Page 106 of Love Not Qualified

“How am I so lucky to have you?” I whispered in her hair.

Merielle broke the hug, staring at me. “Because everyone else was lucky enough to have you.”

I gulped, looking to the side as I hugged myself. “Not David.”

She sighed. “He’s starting to let me in. Last night we slept together in the same bed. We’ll recover from this, Hae.” She offered me a smile I couldn’t return.

“Does he know you’re here?”

“Yes, despite what you think, he cares about you a lot. He forced me to come and check on you.”

I smiled. I missed the douchebag. “Tell me when he’s ready for a visit.”

I letmy eyes wander on either side of me, not understanding why a luxurious restaurant was empty. It was placed on a main street in Los Angeles where the roads were filled with civils and visitors. I was the only one there in the very center of it, dressed in a black strapless dress and a top coat that did nothing to keep me warm on the way here. Merielle drove me, but that didn’t make the wind outside merciful.

She never mentioned who I was about to have a date with. I just hoped she didn’t try to hook me up with a mafia member or anything like that, because judging by the way this place looked, it wasn’t for clean money pockets.

I dragged a breath, playing with the fingers inside my lap. Since I stepped out of Merielle’s car, I had a feeling. I couldn’t decide yet whether something bad or good was about to happen.

All I knew was that my stomach sunk and butterflies flew the moment the realization that I was about to have a date set in.

A sigh fell past my lips. I was here for almost twenty minutes now—Merielle made sure I wasn’t late—and I started to question if the anonymous man was going to appear or not.

When I stretched my hand to grab the phone on the table so I could check the time, I frowned at the unknown notification on the screen. I brought the device closer, my heart skipping a beat when I recognized the logo of the app.

It was from Unlock, but I was certain I had deleted it once Tristan and I ended things.

A gut feeling swirled in me while I ran my eyes over the words.

You got a new match!Click here to see your date.

I wasn’tsure if it was right of me to check it, but since it mentioned date, I had a feeling the man I was supposed to meet that night arranged it all. So with a deep breath, I touched the notification which then opened a tab on a chat. The person on the other end already had a name and I held back a shiver at seeing it.

Tristan Graves.

My stomach made a twirl and my legs tightened over each other as I read his name over and over. What was he doing? Was he my date?

Before I could think much of it, three bubbles appeared on a screen, followed by a message.

Tristan Graves

Hello. I know we don’t know each other and that this might sound strange, but let’s do something crazy.

I checked my surroundings before letting out a small smile.

What was he doing?

Not knowing what else to do, I tried to go back in time to that day when I first downloaded the app. When I neverknew someone called Chad Bitt, when I was never hired at the Graves Company, and when I didn’t experience the worst kind of betrayal.

To my surprise, the idea excited me. Shivers ran down my spine and my bottom lip was caught between my teeth as I typed back a reply.

Me

like what?

It felt good to let go for once.

Tristan Graves

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