“She’s my sister’s best friend,” I heard him say.
As if that explained everything.
As if that meant there were lines.
As if that meant he wasn’t the kind of man who blurred them.
I should have felt reassured by that since I was just here to do my job.
And yet, something about the way he’d said it—like he needed them to know, like he needed to make it clear—well, it disappointed me.
And I didn’t want to think about why.
21
THEO
“I’ll seeyou at the wedding tomorrow, right?” Evan asked as he handed me my receipt after I paid my tab at The Garden on Friday night.
“Yep,” I said, sliding my card back into my wallet. The house had been too quiet without Charlotte tonight, so after puttering around for a couple of hours, I’d decided to take in a few drinks and hopefully chat with a friend or two.
I’d half expected to find Lucy’s boyfriend Owen behind the bar since he’d helped manage the upscale club the past few years. But I’d forgotten that he’d quit his weekend gig a while back since that time was now spent with my sister.
But even if I hadn’t found Owen’s familiar face, I’d gotten lucky and caught my fellow book club buddy, Evan, filling in while they were understaffed.
“Are you bringing a date?” Evan asked, grabbing a rag to wipe down the bar. “Maybe that woman Romeo and Lia were setting you up with?”
He’d been at the party at Romeo and Lia’s house and knew about the double-date setup.
“It’ll just be me this time,” I replied, not entirely sure how I felt about showing up alone.
I could possibly still invite Amanda, and we would most likely have a nice time. She was easy to talk to.
But since I wasn’t sure how interested I was in anything beyond friendship at this point, I didn’t want to blur that line.
Not with the hot air balloon ride still on the calendar next week.
Hopefully, my friends wouldn’t mind hanging out with a lone single guy at a wedding built for couples.
I pulled out my phone to check the car service. One minute away.
“Looks like my ride’s almost here,” I said, holding up my phone for Evan to see. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded. “Have a good night.”
I walked through the club, taking in the low lighting and the botanical walls that had given the place its name. The Garden always felt alive. Warm. Intentional.
The summer evening air was still humid and warm when I stepped onto the sidewalk and waited for a blue Toyota to pull up.
When it did, I checked the license plate before opening the door. Probably unnecessary. As a six-foot man, it wasn’t like I was at high risk for being human trafficked.
Still, it was always better to be safe than sorry.
“Heading to Briarwood Lane?” the driver asked when I climbed into the backseat, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.
I hesitated.
I didn’t really want to go home yet. Procrastinating sleep had become something of a habit the past two years.