It helped that Atlas and Cyrus were best friends too.
“Of course they were. They left before the fight happened though. Reece said they had to go home to check on Beau. He is such a worrywart when it comes to that puppy,” Tegan teased with a laugh.
“I still can’t believe Cyrus surprised him like that. He is such a gem.” I had all but given up on Reece finding a partner, but when he’d started training for the triathlon with Cyrus, it was obvious they had more than just a coach/trainee relationship.
“Yeah, he is. I’m still not sure Mr. Grumpy Pants deserves him though.”
I was mid-sip when she said that, my snort almost sending my wine out of my nose and all over my white, knit blanket.
Her lighthearted giggle echoed through the phone. “What about you, Mom? Did you do anything fun last night?”
I answered as soon as the burning sensation in my sinuses subsided. “Well, I drank wine, watched romance movies on the couch with Remi, and worked on a new set of matching sweaters.” Gods, it sounded so depressing when I rehashed it aloud like that.
“Mom…” Tegan’s voice was heavy with concern, or maybe pity. “I really wish you’d get out more.”
“I’d love to, but it’s hard to meet new people when you live in a town like Briar Glenn.”
“You know, there’s this dating app Javier uses—”
I cut her off. “Don’t you think I’m a little too old for a dating app?” I thought they were something used by young people to find hookups, not fifty-four-year-old women seeking companionship with the potential for romance.
Tegan snorted, which brought a smile to my face. “Mom, you’re not old. I really think you should download it and make a profile. If you don’t like it, you can just delete the app and it’ll be like it never happened.”
I did want to see who was out there…
“Fine. I’ll check it out. What’s it called?” I transferred her to speakerphone so I could search for it.
“It’s called Mate Match. It only allows profiles to message you if you’ve already marked them as a match you’d be interested in.”
Huh. Well, it sounded like there was a certain level of safety and anti-harassment built into the app. “Alright, I’m downloading it now.”
Tegan squealed and I jumped, almost spilling my wine.
“You have to tell me if you match with anyone. Promise me you’ll tell me?” she pleaded.
“I promise, but I doubt I’m going to match with anyone.”
“Mom. Seriously? You’re a babe. Besides, some younger men are into older women.”
I tsked. “Oh no, no, no. No younger men for me. They need to be my age or older—no exceptions.”
“Make sure you set your age preferences on the app then. Let me know if I need to come over tomorrow and help you with it, okay?”
I knew she was trying to be helpful, but I wasn’t so old that I couldn’t figure out how to set up my own profile on a dating app. How hard could it be?
“Will do, honey. Give Atlas my love.”
“I will. And remember to text me if you match. I’m serious, Mom. I want to see pictures!”
“Pinky promise. Bye sweetie.”
I hung up the phone before she could get another word in.
Tegan seemed confident I’d find a match, but I wasn’t so sure.
I peered down at my phone through my bifocals, the blue light reflecting off my lenses as I scrolled through my photo gallery, searching for a profile pic.
There were limited options. Me with Remi. Me with Reece and Tegan. Me with Atlas.
