Oh, well isn’t that a plot twist? She likes what she sees.
Good. Let her enjoy the view.
She must collect her thoughts, since she continues a few seconds later in a professional tone, “About my idea. Now I know you already helped me the other week, and it was amazing what you did. So I hope this isn’t too much, but since I promised that I wouldn’t lean on Jameson to start a profile, I thought I could request something of you,” she says with a bright smile.
I have no clue where she’s going with this. But color me intrigued. “Go on.”
“My sister’s getting married next month. She has a bunch of events leading up to the wedding, and I was supposed to go to them all with Jameson,” she says with a wince.
Say no more. “I’ll be your date.”
She blinks. “You don’t even want to hear about it?”
Honestly, I’ve heard enough but I humor her. “Sure, you can tell me.”
“My sister has a show on Webflix calledLive the Life You’ve Imagined. It’s kind of like an advice show, and she has a sponsor now for all of her wedding content—the event itself, but also a pre-wedding picnic, a shower, a dress fitting, and so on. Since I’m the maid of honor, I’m going to all of that.Jameson will probably be at a lot of those too, since he’s the best man.”
This wedding sounds like hell.
“Why would anybody want all this shit?” I ask, despite knowing I should keep that thought to myself.
“Some people think it’s fun,” she says with a sexy little shrug and a smile that slays me. I take itsome peopleincludes her. This woman seems like the type of person who enjoys everything. Who loves her daily latte, the cute little hummingbird that stops at her feeder—because I bet she has one—and the sun that peeks through the fog.
I stay stoic though. “Well, I’ll do it.”
She studies me quizzically. “Are you sure you want to do all that?”
I don’t want to do any of it. But if it means helping her out and sticking it to her ex, I’m the man. “Yes.”
“It’s kind of a lot. But it’ll help me as I rebuild my side business,” she adds, then flips open the pink box and offers it to me. “That’s why I wanted to offer you something in exchange.”
“Is that the pink confetti flavor?” I ask, a little sheepishly.
“Mabel said it’s your favorite.”
I grab the box. “It is. Thanks.”
“But that’s not actually what I wanted to offer you. That’s just a little extra. There’s something else I want to do for you in exchange for being my plus-one.”
I peel off a section of the cupcake wrapper. “What’s your offer?”
A night to act out her greatest fantasies? No doubt that Jameson didn’t deliver in bed. I’d deliver anything she asked.
She lifts her chin and smiles, those ruby red lips all glossy and kissable. “As you may know, I have a side business where I plan huge romantic moments for people—proposals, engagement parties, anniversary dates, and just amazingdates in general. Of course, everything went horribly wrong when I attempted my own proposal. But if I haven’t scared you away with that mistake, I’d love to plan some dates for you. If you have somebody you’d like to go out with. Free of charge.”
She bounces on her toes. I stare at her like she’s lost her ever-loving mind. Has she?
She seems to take my silence as a cue to keep going. “Maybe you haven’t dated since…”
“Since my wife died,” I supply. It’s always a little strange to say, since Heather hardly felt like my wife at the end. Not that I can say that to anyone. But my failed marriage—a marriage that was breaking apart—doesn’t factor into it.
There’s only one reason I don’t want Remy to plan a date—she’s the first person I’ve had any feelings for in a while.
But I can tell she doesn’t want this plus-one wedding favor to be one-sided.
I contemplate a suitable response as I take a bite of the cupcake. Buoyed by the sweetness of the treat and also of her, I make a spur-of-the-moment decision and execute it like a fast play on the ice. “I can see why you’d want to plan some dates, but what I really think you should do is not take me as your plus-one.”
“Oh,” she says, her face falling. “Really? I thought…”
