Craving The Player (Amateurs In Love Book 1)(47)

"That obvious?" Her blue eyes sparkle with happiness, telling me everything that I need to know.

"Oh yeah.” I snort. "Who's the lucky guy?"

"His name's Joel. He works at a mechanics shop only a few blocks away. Isn't that amazing? We've been on a few dates already."

"A few? And I'm just hearing about him now? You break my heart, Clare."

"Oh, shut up." She swats my arm. "I didn't want to say anything unless I felt like it could really be something. He wants to meet Liz." Her features stiffen as the conversation becomes more serious.

I try to keep my feelings from showing on my face, but my surprise is evident when I ask, "He does? So, it's actually serious then."

She nods once, suddenly stiffer than a board. "I think so. I don't want to rush into it, though. Not when Liz is involved. Plus I have no idea how Max will react to another man in his daughter's life. It's always been just him."

Hearing the name of her ex-husband is like nails on a chalkboard.

"He doesn't really have a say in your love life, Clare. Not completely, anyway. It's kind of inevitable that you would both find other people. I'm sure he's had his fair share of women over the past three years."

Ever since my sister separated from Liz's dad three years ago, I don’t think Clare has even thought about dating anybody else. I guess in her own way, she was holding out hope that they would end up working out their issues and find their way back to each other—but that's just not how life works. Not in my experience, at least.

Max and Clare were always the couple that I looked at and fawned over, hoping that that would be my future one day. They met in high school and dated all the way through college before getting married the year after graduation.

When they got married, everyone thought they would be together until they died. But the reality of life got in the way. It twisted and pulled apart their ideal future until it cost them their memorable love story.

"I know," she breathes, swallowing thickly.

"I say go for it. If you're ready, that is. Don't rush into anything you're not ready for."

"I don't really have time to take things slow, Sierra. I don't really have men lining up on my doorstep. Nobody seems to want to date a thirty-year-old divorced single mom."

"Apparently Joel does." I throw her a wink and place a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Have faith. What's meant to happen will happen. I promise."

"I guess." She smiles slightly.

“Where did you two meet? Actually, when did you meet? How long have you been keeping this a secret from me?” I glower at her and lift my hand to my heart in mock offence. It doesn’t matter to me where or when she met this guy. I just want her to be happy. She deserves happiness more than anybody that I know. I owe her everything.

“Relax, Nancy Drew.” Resting her chin on her palm, she smiles at me. “Remember when I popped that tire back in June? On the way back from the beach? We didn’t have the spare so we had to call a tow truck.”

I nod. “That was what, almost three months ago?”

She smiles sheepishly. “Yeah.”

“You kept him a secret from me for three months? Oh, man. You so owe me, Clare Bear.”

She lifts one shoulder in a shrug but I can see the humour flicker in her blue-green eyes. “Yes. But we didn’t start dating right away. He was the lead mechanic at the shop where the tow truck dropped my SUV off, but he wasn’t the one that fixed my tire. I didn’t meet him until the next time I brought it in. Liz had stuck a barbie doll somewhere under my hood when I was refilling the windshield fluid and I didn’t notice until it had melted all over the inside and I couldn’t get it off.”

My attempts at stifling my laugh fail and I lose it, laughing hard enough that tears swell in my eyes. “I can just imagine you right now. ‘Hi, sorry, but my daughter melted a barbie all over my engine. Please help me.’”

A tightness grows in my stomach as I brace myself on the counter, my shoulders shaking. I peek through closed eyes and see Clare staring at me with a look that says “shut up or else” but don’t stop laughing until she punches me in the shoulder.

“Stop it.” She’s blushing.

“I’m guessing he was sweet to you then? Didn’t laugh in your face?” I swipe away the tears that have fallen.

“No, he didn’t. He was very professional.”

I smirk. “Professional? Is that how he wound up between your sheets?”

She glares at me. “No. He wrote his number down on the invoice and glared at the other mechanic when he started teasing me about not using the inside of a car as a barbie dream house or something stupid like that. I don’t remember.”

There’s a sense of pride and happiness that grows in my chest while watching how dreamy she looks talking about Joel. It’s enough to have me accepting him already, regardless of not meeting him yet. Any guy that makes my sister smile like that is good in my books.

"Anyway,” she says. “Don't think that I haven't noticed the glow to your skin either. You look different. Happier."

Do I? I brush off the comment. "I feel the same." Her stare burns into my face and I take large gulps of my drink to try and pretend that I don’t feel it.