds great. I’ll be over to watch the ball.
Sighing, I drag my feet toward the coffee bar and grab my French press. Might as well have some coffee because it’s going to be a long, boring, and lonely night.
I arrive at my parents’ house with a grocery sack of cat food I grabbed on the way over. Without knocking, I let myself into their townhouse. “I’m here.”
