“Hey! Don’t be a Negative Nancy. That’s so not you. It could totally happen.” I sighed.
“Sure. Right.” I rolled my eyes. I would have saidas ifif it didn’t make me sound like a brat.
“Does this mean you will go?”
“Only if you promise to help me get ready at the ski resort and to feed me ice cream if it’s a total bust.”
“Promise,” she agreed a little too easily. Somehow, I had a feeling she probably had a room booked already.
“Fine. Deal,” I begrudgingly agreed.What do I have to lose?
Not much. Just my heart.
1.Rosie
Ilooked in the mirror and tugged on my dress as I sighed.This is not the one.
Will I ever be someone’s ‘the one’?I wondered like a hopeless romantic.
I had no idea what the hell was wrong with me. Since I realized I was quickly approaching thirty, it felt like some kind of countdown had suddenly appeared over my head. Not only was my biological clock ticking away louder and louder with every passing day, but it felt like the end of my modeling career was coming to an end as well. Granted, usually, most models started to slow down after twenty-five, whereas I felt mine got busier. I’d actually turned down jobs not because I had something else on the calendar but simply because I didn’t want to do them.
Nerves fluttered in my belly as I stared at my reflection and started to get out of the black dress. Was a dress the right thing to wear to a speed dating event? Why had I agreed to this? I shook my red hair, pulling it behind my ears and out of my face once the dress was off. Staring at myself in a strapless bra and panties didn’t help.
Not at all.
I stuck my tongue out at my own reflection and groaned.
I looked like the definition of a crazy redhead! My hair wouldn’t cooperate; it was wild and frizzy thanks to the weird weather Moonlit Pines was experiencing. I glanced over my shoulder toward the window that faced Main Street. Everything was quiet out there. Living on the top floor of the bakery in town afforded me a great view. I moved closer, grabbing my satin robe and sliding into it before I made it to the window and stared out at the dark night. The brewery was still busy, if the almost full parking lot was any indication.
Ember, Tabitha, and Abby were there with their significant others tonight. They’d invited me, of course, but being a seventh wheel wasn’t appealing to me. Usually, stuff like that didn’t bother me. I was happy for my friends. We had been stuck in our routine of how to survive the holidays when I’d suggested we switch things up this last year.
I would have never expected each one to fall in love at first sight by the end of the new year, leaving me to be the only single girl standing.
To their credit, Abby had offered to set me up with a teacher from her school with a guy I’d met at the grocery store while waiting to check out. The problem was that he made watching paint dry sound exciting. He was boring, and a whole night of pretending otherwise felt disingenuous. I felt mean saying it, but it was true.
Maybe I am the problem and the reason I’m still single?
All I had ever wanted for my life was my own family. To find and fall in love with a man who adored me to the point of obsession. A marriage built on love and respect that created kids I had the privilege of watching grow up into good humans. The backdrop of this little fairytale would be a spacious home with an open living space. Maybe one by the lake. Definitely all while living in Moonlit Pines. I loved my small mountain town. It was one of the many reasons the one and only time I’d tried to havea relationship had blown up in my face. That, and I had been a naïve twenty-year-old looking at a much older man like he had all the answers to the world. Almost a decade later, I looked back at myself and fought the need to cringe at how much I had adored him. A man whose inability to sit still I had chalked up to being a free spirit.
One I had adored. Not loved.
I laughed at myself and the memories of that sexy photographer who had charmed me. But when things became serious, he ran as fast and far as he could, only to end up married with kids and completely settled. That’s when I learned that it was all about meeting the right person at the right time.
Is this speed dating thing the right place?I doubted it.
I hated feeling like a Negative Nancy, but I could only imagine the kind of people who ended up at these things.You’re one of them, remember?a cynical yet hopeful voice perked up in my head.
The brewery was probably full of the same people who would be there tomorrow afternoon. Lurking singles ready to mingle. My nose squished, and suddenly, my spacious place felt a little claustrophobic. I needed to get some fresh air. I tossed on a pair of old jeans that had seen better days and an oversized pink hoodie that I loved but only wore in the privacy of my own place or hanging out with my mom and sisters or my best friends because the color clashed with my hair. Then I slipped into my sneakers, grabbed my keys, and headed out.
Stupidly leaving my phone behind in the rush.
2.Caleb
“Another drink?” the bartender offered, but I shook my head. One was my limit. I wasn’t twenty-something anymore. Hell, I wasn’t even thirty-something.
“I’m good, but thanks,” I said with a polite smile. Fuck, I felt old.
“If you change your mind, let me know. We also have a great menu the kitchen does up, if you’d like a menu,” the guy offered.
