Worth the Fall (The McKinney Brothers, #1)(104)

Maggie coughed, choking on the thought of the last wedding she hit without Ford. The stilted small-talk and smarmy expectation gleaming in her date’s eyes. God help her, she never wanted to go there again.

But seriously…“Ava, the guys are not getting married.”

“Not today, but you know the girl Sam’s been seeing—Bethanne? She told me she thought they were getting serious.”

Not likely. “Bethanne’s delusional.”

“Yeah, I agree. But one of these days…one of these girls…” Two breaths passed before she went on. “Look, Maggie, I’m not talking about anything drastic. Just taking a chance once in a while. Giving someone else a chance for a change. Who knows, maybe finding out what it feels like to have a guy look at me the way those two look at each other. I mean, they seem happy,” Ava offered, sounding less enthused than resigned. “In love.”

“Blindly so,” Maggie agreed. And that was the crux of it. Maggie already knew what it was to have a guy look at her like he’d do anything to stay with her forever. And no doubt, it was a heady thing. But there were risks inherent to that kind of ardor. Once a person experienced it, there wasn’t a lot they wouldn’t do to protect it. Like lie. To their partner. To themselves.

Arms crossed at her chest, Maggie gave the picnic guy a thorough once-over.

Sure, he seemed sort of harmless with the whole goofy smile and I’m-so-putting-myself-out-there eyes. But he could be anyone. He could be an embezzler or top chef at the Meth Emporium. Oh yeah, he probably planned to reform. Turn over a new leaf. Be the man his girl deserved. But would he ever tell her what he was into? Not if it meant there was a chance he’d lose—

Stop.

Ugh. She didn’t want to be that person. The glass-half-empty girl who wouldn’t let anyone else believe it was half-full.

She wouldn’t be that person.

Angling closer on the bench she leaned in shoulder to shoulder with Ava. “I think it’s great you’re opening yourself up to the possibilities and I’ll support you one hundred percent. But I’m just wondering—and I don’t want this to sound like I think it’s going to be a problem or anything, but—you don’t actually like anyone. Ever. At least not in a more-than-friends way.”

“Right.”

“So umm, how are you planning to get around that?”

Ava outlined the rough plan she’d come up with: A single, mandatory date each month, where she gave the guys who met her criteria a chance—regardless of whether they floated her boat or not. And if she missed a month, she suffered a consequence. Some penalty stiff enough to ensure she didn’t blow it off.

“Nice. You’ve got to make it something that’ll really hurt, though, so you can’t slack. And tie up all the little loopholes you’ll be trying to wiggle through too.“Hey, this was kind of fun. “Make rules about what constitutes a legitimate date and going out with the same guy over and over when you know it isn’t going anywhere. Tough love and all.”

Maggie snickered, maybe enjoying the idea of Ava not making her monthly quota a skosh too much.

Ava finished her cookie and then wiped her hands together, brushing off the crumbs. “Agreed. So you think this is a solid plan?”

Blehh, but whatever. If Ava wanted to get her date on, who was Maggie to stop her? So working up some captain-of-the-cheer-squad enthusiasm, she beamed. “Totally. It’s a fantastic idea!”

Honestly, there was no excuse for not seeing what came next. But reading the writing on the wall had never been Maggie’s strong suit. Especially as it applied to the people closest to her.

“I’m glad you think so.” Ava grinned back at her, the glint of steel in her eyes unmistakable. “Because we’re making a pact and you’re doing this with me.”

Hell.