Page 46 of Dashing for Love

Oh. “Nothing.” The word is soft as I speak.

Agatha keeps going. “Do you think it might be worth the risk?” She takes another sip of coffee and regards me. “Besides, can you really go the rest of your life looking at Matty and knowing it was the two of you this whole time? What happens when he finds someone else?”

A sense of irrational possession and jealousy spears through me. Fuck that.Fuckthat.

“You’re right.”

She looks at my phone, then at me. “So?”

I pull the phone toward me and click on the app, then navigate to the messages. His last words stare back at me.

If we’re going to keep doing this, I think it’s time to start telling each other the truth.

Not that I’ve been untruthful exactly, but there are things about me that I’ve definitely withheld out of a desire to be safe. And I don’t want to be safe with you anymore.

The ball is in your court, Dawn.

I hope I hear back from you.

“Am I doing this?” I ask Agatha.

“Yes.” Her tone brooks no argument. Leave it to me to get the best advice from a seventy-something.

DAWN

I’m sorry I haven’t replied. I’ve been entirely freaked out, too. But I’m ready to tell you everything. To start, I already know who you are.

Who you really are.

I knew who you were the second I saw you at the Ball.

The dots on Matty’s side almost immediately start up. I squeal and drop the phone. Agatha looks over to read it, too.

JAMES

You know my name?

You’re Matty Brodigan.

How’d you know?

Biting my lip and looking at Agatha, I decide to be truthful.

Your boots were a dead giveaway. And your eyes.

Seconds pass.

A minute.

Agatha groans in frustration. “What’s with the little dots?”

“It means he’s typing a response.”

“Well, what’s the hold-up? Is the man typing one-handed?”

I laugh. “Welcome to the wonderful world of online dating, Agatha. It’s brutal.”

She sniffs. “If it weren’t Matty on the other end, I’d be figuring out another man to set you up with.”

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