Exes and O's (The Influencer, #2)(86)

“Hey, I meant to thank you for the flowers. You really didn’t have to send—” I’m mid-sentence when Seth not so casually saunters by in a velvet maroon suit, champagne in hand.

He appraises Daniel, giving me a conspiratorial brow raise before extending a hand to him. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Dr. Reinhart.”

Before shaking his hand, Daniel glances at me as if to say, Who the hell is this d-bag, and why is he talking to me?

I clear my throat. “Seth, this is my ex, Daniel. Daniel, this is my other . . . um, ex, Seth.”

Seth smiles, displaying all his tiny teeth. Now that Trevor has pointed it out, it can’t be unseen. He gives Daniel a condescending pat on the shoulder. “If you need any advice on this one, I’m here for you, man.”

My hand stiffens around my vodka cran. If I grip it any tighter, I’ll surely crack the glass.

Daniel rights his posture, his expression deliciously frosty. “And what kind of advice would that be?”

Seth’s patchy brows nearly reach his prematurely receding hairline. “I’m just messing with you.” He turns to me. “You good? You look a little tense.”

“I’m good,” I say, loosening my grip around my glass.

Luckily, Seth is easy distracted by shiny things. In this case, the shiny object is Dr. Patel, one of the most senior NICU doctors, who’s just walked by. When Seth darts after him to suck up, Daniel leans in.

“Was he one of the exes on your list too?” Daniel asks. Earlier in the evening, I spilled the tea about my ex-boyfriend endeavors, and he admitted he already knew from watching my stories after I reached out on LinkedIn.

I chortle at the mere thought. “No. I never considered Seth. Only the good ones, like you.”

Daniel’s cheeks turn pink, tickled by this. “True. I was your followers’ favorite. Only second to your roommate. The one you’re seeing, right?” he asks.

“Yeah. Trevor.” I lean against the wall, frowning at the mere mention of Trevor. He still hasn’t responded to the selfies I sent him, which only confirms Crystal’s doubt.

“You must really like him,” he says, his mouth curving into a small smile. After this long, Daniel can still read me like a book.

“How’d you know?” I whisper.

“I remember all the boys you used to crush on in school. You’d always try to pretend like you didn’t like them around me, but I could always tell,” he says with a casual shrug as he sips his drink.

“Really? How?”

He studies me for a beat. “You’d do that thing where you talk a mile a minute, twirling the ends of your hair. You get a little flustered. And you get that glassy, starry-eyed look,” he tells me, his eyes glinting with certainty like he’s solved a riddle.

“You say that like you know exactly what I’m talking about,” I venture.

He blushes. “Yeah. I’ve been battling a pathetic crush on my coworker Yua for years.”

“Years? Tell me about her.”

“She’s another developer.”

I bounce my brows suggestively. “Ohh, an office romance?”

He makes a pained expression and stares at his boots. “Not quite. We went on one date and she kind of freaked out. She’s scared to ruin our friendship, especially since we’d be stuck working together. I completely get it, but it sucks.”

“I’m sorry, Danny. Have you tried grand gesturing her?”

“Like declaring my love for her? Publicly?” he asks, aghast at the suggestion.

“Oh yeah. In front of tons of people, obviously,” I tease.

“No, no, no. I wanted to respect her wishes too. It didn’t feel right to push it. What about Trevor? Tell me about him.”

And I do. I confide the entire story about Trevor, from day one to the events that followed Friday night. Telling Daniel the intimate details of my love life feels natural, because I’m talking to my former best friend. I’m also hopeful another dude’s insight might shed some light.

He contemplates for a moment, tilting his head. “It’s hard for me to say what this guy thinks regarding the texts. But I wouldn’t rule him out. From what you’ve said, he’s gone through some shit. Maybe he just needs some space. Or maybe he needs more reassurance from you. Like a grand gesture.”

After sending Trevor three mirror photos with zero response, the last thing I’m about to do is humiliate myself further with a grand gesture. Besides, the last time I attempted a grand gesture, I ended up engaged to the likes of Seth. “No. He knows how I feel. I think that’s precisely what scares him.”

He dips his head back. “Remember that time you tried to kiss Spencer Hayfield at recess and he told everyone you were a witch?”

I fail to suppress a snort. “He told everyone I put a curse on him. The little shit. The patriarchy is so strong, even six-year-olds believe girls who go after what they want are witches.”

Daniel bumps my shoulder with his. “My point is, you were always fearless. Don’t lose that.”

“Will you let me stay on your couch when it all inevitably backfires?”

He extends his slender hand, giving me a supportive shake. “Deal.”

Before the dinner starts, I excuse myself for a bathroom break, leaving Daniel in the good hands of my nurse colleagues. On my way out, my nose is buried in my phone as notifications stream in for a photo of a red book cover I paired with my dress.