Disturbed, I grabbed the cooler at my feet and went to sit on a nearby bench under a tree. When Jamie followed, I sat the cooler on my left side, so it’d be a barrier between us. I wasn’t trying to be rude. It would be easier for us both to access that way. But I also needed a little buffer. This date mixup had me off-balance.
I pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to him. Then took out a second for me.
I cracked the lid and held up my bottle. “Well, here’s to awkward dates and friendship.”
Jamie tapped his plastic bottle to mine. “And awkward friendship.”
“That too,” I said with a chuckle.
He smiled at me, and it was a perfectly nice smile. Yet, I had no doubt that lurking beneath the surface was the same disappointment weighing me down.
Iola had screwed the pooch—and we were stuck with the mess.
CHAPTER 6
“Dating is like cooking. You have to break a few eggs to create the perfect omelet!”
— MATCHMAKING MAMAS
Jamie
My doorbell rangas I pulled open my oven door to check on the batch of biscuits crisping up on my baking sheet. There were already a dozen cooling on a wire rack I’d laid out on my kitchen bar.
Was I stress baking? Maybe.
I’d been trying to shrug off the date that didn’t happen with Hank, but that was easier said than done.
My heart had skipped twice when I’d seen him at the park, looking good enough to eat. I’d thought for a brief second that the dating gods werefinallyshining on me and I’d gotten my PrinceCharming at last.
What a joke. They were clearly having a good laugh at my expense instead. I mean, what were the odds the Matchmaking Mamas would mix me up with another Jamie and set me up with a straight guy?
On second thought, it was kind of on-brand for them. They were a bunch of old ladies playing cupid. What did I really expect?
The biscuits weren’t done, so I left them and went to answer the front door. Maverick was standing on my porch, Silas beside him.
“Hey, babe.” Silas held up a bottle of wine. “Can we come in?”
I’d texted them both in a moment of weakness. Hank had given me the out to tell them the date had gone okay—it wouldn’t have even been a lie, because it was the best bad date I’d ever had—but I was a terrible liar. It took them two seconds to suss out that something had gone wrong.
“I’m sorry for spiraling. You didn’t have to come over.”
“Eh, Damon’s just watching the Thurston College football game anyway,” Maverick said with a casual shrug. “You know I don’t care about sports.”
He acted unbothered, but he was in the honeymoon phase of his relationship. He should be enjoying his new love life, not worrying about my lack of one.
Silas grinned. “And I finally got a Saturday without a wedding. That calls for a drink.”
Tramp nosed forward, tail wagging. Lady was snoozing, totally pooped out after all the playing they’d done with Bruno, and later a couple of other dogs, while Hank and I ate a spread of sausage, cheese, and crackers that he’d brought to the park. Surprisingly, it hadn’t been that awkward once we got past thenot a real datepart.
Hank had chatted about his grooming job at BowWow,and I’d finally shared my goals to open a dog treat bakery. He’d been excited about the idea, and that excitement had carried me all the way home.
All the way through prepping ingredients and starting my first batch of dog biscuits. Somewhere halfway through, the disappointment had hit hard, though. Hank had beenperfect.Gorgeous and sexy, yes, but also genuinely nice. He’d made jokes to put me at ease, encouraged my far-fetched dream, and doted on his dog in a way that made my insides melt.
And he was totally, one hundred percent off-limits.
Despite all that time at the park, Tramp still found the energy to jump up on Silas as he and Maverick stepped inside. His paws wrinkled my friend’s designer shirt. He always dressed so stylishly for our little town.
“Tramp!” I snapped. “Get down.”
