Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65913 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 330(@200wpm)___ 264(@250wpm)___ 220(@300wpm)
“And Drew made it clear he thought it was ridiculous that I didn’t read it. But I went on a dating intel blackout after my ex,” I say. We’re going to have to talk about the ex situation at some point, and it might as well be now.
“The one who tried to steal StudMuffin’s new crush?” Her eyes drift down to my brown and tan girl, lounging under the table. Veronica’s little dude is making heart eyes at Trudy while pawing at her, all look at me style.
Such a typical man.
I tear my gaze away, returning to the unpleasant but important topic.
“Callie and I split up almost a year ago when I found out I was one of not two, not three, but four boyfriends of hers.”
“Wow,” Veronica says, awestruck.
I’m still a little embarrassed. Maybe I always will be. “I guess I got hoodwinked,” I deadpan keeping my tone light despite that whole clusterfuck. “She scammed money out of her exes and me. Some of them assumed I was in on her lies and got revenge by leaving nasty online reviews for the shop. By the time I got out of the relationship ten or so months ago, I was surly and unhappy.”
“I don’t blame you. That sounds terrible,” she says.
“It was not a good time in my life. On top of losing Trudy for a while,” I say, shuddering. “Bryan suggested maybe I needed to take a good, long timeout from dating. Who knows how long. But I removed all apps. Everything but the store’s social media. My mom said the same thing—to take some time to heal,” I add.
“That’s solid advice. Moms are good like that,” Veronica says with a smile.
“I think so, but it also comes from her experience,” I say, and wow, I did not plan to dive headfirst into the how-did-your-parents-mess-you-up convo, but here I go. “My dad cheated on her a bunch of times. She told me later that when she finally found out, she’d needed some time to detox. Her words.”
“That makes a lot of sense,” Veronica says, full of understanding. “Sometimes we need to lick our wounds.”
“Yeah, it takes a while. I’m still working on it,” I say. It’s best to share the score, and I could go on but I’ve said enough. It won’t do any good to add that I still don’t know if I can trust my radar. I’d completely missed any signs from Callie, and look how that played out. I nearly lost my little cutie. I bend down and give Trudy a necessary pet. I missed her so much.
“Online dating is supposed to make things easier, but it makes it harder in some ways,” I say. “Since it’s easier to lie.”
“It’s a swamp out there, isn’t it?” Her gaze turns thoughtful as she stirs her drink. “Honestly, I think that’s why I stayed a virgin so long.”
Oh, yes. Keep talking, honey. This is so much more interesting than my year off the market. “Because dating is another word for disaster?”
She gives a humorless laugh but nods. “I was at a bar with Ellie a few months ago, watching a Comets baseball game, and some guy next to us made a comment about how he was surprised I knew sports. I asked, ‘Because I’m a woman?’ And then he said, ‘You don’t have to be a bitch.’ Boom, just like that he went to the name-calling. But then he picked up some other woman afterward, someone who didn’t care he’d called me a bitch, and took her home. My sister writes romance for a living, and she’s always talking about characters’ emotional wounds, and I’m telling you, modern dating is one giant emotional wound,” she says, shaking her head like she still can’t believe what a mess the world is.
“I’ll drink to that,” I say, knocking back some more of the cocktail. “Dating is an alligator pit. So that’s why you waited?”
“Yes, but there are other reasons too.” She takes a drink, giving me flirty eyes over the top of her glass. When she sets it down, she finishes with, “I’m picky.”
Her words thrum through me, making the hair on my arms stand on end. “And you picked well,” I say, then I dip my face to hers and brush a soft, barely-there kiss to her minty, mojito-y lips. When I pull back, I add softly, “Good thing we met in real life then, instead of online.”
It’s flirty but true. We click so damn well in person.
But she sits up straighter like I said the wrong thing. “Do you think I lied to you about my column?”
With a pang of sympathy, I shake my head. “Sunshine, you’re not a liar. It was hot, the way you kept your secret identity on the DL.”
She laughs, clearly relieved. “Just like Wonder Woman, only I was saving the world one sex column at a time.”