Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 33546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33546 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 134(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“Oh, okay. I was just going to say goodbye before I left with my date.”
Tucker’s jaw flexed. I saw it! Yet he turned his back and started unloading glasses from a crate. Heaviness settled in my chest. Though…maybe he was trying to be respectful because I was, after all, on a date. Perhaps I needed to open the door for him a little.
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you leaving soon? If you are, maybe I can wait and we could walk together. Save my date the trip.”
Tucker’s eyes lifted to meet mine. He held my stare for a few long seconds, but then looked away, shaking his head. “I have to work late. You have a good night, Lucy.”
I felt deflated the entire walk home. If Patrick noticed, he didn’t say anything. When we arrived at my house, he took both my hands and asked if we could see each other again. I agreed, though I knew I’d probably blow him off when he called. There just wasn’t chemistry, and of course, he’d scored an eleven on the stupid test.
Which reminded me…had I taken the quiz page with me? Once I was inside the house, I rummaged through my purse looking for it. I remembered folding it when we were done, but that was the last thing I could recall before talking to Tucker. I must’ve left it on the table at the bar.
Maybe I should go back and get it? I’d had that test in my purse for years.
No. You don’t need it. The only reason I wanted to go back is to see you know who.
I forced myself to take off my coat and shoes and sat down on the couch to relax. But my neck was full of tension, and my skin felt too tight. I kept replaying how Tucker had barely looked at me all evening. Instead of winding down, I felt all revved up. After thirty minutes of telling myself I wasn’t going back to The Rusty Nail, I stood abruptly, heart thudding, and grabbed my coat.
Tucker wasn’t behind the bar when I walked in. So I went back to the table I’d been sitting at to see if I could find my stupid magazine quiz. It was still there, though it was no longer folded up like I could’ve sworn I’d left it. I grabbed the paper and started to bend it at the crease in the middle, but I stopped when I noticed that someone had circled answers on it. I always wrote my date’s answers in my notes app, not on the page. A quick tally made my heart race. Six points! Someone had scored a six! Could it have been Tucker? I desperately wanted it to be him.
Joe, one of the guys who worked a couple of nights a week, was refilling a peanut bowl when I walked over to the bar.
“Hey, Joe. Is Tucker in the back?”
He shook his head. “He left. Went home.”
“How long ago?”
“Maybe forty-five minutes.”
My heart sank. Tucker had told me he had to work late. He’d lied, just so he didn’t have to walk me home. I felt my eyes filling, and suddenly, more than anything, I wanted to be back home. I swallowed and held out the paper in my hand.
“Thanks. Can you throw this out for me, please?”
He looked down as he took it. “What is it?”
“Just something stupid.”
CHAPTER 6
* * *
Tucker
When I entered, the café was all done up in holiday lights. Things had been so busy lately, I hardly remembered that Christmas was only a few days away.
I’d told Maggie to meet me here for coffee. Even though what I needed to talk to her about was pretty straightforward, I found myself a bit anxious.
“What’s up?” she asked as she sat down at the table after ordering herself a latte. “You never ask me to meet you for coffee.”
“Why do I need an ulterior motive to want to hang with my sister?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Tucker…”
“All right…” I conceded.
“What is it?” she asked, taking a sip.
“Feel like setting me up with someone?”
“Really? You’ve never had trouble getting dates. Don’t get me wrong, I love a challenge. But why do you need my help all of a sudden when you’ve done nothing but make fun of matchmaking?”
“It’s not exactly about needing a date…”
Maggie crossed her arms. “Okay, then. What’s going on?”
I swallowed. “I want you to make me Lucy’s date at the next event.”
She leaned back in her chair. “Lucy…?”
“Yes.”
“As in my friend Lucy, who’s four years older than you?”
“Correct, but why should the age difference matter?”
“It doesn’t, except that I know Lucy is ready for a serious relationship, and I don’t think that’s something you’ve ever been after.”
I ran my thumb along the side of my cup. “Maybe not with other people. But I’m interested in that with Lucy.”