A male voice cleared his throat, and Harmony looked up to see Dominick standing next to the small table she was sitting at. The entire scene gave her a strange case of déjà vu, but this time, she was thenervousone.
Dominick looked more tired than anxious. Even behind his glasses, she could see the dark smudges beneath his eyes—dark eyes she’d been too busy wishing were blue during their date to trulyappreciate.
She smiled and stood up, and a small line appeared between his brows. She was just so excited he’d showed up after their horrible date, but realized how strange it was to greet him that way as soon as she jumped up. After a few seconds, she sat back down, and he followed her, not bothering to ask for permission like he did fordinner.
Harmonysmiled. “Hey.”
The returning smile wascautious. “Hey.”
Finally face-to-face with Dominick, all of Harmony’s words left her brain. She pressed her lips together and looked down at her drink. It gave heranidea.
“Can I make you a drink? On thehouse.”
Dominick shook his head and chuckled to himself. “I think I’ve had enough coffee for alifetime.”
Harmony nodded, but wondered what that meant. Did his words have some kind of double-meaning? Did it mean he had had enough ofherinhislife?
Ugh, this was a disaster. And now she knew exactly what it felt like to be on the other end. She didn’t like it. She’d put all her hopes into this meeting, and it wasn’tgoingwell.
He cleared his throatagain. “So…”
“Yeah,” she repliedlamely.
Thankfully, she wasn’t the only one who had practiced a speech. She was just the only one who couldn’trememberhers.
“Listen,” he started, playing with his watchband. “I’m really sorry about running out on you the other night. I…uh, borrowed those pants from my roommate and freaked out.” His cheeks showed a hint of red. “I was worried about replacing them, because my bank account is mostly empty. Honestly, Harmony, you should know that date was way out of my price range. I should have known there was a mistake as soon as Ireadit.”
He stopped and regarded her. “You were meant to be with Pax. Our match was the mistakeafterall.”
Harmony reached over the table and took his hand. “I know. Morgan told me.” She paused before adding. “And I went outwithPax.”
He pulled his hand out from underneath hers, and set it in his lap. He sat up straight as a board in the chair acrossfromher.
“It was horrible,”shesaid.
Dominick snorted, his shoulders relaxing a millimeter. “Worsethanours?”
“It was worse for other reasons.” Harmony sighed remembering how wrong Pax had been for her. He was good-looking, but that was all he had going for him. And even now, the more she looked at Dominick, the more she realized he was also attractive—just in an understated way. She’d been too obsessed with Morgan’s match and the accompanying photograph to see itbefore.
But it was more than the good looks she now appreciated. Dominick was kind. Harmony knew this was rare in a guy, and she wanted to persuade him to give them another shot. She’d seen so many silent girlfriends next to their rude but hot boyfriends at the coffee shop, that Dominick’s sweetness was a breath offreshair.
“Dominick. I’m not saying we’re soulmates, but Iamsaying Morgan’s system can make mistakes, and I think my match with Pax was the biggest mistake of all. And I don’t think I would have realized it was a mistake if it wasn’t for our date.” She squeezed her coffee cuptightly.
Dominick shifted in his seat, the line between his brows deeper than before. “So what are yousaying?”
She took a deepbreath.
“I’m saying I’d like for us to try again. I want to go out on a date with you. I want to give us a fair shot. I won’t be a jerk, and you won’t run out before the date’s over. We can do something cheap or free, Idon’tcare.”
“Why?”
She hadn’t expected that. Of course he wouldn’t jump at the chance to be rejected again, whowould?
“I don’t want to let you become the ‘what-if’ in my past. You seem like someone reallyspecial.”
When his eyes went to the table and he started shaking his head, she added a soft “Please.”
His head snapped up. “No, no, no, no. I’m not saying no to another date. This is just so weird. You’re not the kind of girl who makes a fuss over a guylikeme.”
