Page 23 of The Problem with Dating

“That’s Yara Kingsley.” She clapped her hands, seemingly giddy that I was asking about the woman. “Oh, you have to meet her. I can introduce you if—”

“I don’t want to meet her,” I snipped.

“Then why are you asking about her?”

“People in town seem fond of her.”

“Well, of course they are. SheisYara. What’s not to like?”

Plenty, I imagine.

“Ohhhh!” Tatiana wore a goofy grin and nudged me in the arm. “Does someone have a crush on her?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I was curious about who she was, that’s all.”

“Why weren’t you curious about anyone else on the street? Many people are around.”

But they aren’t her.

Why was I curious about her? Why did she stand out so much more than all those others who seemed so black and white compared to her? It was as if she’d rolled in every color in the rainbow while the rest of the world around her remained dull. Maybe that was why I was curious. I understood dullness. I knew mundane and muted. Yara seemed to be none of that. She felt like light, which bothered me because I was so used to the darkness.

I grumbled and rolled my eyes. “I stepped in her dog’s crap the other day. I wondered why so many people like a woman like her.”

“Oh, it must’ve been an odd occurrence for you to step in her dog’s poop. Yara is a big activist about cleaning up after people’s pets. She volunteers to clean it up at the dog park three days a week. That’s Yara for you. She’s so sweet. Andsingle,” she added in, singing the last word.

I arched an eyebrow. “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Emphasize the word single.”

“Oh. Did I do that?”

“You did. You saidsingle.”

“Well, I figured you might want to know that information.”

“Why would I care that she’s single?”

I wouldn’t.

I don’t.

Tatiana smiled as if she believed differently. “All I’m saying is, I wouldn’t judge you for having a crush on her.”

“Why would I have a crush on her? I didn’t even know her name until five seconds ago.”

“Because Yara Kingsley is quite crushable. If it weren’t for her annoying ex-husband, she’d probably have men lining up outside her door for a date.”

“Annoying ex?”

“Cole. He’s the chief of police in town. Between you and me, I’m not a fan after how he did Yara so wrong in their marriage, but you know. He’s the head of the unspoken boys’ club.”

“What does that mean?”

“You know those people who never grow out of their frat-boy era? The boys will be boys clan? That’s Cole, but he only got worse with age. I can’t prove it, but I feel like he got every guy in town to do some kind of weird bro-code thing where they’d refused to date sweet Yara after she filed for divorce.”

So she married the chief I’d run into earlier that week. That made sense. If she found a way to like him enough to lead to marriage, her taste in things was way off. I knew I didn’t like her for a reason.

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