Parker snorts. “Busy doing what? Reorganizing your sock drawer?”
“Some of us have lives outside of monopolizing Monopoly,” I retort.
The truth is, I haven’t been able to get Brittany out of my head. Every time I’ve thought about calling Natalie, I’ve found myself rereading Brittany’s letters instead. Comparing every potential date to someone I can’t have is probably a sign of some deep psychological issue…
But here we are.
“Have you had any luck with speed dating lately?” Mia asks.
I shrug. “Depends what you mean by luck. I meet people, we talk. Sometimes I get numbers.” I hesitate, then add, “But it never really goes anywhere. I’m starting to think speed dating just isn’t for me.”
And if the person I wanted were actually anoption, I wouldn’t need to speed date.
Mia leans back in her chair, studying me. “But that’s how all of us met—me and John, Amy and Parker. It worked for everyone at this table. That’s gotta count for something.” She smiles. “Maybe you just need to keep putting yourself out there.”
“Or maybe you need to get a hobby.” Parker grunts. “All you do is work and go on dates.”
“I have hobbies,” I argue.
John raises a brow. “Speed dating isn’t a hobby, man.”
Amy perks up like she’s just remembered something and turns toward me. “Okay, but listen. Sometimes it really does just …happen when you least expect it. Like what happened with my best friend, Eliza—”
“He’s not ready for this story.” Parker groans.
“Oh, hush,” she says, waving him off. “So, Eliza was completely done with dating. Like, sworn off men. Done. Over it. She was with this absolute jerk for eight years and he wouldn’t marry her. Just kept stringing her along.”
“Brutal,” John mutters.
“Right?” Amy nods. “So, they break up, and she decides she’s done with men. Like,donedone. And then…” She pauses, building suspense. “She literally falls through a wooden access ramp.”
I blink at her. “I’m sorry … what?”
“She fell through a ramp,” Amy repeats, like this is a totally reasonable sentence. “Straight into a hole. Couldn’t get out.”
Parker huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Still can’t believe that part.”
“And guess who shows up to rescue her?” Amy continues.
“A firefighter,” Mia says, already smiling.
“A firefighter,” Amy confirms, pointing at her. “Nick—her now husband. He pulls her out, they start talking, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.”
I stare at her for a second, then shake my head. “That’s … insane.”
“It’s romantic,” Amy corrects.
“It’s a liability issue,” Parker mutters.
Amy nudges him with her elbow before looking back at me. “My point is, you never know how it’s going to happen. One second, you’re giving up on love, and the next, you’re falling into a hole and meeting your husband.”
I huff out a laugh, reaching for my beer. “Awesome. So now my options are speed dating … or falling through questionable construction.”
“Or you could do neither.” Parker shrugs. “Could just try living your life.”
My phone buzzes on the table, and I glance down to see a USPS Informed Delivery email notification. My pulse quickens as I see the preview image: a colorful envelope with handwriting that is unmistakably Brittany’s—I’ve studied it enough in her previous letters to recognize it instantly.
My heart does this weird flip-flop thing that I immediately try to ignore.
