Page 39 of That One Heartbreak

Her cheeks were bright pink. “I’m sorry. I can’t believe Shana got you involved in this. I’m sure there’s some place else you’d rather be on a Friday night than here, talking about dating apps.”

Right now he’d rather be stabbing his eyes with knives. “Nope, it’s good I’m here,” he said gruffly. Mostly because if she was going on a date he wanted to know with who.

Because he was Paul’s friend, that was all. He just needed to make sure she did this safely.

Nothing more, nothing less.

So why wasn’t the annoyance disappearing?

Kate had her hair in a simple ponytail, revealing the sculpted features of her face. If she was wearing any makeup, he couldn’t see it.

“I didn’t download the app,” Kate told him. “Shana did. I’m not even that interested. I don’t want you to think I’m disrespecting Paul.”

He kept his face expressionless. “Of course I don’t.”

“Or that I’m moving on too quickly.”

“It’s none of my business, Kate.” It really wasn’t. He just needed to get that through his thick skull. “And nobody would blame you for moving on. It’s been two years.”

Her eyes caught his. “So do you think I should go on a date?” she asked softly.

Fuck, no he didn’t.

“I think you should do what’s best for you.”

She pulled her gaze from his, a frown playing at her lips. “I don’t know. It’s all so weird. And I don’t know if it’s a good idea to go on a date with a stranger.”

Of course it wasn’t. It was the first sensible thing she’d said. He opened his mouth to agree and then regretted the thought immediately.

“I’ll tell you what,” he said, the words coming out before he could stop them. “I’ll come with and sit in the corner if you’d like. Wherever you go. Just as some support.”

The backdoor opened and Shana walked back out, carrying her phone that was now attached to her battery pack with an umbilical cord-like charging lead.

“Who’s going to sit in the corner?” Shana asked.

“Marley. He says he’ll be my bodyguard if I go on a date.” She glanced at him and he shrugged. Because there was no way he was going to let her know that the thought of her dating another guy felt like some kind of painful purgatory.

She should be dating. She should be getting out there.

But with me.

He pushed that thought out of his head. Because he couldn’t do that. Not to her, not to Paul.

What kind of sick fucker would go after Paul’s widow, anyway?

Shana’s eyes widened. “Oh no, that’s not happening,” she told Marley. “Look at you.” She put her hand on his chest. “You’re huge and gorgeous. You’d put any guy off. The date would be doomed before it started.”

“Why would I put somebody off?” Though, yeah, the thought had occurred to him. “I’ll just be the muscle in the corner in case of any problems.”

“That,” Shana said, jabbing her finger into his pectoral muscle. “Ow. But yeah, that’s exactly what I mean. If you hang around they’ll think you have some kind of claim on her. Look at you with those steel clad biceps. You’d send him running.”

“Maybe that’s a good thing,” Kate muttered. For some reason she looked annoyed.

Shana lifted a brow. “No it isn’t.”

“What if I don’t want to go on the date alone? The first one at least?” Kate asked her friend.

“Then I’ll come too,” Shana said, sighing. “I’m good at blending into the background. Unlike some.”

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