Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 121576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 608(@200wpm)___ 486(@250wpm)___ 405(@300wpm)
Oliver finished up and stepped out of the bathroom as I thought on this plan, showing the same amount of excitement his sister had about the carnival, his voice carrying through the restaurant animatedly. And evidently, a little on the loud side.
Just as I was about to head toward the office, the door latched shut.
Okay. Someone didn’t want to be bothered.
“How many tickets can we get, Mom?” Oliver asked. “Please say enough to do all the games. The games look so cool. They got a ring toss and the one where you gotta knock over the cans. I better warm up my arm.”
I smiled, fixing his glasses for him when the windmill motion he did nearly knocked them off his nose. His excitement prompted a better idea. I’d show my support for Whitecaps while giving my kids a day packed full of memories. A face-to-face with the owner could wait for another time.
Chapter Three
JENNA
Two Weeks Later
Looking forward to tonight. Are you sure I can’t pick you up?
Me too! I’ll meet you there. I need to drop off my kids at my brother’s house. He’s watching them for me.
Oh.
I didn’t know you had kids.
I frowned reading the texts. Did this guy not read my profile? I’d mentioned being a mom. Should I have bolded that information?
Forcing myself to stay positive, I typed my response. Maybe this guy still had potential. That Oh didn’t necessarily mean anything.
Yep. Two of them. Is 6:30 still a good time?
I’m really not looking for anything serious.
Translation: The thought of getting tied down to someone with kids disinterests me. This will only be a one-time fuck.
Disappointment came on swift, even though I should’ve known better. Every other guy I’d interacted with on CupidMatch.com had been a letdown, and seemingly only after sex. Nothing real or sustainable. It was my own fault for having any expectations here. But I was beginning to realize hope was a difficult emotion to turn off.
I believed in love. Why wouldn’t I have faith in it?
Not that I had any personal experience with it in terms of a relationship. I hadn’t been in love yet. Not real love. Crush-love, yes. The two voices booming from the living room were a testament to that. They were also the reason why I wasn’t as practiced in dating as other twenty-seven-year-olds. Being a mom took priority. But I tried to grab a date as often as I could. And even though the men of Dogwood Beach were turning out to be more frustrating than anything, I still put myself out there.
I was, however, beginning to regret the dating app route. That really wasn’t working out for me. And unless I became a different person, one who was looking for a meaningless hookup and nothing more, it wouldn’t work out for me.
I finished applying my mascara, then stood from my vanity stool as I typed out my response to this guy. A response that might not have been necessary, but just in case, I needed him knowing—I was no longer interested.
I’m going to have to cancel tonight. Thanks anyway.
By the time I walked down the short hallway that opened up to the living room, that app had been deleted off my phone.
“Uno out!” Olivia shrieked. She threw her playing cards down on the coffee table and pumped her fists into the air. “Whoop, whoop!”
“Aw, man! I was so close to winning.” Oliver collapsed sideways onto the sofa and punched the cushion. “I want a rematch, Livvy! You always win.”
“We can play tonight at Uncle Brian’s. I’ll pack the cards in my bag.”
“Good idea.”
“What if we did something else besides going over to Uncle Brian’s tonight?” I asked, stopping behind the sofa.
Olivia peered up at me. “But what about your date?”
“I don’t have a date anymore.”
“Why not?”
“I just don’t. I decided to cancel.”
“But you were really excited, Mama.”
“I know, baby, but sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want them to.”
Olivia glowered, reaching into the back pocket of her shorts. She pulled out a pen and a small notepad, flipped it open to a page, and violently crossed something out.
“What’s that? What are you doing?” I tried to see what Olivia had marked off, but she closed the pad before I caught sight of it.
“I had high hopes for him,” she mumbled. She tucked her notepad away after sliding the pen through the rings. Then she took a seat on the coffee table and pouted.
I fought a smile. My daughter was a hopeless romantic as well. I wondered if she was becoming a little too invested in my personal life.
“What are we gonna do if we don’t go over to Uncle Brian’s?” Oliver asked, rolling to his back so he could see me above him.
“Well, I thought since today is your first official day of summer break, we should probably celebrate somehow.” I paused for dramatic effect, looking between the two of them. “And I am pretty hungry…”