Page 31 of Meet Cute the Virgin

“Shit.” I look out the window and take a few deep breaths. “You know, I feel guilty about messaging this guy. So fucking stupid,” I growl the last part, pissed at myself. “We weren’t even a thing. I don’t even know if he ever saw me that way.”

“He knew.”

I snap my head back toward her. “Why do you say that?”

“Wait, you really don’t think he knew?”

“It might make it worse if he knew,” I groan, slipping down farther into my side of the booth, making the vinyl stick to my thighs.

“I think he was into you too, so...”

“What the hell, Teddy Bear!” I press my lips together and glance around. “Sorry,” I say to the mom a few tables over with a couple of kids.Hellisn’t that bad. I could have said a lot worse.

“You have better eyes than I do. The man would make you have meals with him and then avoid you. He’s dealing with some inner shit there. I’m sure he’s all, ‘Oh, by her daddy wanting me to keep her safe, I can’t touch his little girl, oh my.’” She puts the back of her hand to her forehead and pretends to faint, scandalized. “He almost kissed you.”

“I was wondering if I made that up in my head.”

“Well, you can’t make up the flip-out over your gaming system and then the wrestling match that ensued.”

“So what I’m hearing is yes, I should feel bad over these texts.”

“What? Don’t put words in my mouth.” She shoves a fried cheese stick there, however. I do the same. “If he didn’t make a move, that’s on him. And you’re only talking to this person. You could end up friends. Just roll with it. You’re getting your feet wet. You’re not doing anything wrong.”

“Roll with it.” Can I do that?

“What if you find something you don’t like about your mom?” Shit, I hadn’t thought of that. “I know a hitman. Bet I can get you a good deal.”

I burst into laughter. The server swings by, dropping off the rest of our food. My phone buzzes against the table, and I flip it over without thinking.

M:Still eating? Or did you pass out from starvation? I’ll come save you. I know I failed with the library, but I can handle this one.

I smile despite everything. He’s easy. M is easy in a way that nothing else in my life has ever been. Teddy’s right: I’m only talking to this person. I can stop at any time.

Me:Still eating. Talking about deep stuff. Life, moms, and existence.

M:Heavy for a weekday.

Me:Every day is heavy lately.

M:Tell me something light. Favorite terrible movie.

I type back, letting the conversation pull me away from the one lingering in my mind...from the question of what I’m looking for and whether I really want to find it.

Chapter Fifteen

TRISTAN

Iwatch Killian cross the street.Where the fuck are you going? You’re on guard duty. He slips into the pharmacy, which instantly puts me on high alert. Does Lily not feel well? They should go to the hospital. Killian doesn’t know how to save anyone; he kills them. Well, there was that one guy that really pissed him off. He brought him back a couple of times to kill him again.

The pharmacy door opens, and Killian steps back out, holding a bright orange box in his hand. No bag, no attempt to hide it. He carries it like a trophy. I know that motherfucker uses cash too. He’s not sliding a card even if he’s retired at this point.

I’m parked at the far end of the lot behind a delivery van. Killian heads into the diner, and now I know whatever he has is for either Lily or Teddy because he’s not tied to this diner. The old diner has no cameras, but the pharmacy does.

While they’re inside, I pull out my laptop and see if the security on the building is online. It is. In no time I have the footage, and I watch as Killian picks up an ancestry testing kit.

Fuck me. The last thing Lily needs right now is to find out that Victor isn’t her father. After about ten minutes, all of them leave the diner together.

I watch them cross the street, Lily laughing at something Teddy said, the box swinging from her fingers like a toy. She has no idea what she’s holding.