Page 47 of Worth the Chase

“Anyway, I just thought you should know all that because I’m not sure he’d tell you.”

“Thank you. I really do appreciate it.”

“Good. So, what are you going to wear?” she asked before making a face that let me know she was genuinely excited for me.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, even though I had a few dresses in mind.

“Whatever you wear will be a hit. Have a great time. And by the way, I’m really happy it’s you. I always thought Matthew liked you. Even when we were kids,” she said before pulling open the heavy screen door and leaving me alone with my thoughts.

Why had everyone been doing that to me lately?

I stood there for a few seconds before I headed back in to chat with Anna. The sound of glass breaking diverted my attention, and I wondered for a split second if I should cancel and make sure the rest of the glasses stayed safe.

“Sorry,” Anna apologized as I walked quickly toward her and two older men. “That one actually wasn’t my fault,” she explained as soon as I reached her.

“We collided, and I knocked it out of her hand,” one of the men said.

“It’s okay. Happens all the time.” I smiled even though it had been happening way more than it should whenever Anna was behind the bar.

Anna poured another beer and yelled, “Incoming!” before sliding the glass toward the man, who laughed in response to her over-the-top declaration.

“You sure you’re okay to work the whole shift alone?” I wasn’t sure if I was asking to genuinely help or if I was subconsciously looking for any excuse to get out of this date.

“I’ll be fine. Zero chance I’m letting you cancel tonight. Not when we’ve been waiting our whole lives for this!” she exclaimed loudly, and I tried to shush her.

I couldn’t help but giggle at the wholewepart. But she wasn’t wrong. We had been dreaming about this forever. Well,Ihad. But she’d always been by my side.

Anna put up a hand. “Before you even ask, black dress. The fitted one with the open back and the thigh-high slit. Heels as tall as you can walk in. That man towers over you. Every inch counts.”

I pressed my lips together in a tight line and gave her a single nod. That dress hadn’t been one of the three I was considering, but she was right. It was perfect. Sexy as hell. First date–worthy. Droolworthy.Make Matthew forget I told him I was a virginworthy.

“Don’t wait up,” I said, but Anna threw her head back and laughed.

“Ha! I will absolutely be waiting up. Are you kidding me?”

I knew she meant it too. There was zero chance that Anna would go to bed before I got home. She’d be waiting on the couch for me to come walking through our front door, regardless of the time. That was what best friends did. And like she’d just said, we’d been waiting for this date our whole lives.

HER LAST FIRST DATE

MATTHEW

Bells is avirgin.

No matter how hard I tried to not fixate on that fact about her, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. How the hell was that even possible? I had no idea, but I planned on finding out later tonight. I was sure it made me some kind of asshole to be thinking this way, but putting it out of my head and not asking at least a few questions felt impossible to do.

I almost called my brothers on a three-way chat to talk it out, but telling them something that personal about Bells felt wrong. It wasn’t my place, so when I had Patrick’s number pulled up on my phone, I quickly put it right back down.

I could do this.

I didn’t need my brothers to tell me that I was being an idiot and how her virginity didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Or at all. They’d tell me that it had nothing to do with me before asking if it changed my feelings for her or not. I’d get annoyed and tell them both no. That I still wanted her just as badly as I had before. Then, I’d admit that it made me feel relieved that no man had ever touched her in that way, and one of them, probably Thomas, would call me a hypocrite before ending the call.

There.

Conversation had.

I felt better already.

Walking into my closet in the condo, I shoved at the clothes that were in the way as I reached for my old suits. I’d worn these on travel days when I played hockey. We always dressed up. I always looked the best.

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