“Better than all over the table!” Neil cried out.
“Oh my god,” Truman gasped between laughs. “Did they throw you out?”
Neil groaned and launched into the full story for Truman and Lyle’s benefit. He was already good friends with Hamilton back when it happened, so he’d heard all the nitty-gritty before. Normally, I loved a good retelling of the train wreck that was that morning. I’d never seen my sister sopissed, and Neil had been in the doghouse formonths.I was pretty much happy whenever I wasn’t the one in trouble, and by now enough time had gone by that it was just a hilarious story instead of a reason for any real contention.
Neil grew up a lot in their first year of marriage. Now he was all responsible and shit.
But my attention drifted as he rehashed the details once more.
The door swung open and Maverick stepped inside. His pink hair was instantly recognizable from a distance. He looked nice, but then, he pretty much always did. He wore a teal floral-patterned button-down open over a white tank top and dark, floaty pants that only came to mid-calf.
I lifted my beer for a drink—then damn near choked on it when Maverick’s date followed him inside.
Percy fucking Helix?
Maybe Maverick was early and his date wasn’t here yet? Or maybe?—
Percy placed a hand on Maverick’s lower back, ushering him toward a table with a reserved sign on it. Holy shit. Maverick wasactuallyon a date with Percy. The Matchmaking Mamas had certainly changed things up from their planning session last week.
As usual, Percy had dressed conservatively, though he’d swapped his somber gray suit for a pale blue one that actually looked pretty decent with his fair complexion.
He said something that made Maverick smile, and oh god, was he really intothisguy? Wasthishis type? Percy made most people uncomfortable. He talked about death too much. He was at home with corpses. He wasn’t an undertaker, per se, but Helix Final Homes was a small family business, so hehelpedwherever he was needed.
“Damon, are you listening?”
I jerked my attention to Lyle. “Huh?”
“We were just asking if you wanted to split an appetizer combo,” he said. “I guess your attention was somewhere else…”
“Uh, yeah.” I chuckled nervously. “Just people watching. Can you believe this is what people do for fun around here?”
“Aren’t we supposedly doing this for fun?” Neil asked.
“We’re not on a date, though.” Hammy sent me an odd look, and I hurriedly added, “Or playing lame-ass trivia.”
“Is someone here on a date?” Truman asked, craning his head to scan the room. “I hadn’t noticed.”
“Martha is with someone,” Lyle ventured.
Truman snorted. “Martha isalwayswith someone. That hardly counts as a date.”
“Then where…” Neil turned in his seat for a better angle on the rest of the room. And shit, I hadn’t meant to turn this into a game ofI spy someone having a date!
“It doesn’t matter. An app combo sounds good.”
“Oh, it’s Percy!” Truman exclaimed. “He’s with the florist.”
“Also known as Damon’s neighbor,” Neil said dryly.
“He’s with Maverick?” I said. “Huh. How about that?”
“Yeah, how about that?” Neil said, an evil glint in his eye. “The neighbor you prank regularly is on a date, and you just happen to be in the same place.”
“Funny how life works.”
“It sure is,” he said. “I mean, total coincidence, right? You just wanted to come out tonight, and Maverick justhappenedto be on a date here, too.”
“Yup.”
