“Can I ask something?” Molly said, though she was going to go ahead and ask it anyway. “Where did Gabby’s name come from? I always wonder about that kind of thing.”
“My great-grandmother.” Cassidy looked up at the DJ guy. “Gabriela. She’s just like her, too. The name is very appropriate.”
So, Gabriela was not an ode to Gavin? Molly’s throat got thick. This was…unexpected. She glanced at her glass of Sauvignon Blanc.
“Ah.” She cleared her throat. Took a heavy gulp of wine, grateful she’d snagged a glass from the bar at the restaurant. She’d grabbed it mostly so she’d have something to do with her hands. Something to hold. Now she did more than sip at it for aesthetic purposes, because she’d totally screwed the salami sandwich on this one.
“That’s really nice,” she said, sipping a nice big gulp of not-aesthetic-anymore wine.
“Well, hello there. We came over to scope out the competition,” said Peter, the other guy in the lead, as he slipped right into the conversation with Cassidy.
They did small talk before Cassidy and her DJ boyfriend guy slipped off to do whatever it was they were going to do. Really it wasn’t any of Molly’s business.
“Will we get to meet Gavin tonight?” Peter asked, as though reading her thoughts.
Peter being the real matchmaker in this competition.
“I think he’s coming,” Molly said. “He’s just a little late with work and all.” Or so she figured. “Sometimes it happens.” Also, he hadn’t texted her back, so she didn’t really know.
“Heads up,” Peter said, eyeing his husband and then Molly. “Chris here is a master bullshit detector. You shouldn’t even try with him.”
“It’s true. I listen to people all day for a living. I’m like a Jedi Master for sniffing out relationship trouble.”
“You think I have relationship trouble?” She did. She was also curious about what gave her away.
“I do.” Chris nodded.
“How?” Molly asked.
“It’s hard to describe.” Chris looked her over. “More like a feeling. Not so much anything you did or didn’t do.”
“He’s like a relationship intuitive,” Peter said, giving Chris a look like Gavin had given Molly. A look of pride mixed with desire.
“He gives me too much credit.” Chris took a pull of his Coors. “Do you feel like talking about what’s really happening?”
Not particularly. “I messed up, that’s about it. I messed up and now I want to fix it.”
“How big of a mess-up are we talking?” Peter asked. “Little bit or lotsa bit?”
“I don’t know.” Molly sipped at her wine because what else should she do? “I thought I was doing the right thing for him. It turns out that by trying to do the right thing, I did the wrong one. It’s complicated and nothing makes sense.”
“Did you tell him this?” Chris asked, suddenly taking the conversation more seriously than two minutes before.
“He’s not responding.” Molly pulled her lips between her teeth. “But our kids are friends and they’ll stay friends and his ex-wife is my best friend, so we’re definitely going to end up seeing each other eventually. Especially since my best friend—that’s Rachel—married his brother. So it’s all complicated. And stuff.” Oh look, she had more wine.
She dreaded looking up, but she sort of had to. She couldn’t stare at the carpet forever. Could she? She could try, but that would also be rude.
“So, breaking that down,” Chris said, setting his Coors on the windowsill behind him. He stopped. Then he started again. Then stopped.
“Right, so I think you just broke Chris’s brain.” Peter rubbed circles on Chris’s back. “I watched your web show. Love the dating tips. They’re all very in tune with the dating climate.”
“Thanks,” Molly said. “I appreciate that. Also, Chris, sorry for breaking you.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” He tilted his head to the side as he studied her from apparently a new perspective. “I’m just trying to unravel that whole thing in my head. I love a good puzzle.”
“Sometimes I find it’s best not to unravel things like this.” Molly made her eyes obnoxiously big and then sipped a touch more wine. She should probably stop now.
“Well, the plot just thickened,” Peter said, glancing behind Molly. “I am all on board to watch this one.”
