Page 22 of April

“To lunch?”

“It’s not a big deal, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I texted Jill last night before I came here to see if she wanted to grab lunch. She messaged back after I fell asleep that she’s free today, so I’m going to meet her in the Square, and we’re driving to Mac’s because it’s not in any tourist guide and we have a decent chance of getting a table before we both have to get back to work.”

“Oh,” Asher said and turned away.

“Yeah. It’s not a big deal, Ash. Just testing the waters a little. We’ve not hung out alone, really, so I thought it would be a good idea to get lunch. It’s not truly a date that way, and if it’s awful, we’d know. And if it’s good, we can maybe go for dinner or something.”

“Makes sense,” Asher said as she headed into the living room. “I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Hey, I know you think she’s too young for me,” Linden said, following her. “And maybe she is, but I just want to find out.”

“Because the kiss wasthatgood?”

“Itwasgood, yes.”

“Well, I’m glad for you, then,” she replied and took a drink of the too-hot coffee, burning her tongue slightly.

“It’s just lunch. Nothing to be glad about yet,” Linden said. “Do you want me to bring you something back from Mac’s? I know how much you love their shrimp.”

“No, I have a lunch thing today, too,” she lied, picking her phone up off the table.

“Oh. Okay,” Linden said. “Hey, that thing we were talking about last night…”

“What thing?” she asked as she shoved her phone into her purse.

“You know, that thing where you kind of came out to me.”

“Oh,” Asher said, turning toward her. “What about it?”

“Well, you said you wanted my help.”

“I was drunk.”

“While you were upstairs, I borrowed your phone,” Linden said as she sat down on the sofa. “You can delete it.”

“Delete what, Linden?” Asher stared at her friend.

“The app.”

“What app?”

“The one I’m on. I made you a profile.” Linden smiled wide as a way of softening the blow. “Well, I started it. I didn’t finish it. It just has your name and that cute picture I have of you as your contact photo on my phone. The one with the–”

“You made me a profile on a dating app?” Asher asked, reaching into her purse for the phone she had just tossed in there.

“It’s not live yet. I just filled out a few things. You have to fill out the rest and decide if you want to just browse or accept messages.”

Asher sat down next to Linden on the sofa and said, “What? Browse? It’s not a department store, Linden.”

“I mean, it sort of is. You’re looking at profiles, swiping like you would on a rack at the store, and deciding if you like them.”

“I don’t know them.”

“You’d have their pictures and some details.”

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