Page 19 of The Valentine's Bet

“I was actually just leaving.”

“Perfect! Me, too.” She falls in step beside me as I try to make a beeline for the door. “Itotallyfound a connection on my fourth date. Did you?”

“Yep.”

Her mouth drops open. “Really? See, Iknewyou’d find someone. You just have to trust the process.”

“She didn’t show up.”

“Oh.” Her mouth clamps shut. “Well, still, I think you should keep trying. I mean, I found someone. You might, too.”

I stop as we step out onto the crowded street, pulling Amy off to the side. “What makes you think youactuallyfound someone tonight? Is it the fact you exchanged numbers?”

She narrows her eyes. “How did you even knowthat?”

I shrug. “You’re pretty loud about things.”

Her eyes widen. “Oh, wow. That’s so embarrassing.”

“It wasn’t that loud,” I say quickly, feeling guilty for exaggerating. “I was only a table over, so I saw it. But...” I pause, shoving my hands in my pockets. “Getting someone’s number doesn’t automatically mean that they’resomeoneyou’ll go out with.”

She huffs. “Well, he said we would.”

“A lot of guys say that.”

“Okay, well, I don’t know, but you could stand to have a little faith in humanity for once.” Amy nudges me. “You need to cheer up, buttercup.”

I raise a brow at her. “Idohave faith in humanity. I just don’t have faith in these kinds of events—or relationships in general. Especially these days. Everything is so shallow.”

She lets out a sharp exhale. “Well, I’ll prove you wrong. I’m going to find love, Parker. You’ll see.”

I laugh because her determination is over the top. “Whatever you say, Amy.”

“Where do you live?” she asks suddenly, glancing around us.

“I don’t typically give out my address to strangers.”

“Ha ha.” She rolls her eyes. “I was just going to suggest that if you live in the direction of Central Park, we could walk together. It’d be kind of nice not to have to walk alone at this time of night.”

“It’s only ten,” I reason, but then stop myself because she’s a single woman living alone in the city.I should probably make sure she gets home okay.“I’ll walk with you in that direction, though.”

“Really? Thank you.” She beams, pulling her gloves out of her coat pocket. “I don’t mind walking in the dark. I’m from Chicago. But I’m still getting used to the city streets and it can be a little intimidating at times.”

I nod, shifting uncomfortably as I catch sight of Weston stepping out. His eyes scan the street and then land on me ... and he smirks as he spots Amy beside me. I shoot back a warning glare and he holdsup his hands before turning and heading the opposite way—the actual direction where I live.

“So, what’s your favorite thing to do in the city?” Amy asks, grabbing my attention.

“Um.” I fall in step beside her. “I don’t know, really. I mean, I used to like to go out a lot, but these days I prefer to just hang out at home. I run.”

“You run?”

“Yeah, you know, like marathons.”

Her eyes rake over me. “You don’t look like a runner.”

“Wow, okay, well I also lift weights...” I add, growing defensive.

She laughs. “Ah, that makes sense, then. It’s just that you aren’t, like, superlean. You have some muscle.” She reaches up and squeezes my bicep.

---