Page 65 of The Sweet Spot

“Any duds?”

She frowns, thinking. “Maybe a couple, but no. Not really.”

“You’re adventurous. I like it.”I like you. “Brave.”

“Ha! Sometimes.” She glances down at the table, tracing her fingers over the white cloth. “I almost didn’t look for you on Instagram.”

“You needed bravery for that?” I tease.

She nods. “I didn’t want to seem pushy.”

“You’re the opposite of pushy, trust me,” I assure her, rubbing my thumb over her thigh. There’s denim between us, but I can feel the heat anyway.

“Well, and then there was the fact you had just broken up with someone. That kind of put New Year’s Eve into a whole new perspective for me.” Our eyes meet, and she drops her hand to mine. “I get why you didn’t want tostep on Dallas’ toes.”

“Honestly, stealing another guy’s girl has never been my style, no matter how much I like her.” I keep our gaze locked. “My dad messed around on my mom before they got divorced, and even though they weren’t that close anymore I saw how it affected her.”

“Wow. That…sucks.”

“Yeah. Anyway, things were especially fresh the weekend I saw you again.”

Wren cocks her head. “What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Katya pops up with the tsunami shrimp and two plates. “Enjoy!”

“Thanks,” I say, waiting until she’s gone before focusing on Wren. “I was dating this girl, Brooke, for about a year. Year and a half. We were exclusive, but I wouldn’t say it was love or anything. I mean, we hung out a lot and we’d met each other’s parents and she was always my plus one, stuff like that. We had a lot in common, but at the end of the day, I knew she wasn’ttheone.”

Wren stirs her drink with the bright pink metal straw they stuck into it. “You believe in that?”

“What, ‘the one’?”

She nods.

“I don’t know. Maybe we all have a few potentials.” Exhaling roughly, I tear my gaze from Wren’s and look at the table. “The thing is, even though it seemed good with Brooke for a long time, I had suspicions. Like, I could never put my finger on it, but I wondered sometimes if there was someoneelse.”

She sighs softly. “My mom always tells me to listen to my instincts, but that’s hard to do when you’re in a relationship. I think we see what we want to see.”

“We absolutely do.” I nod. “My boy Matt didn’t trust Brooke from the very beginning. He even told me, but I ignored him… until the night I caught my best friend coming out of her apartment.”

Wren’s eyes widen. “That’s so shitty.”

“Yup.”

She shakes her head, looking away. “I don’t know what’s worse…that she cheated or that it was with your best friend.”

“That’s what’s so fucked up.” I squeeze her hand. “Brooke didn’t break my heart. But Logan kind of did.”

“I’m so sorry, Luca,” Wren says, holding my hand with both of hers now. “No one deserves that. No one.”

“Yeah, so that’s the whole, sordid story.” Shrugging, I pick up a prawn and bite into it. “But enough of that. This shrimp, right here? This is amazing.”

“Don’t hog it! Let me try.” She lets go of me, allowing us to move on. “I love shrimp.”

Wren

There’s something really arousing about a delicious meal shared with one’s paramour.

Well, maybe Luca’s not my paramour, per se, but I’d like him to be.

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