“If he is out there, I doubt tonight is the night that I meet him.”
“Why do you say that?”
“First of all, anyone associated with Kate and Jason are not likely my type,” I say, ticking up my finger. I love my sister, but she’s wild and impulsive and a little bit self centered. Okay, fine, a lot self centered. And Jason, the ever-doting fiancé, is obsessed with things like sports cars and the stock market. Not badhobbies by any means, but certainly not something I can have an enjoyable conversation about. I tick up a second finger. “Second, I don’t want to date right now. I’m already in a state of transition with this new job, which is terrible for my mental health.”
Lola tilts her head to the side as she takes in my excuses. “Your new job is bad for your mental health?”
“No, Lola. Change. I’m bad at change.”
“But it’s a good change.”
“Yes, but my first interview went horribly.”
The memory of the shattered plates, the cut palm, the condescending tone in Chef Matthews’ voice as he told me about how to properly introduce myself—it all flies through my mind and makes blood boil all over again.
“Ugh. ‘Goodbye, Jane,’” I mimic his parting words to me, still ringing in my ears and irritating me after all this time. “God, I still can’t believe him.”
“I can’t believe you’re still angry about this. It was more than a week ago now.”
“And it’s still haunting me,” I say. “My first story and it was an absolute mess.”
“Literally.”
I turn in the chair, pointing a reprimanding finger at her. “You’re not helping.”
She holds up her hands in surrender, but she’s still smiling. “Sorry. Carry on.”
I sigh, turning back to my reflection in the mirror, deciding to put my energy into mentally preparing for the engagement party instead of thinking about the chef who made me cry. He doesn’t deserve another second of my attention. “I think it’s all out of my system now.”
“Good. That means we can let it go and move on. He sent back answers, as promised. You turned in your story ondeadline. Your boss loved it, and you got another assignment for next week. I’d say it all turned out fine.”
“Yeah, but it wasn’t a fun experience.”
“They can’t all be.”
“All I’m saying is that you were born to do this job,” Lola says. “Have some confidence in yourself. Don’t let Chef Jerk Face make you second guess yourself.”
“I should’ve credited him as that in the article.”
“Okay, well you wouldn’t still have your job if you did, so it’s probably for the best.”
She douses my head in so much hairspray that a coughing fit takes over. Her smirk in the mirror has me wondering if she did it on purpose to stop my complaining. I’m still trying to catch my breath as I narrow my eyes at her as I lift a hand and fan away the fumes. Lola hands me a lip stain and I apply it before shoving it in my clutch. She points at the little purse in my hands. “I want that lip stain back someday.”
“We’ll see. I’ll probably be too busy kissing all the eligible bachelors to remember to return it to you.”
Lola rolls her eyes. “If you’re kissing eligible bachelors with that lip stain, then you can keep it.”
“That’s how I feel about the dress.”
Despite my protests, Lola was right about the cocktail dress. It slides on smoothly, a whisper of cool fabric against my skin. Lola helps me zip it up and I look back at my reflection in the mirror, amazed that it fits me as well as it does. Lola and I are close in height but I’m slightly curvier than she is. Blessedly, the fabric doesn’t pull too much.
“Stunning.” She smiles at me in the mirror. “See? You probably won’t break the love spell.”
A small wave of hope rushes through me at the idea that maybe I do find my Prince Charming tonight and finallystop being the only single sibling, but I really do need to focus on this job first and foremost anyways.
But instead of admitting to any of that, I just say, “I guess I’ll have to keep the dress and the lip stain now.”
Once my fake lashes are glued on well enough to stay for a few hours, and my favorite shoes—blush pink stilettos with bows on the back—are strapped to my poor feet, I call an Uber to take me to the venue. Kai shows up just as Lola is walking me outside to the waiting car.
