The Fix (The Carolina Connections, #1)(27)
Sure, the aggressive treatments had resulted in her short stature and a slightly increased risk of developing a possible subsequent cancer during the course of her life, but she was our shining star. Everyone who knew her and her sunny spirit reveled in it and called themselves lucky to know her.
Unfortunately for me, on this particular evening, the sunny spirit was hiding behind the complete exasperation in her expression.
“What?! It’s just not a good idea. But believe me, I comprehend the sheer hotness of that man even more than you do. I swear there was a moment when he was kissing me that I thought I’d forgotten to put on underwear this morning.”
She gave me a puzzled look. We both knew I was no commando girl. Not with my generous booty.
“I’d remembered all right—they had just spontaneously combusted under the force of his testosterone. Holy hell, he was that good!” I fanned myself at the memory.
We both giggled like idiots.
“Where are Rocco and Gavin?” she asked after we settled down.
“They went to the batting cages with Brett.”
“Aww. That’s so sweet.”
Sometimes I forgot to appreciate the time Gavin spent with Rocco and the experiences he provided that a dad should be doing. It was time to lighten up on him.
“Yeah, unfortunately Rocco has a pretty un-athletic mother and a musician for a father so Gavin’s dreams of living through Rocco may be dashed early on,” I said.
Not to be deterred from the main topic of the evening, Fiona persisted, “So you’re really not going to go out with Nate?”
“Ugh. Believe me, I’m totally tempted, but what happens when we get in a fight and Gavin gets stuck in the middle? Or, more likely, what happens when Rocco and I both fall in love with him and he takes off for his next adventure? Because he will, you know. As soon as his dad is back on his feet, he’s gone. I can’t do that to any of us. And even if, by some miracle, he decided to stay, why would he want to saddle himself with a single mom and a kid? I’m sure he’s just looking for a fun distraction to pass the time and I’m not up for that.” The feeling of sadness that overtook me was disproportionate to the brief involvement I’d had with Nate to this point. I could already feel myself getting in over my head and we’d only shared one kiss. One earth-shattering kiss, but still.
“But you deserve an awesome guy and a hot sexy love life, Laney! Every guy I suggest is all wrong—he’s too short, he has a weird accent, he wears a fedora, he sweats too much—whatever! I can’t sit around here and watch you spend another Saturday night watching The Mentalist on Hulu and fantasizing about Simon Baker—he’s too old for you anyway. You need a real live date with a real live penis—your penis fly trap needs a snack! No offense.”
Oh my, it seemed Fiona brought the big guns out tonight. “Wow, don’t hold back on my account.” I narrowed my eyes at her. “First of all, did you stop by a bar for a shot or seven of vodka on your way here? Second, you seem to have forgotten that one of the guys you tried to set me up with was eighteen years old—his voice hadn’t even changed yet! Enough said.”
Ready for her rebuttal, I thrust a hand out and intercepted it. “But, as it so happens, dear Fiona, Annette is setting me up on a date with someone this week. He fits all your criteria and he even has a child of his own. I didn’t specifically ask if he has a real live penis but I’m assuming that’s a given. I’m expecting his call and, barring a disastrous initial conversation, I plan to accept. So there!”
She beamed back at me and I couldn’t help but be a little happy that I’d put a smile on her face. “Well, if it can’t be hot construction dude, I guess we can give this other guy a chance at snack time. Now, where’s the wine?”
My phone buzzed with a text.
Nate: I got an in at Hops and can skip the line. Just name the night. BTW, when did that place become such a madhouse? It’s still just a burger joint, right?
Laney: I know! Ever since it got listed as “Best Burger” on some list you can’t get in anymore.
Nate: I noticed that still wasn’t a yes on the date?
Laney: I’ve got Charlotte’s phone number for you.
Nate: I don’t want to go out with Charlotte. I want to go out with you. Besides, dating married women requires too much effort and I’m not big on subterfuge.
Laney: Smartass. I meant I had her number for the apology you owe her. I haven’t forgotten.
Nate: Neither have I. Now, about this date …
Laney: I’ve got Rocco so it’s not that easy.
Nate: You’ve also got Gavin and I am his boss after all. I can be lenient if he needs to come in late …
Laney: Exactly! None of that. I don’t think we should get involved.
Nate: You think too much.
That was Tuesday and I chose not to re-engage or I’d get myself in trouble. That same night I got the call I’d been expecting from Annette’s guy, Alex. He seemed nice enough on the phone, although we did have the expected awkward moments one gets when trying to organize a date with a complete stranger. We settled fairly quickly on Thursday evening and I have to say I was somewhat relieved to get off the phone. I forgot how stressful dating was—why do people do this to themselves?
Thursday arrived before I was ready, and it was officially date night. The only problem was that the date wasn’t with the guy I actually wanted, no matter what the logical part of my brain said. Nate had continued to text me since Tuesday and I couldn’t help but be charmed by him. Dammit!