Page 18 of Tied Up in Riches

Marcus looks up from his bowl like he can sense her stare.

“So, the waitress over there,” she points, and we all follow the invisible line created from her finger, “wanted me to give you this.” She slides him a piece of receipt paper with a name and number scrawled across it.

“Thank you,” Marcus responds, but there’s not enough infliction in his voice to determine how he feels about it.

As soon as the bartender leaves our line of sight, Troy slaps the back of his hand against Marcus' chest. “Dude. Everything good starts with a piece of receipt paper.”

Maci grins. “That’s only in bartender romances, Troy.”

Troy waves her off with a flick of his wrist. “Come on. This could be it for him.”

“You know nothing about her, man,” Marcus chimes in.

“Well, you’ll find out once you call her,” Maci assures. “Did you ever go on that date with the girl Lexy set you up with?”

Marcus sighs. “Yeah. She was cool but not cool with how much I work.”

“See!” Troy smacks his hand on the bar top. “I’m not the only one who thinks you need to take a vacation.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that would quite do the trick.”

“You’re never going to meet someone if you don’t make the time,” Dean adds.

“Make the time? I’m talking to two guys who knew the second they met their girl,” Marcus says, reaching for his hot sake and taking a sip.

“Hey! Technically, it was the second time,” Troy counters.

“Look, I’ll make the time when I find someone who is worth it.” Everyone else is amused, but the conversation seems to be putting Marcus on edge. I don’t think it's the teasing, though. I wonder if he genuinely wishes he had a girlfriend. It’s kind of hot that he seems to want to settle down.

“We just want you to be happy, Marcus,” Maci says, her voice soft and sweet as she looks at him on the other side of Dean.

“Yeah.” His single word attempts to end the discussion despite me wishing someone would share more insight.

“At least call her?” Maci presses, raising her own white ceramic sake shot glass to her lips.

Marcus nods, adding nothing as he adjusts his chopsticks in his hands before dipping them into the broth.

Maci turns to me, adjusting her own chopsticks. The boys engage in another conversation, but Maci still lowers her voice. “I feel bad. He does try to find a girlfriend. He’s agreed to nearly every date Lexy and I have set him up on.”

I have a hard time believing the man couldn’t get a date on his own. Has he looked in the mirror? I glance past Maci, getting a clean peripheral view of Marcus even with Dean in between. His scruff is clean cut, his hair tied back neatly, both drawing attention to his sharp jaw. “He just has terrible luck? I mean, he got a phone number tonight from a stranger without trying.”

“He does fit dates into his schedule somehow, but I think he’s picky because he never goes on a second date. Plus, the work thing is spot on. Trying to spend a solid amount of time with him is like trying to parallel park in downtown Portland. It’s either impossible or takes multiple tries.”

“Didn’t he just go on a camping trip?”

“Yeah. But that’s been a standing tradition for him, Dean and their friend Aden since they were in high school. If he tried to bail, they’d kick his ass.” She laughs, spooning a bite of ramen into her mouth.

“It seems like he wants to find someone, though?” I feel bad talking about him when he’s only a few seats away, but my curiosity is getting the best of me. I’ve only had a good impression of the man so far. I can’t imagine it would be hard for him to find a girlfriend, despite his work ethic.

She finishes chewing. “I’m convinced he does. We still have seven months until our wedding, but since it’s intimate and international, we’ve been trying to nail down the accommodations. The other day I asked him if he was going to bring a date. He said he doesn’t have anyone he’d want to invade our circle, so he’d rather bring no one. But I can tell that sometimes he feels lonely when he’s the third wheel–that he wishes that wasn’t the case. Are you going to bring someone?”

“Am I going to bring someone to Australia, where arguably the hottest men on the planet live?” I chuckle, swirling the sake in my glass. “Kidding. The last thing I need is to fall in love with someone who doesn’t live near me. If we’re the only ones riding solo, Marcus and I can keep each other company, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, it’ll be nice that he’s met you now. Weddings are the best with the right people.” She spins her engagement ring with her thumb. “Have you ever considered getting married? For real this time.”

“I don’t think so. My experience with Beau was really traumatizing. The prenup process alone was a nightmare. The way Beau’s parents sat across the conference table from me, eyes flitting back and forth between me, the lawyer and the contract, making sure I knew my place in his life, was enough to make me want to steer clear of marriage. I get there are expectations in every relationship, but it feels like too many rules and extra paperwork to complicate things for no reason. That’s not what love should be about.”

“It would be different with the right person. Unless you stumble into another millionaire, which doesn’t seem likely based on how much you avoid them.”

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