Page 10 of The Valentine's Bet

Weston chuckles. “It’s just a joke, man.”

“Love shouldn’t be determined by finances,” Mia chimes. “I got with John when he was living in that decrepit apartment in the Bronx—withsixroommates.”

“And it was rat-infested,” John adds.

She shudders. “Don’t remind me.”

I laugh. “I know. I was oneof those roommates. It’s rough to be a fresh college graduate living on crumbs.”

“But look at us now,” John says, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose. “We make quadruple what we started at.”

I nod. “With a decent retirement.”

“Which is why I think it’s about time we set the wedding date.” John looks over at Mia, a gaudy smile on his face. “Don’t you?”

Her face lights up. “Really?”

“Yeah, and I’ve been looking at some places on the Upper East Side. With the raise I just got, we could comfortably afford them.”

I swear, it looks like Mia is about to pass out from excitement, her blue eyes blazing and cheeks growing red. I block them out, my eyes shifting to the window and out across the dark streets.

“Dude.” Weston elbows me. “What’s wrong with you tonight?”

“Nothing.” I shift my gaze back to him. “Just been a long day, I guess.”

“It’s your sister, isn’t it?”

I shake my head. “Britt’s always gotta learn things the hard way. But she never listens to my advice, so I’m not getting involved in her terrible life choices.”

“You should see atherapist,” he says, his tone flat. I can’t tell if he’s joking or being serious, but either way, I’ve seen plenty of therapists over my lifetime with all the divorce and dysfunction in my family. And while I’ve come a long way, I know I’ve still got some issues...

“So,” Weston continues when I don’t reply. “There’s another singles event tomorrow night that I signed the two of us up for.”

“Ooh!Really? What’s this one?” Mia exclaims. “Y’all know I used tolovegoing to those. As a small-town girl from Texas in the big city, I couldn’t figure out howto connect in this place.”

“And it’s a good thing you went to that one in Soho.” John nudges her. “Otherwise, I never would’ve gotten my five minutes to shoot my shot.”

“See.” Weston elbows me again. “Itdoeswork.”

I roll my eyes. “These two are an anomaly, and you know that.”

“It was just meant to be.” Mia sighs, looking up at her fiancé. “I knew it the moment we—”

“Okay, that’s enough,” I cut them off. “We’ve heard the story a million times.”

“What’s one more?” John chuckles. “But really, what event did you sign up for this time?”

“It’s the one where you go on four thirty-minute blind dates,” Weston answers, and my insides internally catch on fire with dread.

“You didn’t seriously sign me up, did you?” I groan, running my fingers through my hair. “Those events are the worst. Thirty minutes iswaytoo much time to have to spend with someone—foursomeones.”

“Oh, stop being such a turd about it.” Mia waves me off. “One of these days, you’re going to stumble upon the right person, and it’ll all be worth it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I don’t know how you’ve made it this far with such a gloomy, freaking outlook on life,” Mia adds, pursing her red lips.

“Idon’thave a gloomy outlook on life,” I correct her. “I’m actually really freaking happy with my life, thank you very much. I’m just a realist when it comes torelationships, and I don’t want one.”

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