“The…what?”
“Speed dating,” Sabrina’s mom supplies. “Bean & Nugget hosts it every Valentine’s Day.”
“Are you participating this year?” someone asks me.
Zen chokes on their coffee.
I almost choke on my own spit.
“You should,” someone else says. “You’ve been single for, what, two years now?”
Half the people in the room are shooting sly glances at Sabrina. The other half are watching me.
Including Sabrina.
The weight of her gaze is even heavier than the weight of her dog when he presses his waggling body against me, which I wouldn’t mind him doing right now for a distraction.
But Jitter’s snoozing like this is too early for him today.
“Uncle Grey is totes single,” Zen says.
I am.
But I’mnot.
As in, I’m not too keen on getting back in the dating game.
Probably.
Unless it involves some kind of friends-with-benefits arrangement with the woman whose café I’ve sworn to destroy.
How, exactly, did I get myself into this again?
One of the older ladies claps. “Oh, good. I’ll tell my daughter you’ll be there.”
“I don’t—” I start.
“Back up just a second,” an even older lady says. “My granddaughter’s coming in from Denver for this.Andshe already knows him.”
“Are you sure it’s wise for Addison to be in Snaggletooth Creek right now?” Sabrina’s mother says. “I hear it wasn’t the most pleasant for her when she came up last week.”
A hush falls on half the group.
Three ladies shareso it’s gonna be a throwdownglances.
Wish I didn’t know what that looked like.
Wish I wasn’t the reason it’s being tossed about.
“Can we all please remember thatChandleris the biggest problem in the Tooth?” Sabrina says. “Marley, have you talked to Gail Kingston yet about those custom tissue packs?”
“No, I talked to Laney instead when I dropped off dinner for her yesterday. She isso smart. She said we should use the printing space to sayhe’s not worth these tears.Dry them up and know you’re worthy.”
“What will the men get?” someone asks.
“Laney asked the same thing! I told her to surprise me.” She turns to me. “Don’t you worry about a thing, Grey. Laney’s a total professional,andshe’s been one of Sabrina’s best friends for as long as I can remember. She won’t do anything that embarrasses Bean & Nugget.”
“But we have other questions for you,” someone else says. “Would it be okay if we brought in three extra tables? It’s such a popular event, we don’t want to have to turn anyone away.”
