Flirting with Forever: A Hot Romantic Comedy(24)

“You went to her art show?” Hazel asked. “That’s an interesting development.”

“Why is that interesting? She invited me. Obviously I went.”

“I wasn’t aware you were getting to know them,” Hazel said. “I thought you were simply watching him through the window while he did yard work.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Thank you for making me sound creepy. And yes, I’ve gotten to know them. I’m even invited to his family barbecue.”

“Wait, are you dating him?” Sophie asked.

“What? No. What makes you say that?”

“He invited you to a family barbecue.”

“To be fair, his mom invited me.”

“His mom?” Sophie asked, her mouth dropping open like I’d just said something incredibly shocking. “Nora, why have you been hiding this from us?”

My three friends stared at me as if I’d just announced I was moving to Australia and would never see them again. “What are you talking about? I’m not hiding anything. I’ve run into Dex a few times and I’ve chatted with his daughter and yes, I went to her art show. And met his parents. And he helped me when my bathtub was leaking and the water was dripping in the kitchen last Friday. And also when I had a raccoon in my trash and I thought someone was breaking in. But really, there’s nothing going on.”

Hazel leaned closer, peering at me through her glasses like I was a subject in one of her psych experiments. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not lying. That was all true.”

“Then you’re omitting something.”

“Are you okay?” Everly asked.

With a slight roll of my eyes, I took a deep breath and held out my hands. “Circle of trust.”

Everly clasped my hand on one side and Hazel took the other. They both held hands with Sophie, creating our sacred circle. What was said in the circle of trust stayed in the circle of trust.

“It’s possible that I’m mildly attracted to Dex,” I said, adding a hint of flippancy to my voice so they would know this wasn’t a serious problem. “He’s not my type in any way but he is very rugged and manly and despite the fact that he probably wears the same jeans every day, he smells good. But he turned me down.”

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Sophie said. “Because it sounded like you said he turned you down and I’m assuming you mean you suggested sex and he said no and I don’t see how that’s possible.”

“That is difficult to picture,” Hazel said.

“I don’t think I could have turned you down if you’d ever used your magic on me,” Everly said, and the four of us dropped hands.

I leaned in and kissed the air near her cheek. “This is why I love you so much. Apparently I don’t have the right kind of magic for him. We were alone, in my house, and his daughter was away for the night, so it was the perfect opportunity. But he said he wasn’t interested.”

“Not interested?” Hazel asked, her brow furrowing.

“I’m suddenly calling into question everything I thought I knew about the world,” Everly said. “How could he not be interested in you? You’re Nora Lakes. That’s not possible.”

“My ego thanks you but it’s not the first time a man has turned me down.” I paused, tapping my lips with my finger. “No, wait. Maybe that is the first time a man turned me down.”

“He probably has an understandable reason,” Everly said. Always the optimist. “Maybe he just got out of a relationship.”

“Do you know what happened to the mom?” Sophie asked.

I shook my head. “I don’t know anything about her.”

“But if his reason was a recent breakup, wouldn’t he have said so?” Hazel asked.

“It would make for a softer rejection if he said he’d just gotten out of a relationship,” Everly said. “Just saying he’s not interested is a little harsh.”

“At the risk of sounding more conceited than usual, there’s no way he wasn’t interested in me. That’s what he said, but his entire body said otherwise. I know when a man wants me and he was working very hard to hold himself back. I’d just gotten out of a bath and was naked except for a robe, for fuck’s sake.”

“Was it that pretty pink one?” Everly asked.

“Yes. It’s my favorite after a bath. And not only did he walk away, he stomped out with hardly another word. Just, sorry I’m not interested. And that was it.”

“This is very perplexing,” Hazel said.

“I’m glad it’s not just me,” I said. “I keep trying to tell myself this isn’t a big deal, and it really isn’t, but I also keep thinking about it. Why do I keep thinking about it?”

“Any of us would think about it,” Everly said. “I’d probably be over-analyzing every word I’d ever said to him along with every outfit I’d ever worn in his presence, trying to figure out what was wrong with me.”

“Oh, same,” Sophie said, nodding sagely.

“I have to agree,” Hazel said. “It makes sense that this would be a blow to your confidence.”

I fiddled with one of the buttons on my blouse. “I wouldn’t say it’s a blow to my confidence. That might be too dramatic. But he did nudge it off balance a little.”