Page 37 of Love in Fine Print

Declan’s brow furrowed. “Why thefuckwould you set her up with someone when you clearly have a thing for her?”

“Your face turned into the heart eyes emoji when you said she wasreally sweet about it,” Declan made his voice go high.

“I don’t have a thing for her,” I lied as I sipped my drink before I changed the subject. “What is this big news you have?”

He smiled and wagged his eyebrows. “Have you missed me?”

“Yeah, like a sunburn,” I joked.

“Well, I hope you have aloe vera because guess who is getting traded to the Wolves?”

The Golden State Wolves were based in San Francisco. If I did ever go back to the game, they would be who I’d want to play for.

“Are you serious?”

He nodded. “It’s getting announced tomorrow.”

“Holy shit!” I pulled him into a bear hug. “Congrats, man. That’s amazing!”

“So, that means I’m gonna be in the city. Which begs the question, when are you gonna set me up with some of your women.”

“Mywomen?”

“Yeah, do you have a catalog or something I can go through?”

“You are banned from dating my clients.” I was only half-joking. If Declan was actually serious about wanting a relationship, I’d have no problem setting him up. He was one of the best guys I knew.

“Come on,” he nudged me with his elbow. “What about the lawyer? Why don’t you set me up on a date with her?”

I knew he was fucking with me. I knew that if I showed the visceral reaction that I’d had from him evensuggestingthat he go on a date with Olivia he would just double down and fuck with me even more. It took every ounce of self-control not to tell him to stay the fuck away from her.

Luckily, he got distracted when the attractive bartender came by to see if we needed anything else. It gave me a moment to get myself under control.

I seriously needed to get my shit together when it came to Olivia Bradshaw especially since she was on a date right now with the perfect man for her.

The perfect man who I’d set her up with.

Fuck my life.

15

OLIVIA

There issomething wrong with me. That is the only explanation for why I have zero interest in the man seated across from me.

On paper, Dr. Neil Campbell is everything I’ve ever wanted. He is successful. Driven. Kind. Funny. Tall. Handsome. And generous.

He volunteers at shelters for women and children. He loves animals and works closely with a dog rescue. He donates his medical services once a month for the unhoused.

He’d never been married and had no children, so there was no baby mama drama. I had a feeling he had a decent credit score. He smelled nice. His cologne was a perfect mixture of woodsy and athletic. He owned his condo.

He was close to his parents and had two older brothers and a younger sister who all had children, so when he had kids, they would have cousins to grow up with, which was important to me since I had no family to speak of.

He is confident without being cocky. He can hold his own in conversation but also listens and asks questions. He is witty and has a dry sense of humor that I appreciate.

He checks every box I’ve ever wanted…he’s perfect,I thought to myself.

There was only one small, teeny-tiny, miniscule problem. I wasn’t the least bit attracted to him. When I looked at him, I didn’t want to rip his clothes off. The only thought that went through my mind was if he’d ironed his shirt himself or had picked it up from the dry cleaners that way.

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