Page 5 of Matched with Her Fake Fiance

“Here is my card,” I say, stretching out my hand to Miles. “Please call me with the price of the dry cleaning and I’ll pay it. Or I can pick up the suit and take it to the dry cleaners for you.”

Miles’s slight smile appears again, and he shakes his head. “That won’t be necessary. I can clean a suit.”

“But I’m the one who ruined it.” In a bold move, I step forward and tuck the card into the front pocket of his coat, patting it a couple times as if he needs to keep it safe. It’s about the only place the sticky dark liquid isn’t still clinging to.

It’s only then that I glance behind him to see no evidence of Amber or Cameron.

“Where did they go?” I ask, waving behind him.

“Probably to hook up somewhere else.” Miles sits down and pulls the napkin down onto his lap.

I frown, trying to put the scene all together. “You’re going to eat after all that? What about the stickiness?” I glance over at his suit and cringe.

He shrugs. “Why not? I was planning on breaking up with Amber soon anyway. She just made it that much easier for me. And my food is here. Might as well eat.”

His nonchalance to the whole ordeal has me wondering if I’ve missed an important step in life. Is it really okay not to spiral downward after a breakup? Even if the relationship is short-lived?

The server comes back with a box and the ticket.

“Thank you.” I take the box and place it next to my plate. I have to hunt for my card again, finding it on the floor under the table. I must’ve dropped it when I’d decided to throw a beverage. By the time I glance up, our server is gone.

“I just wanted to pay for this and go home,” I mumble.

Miles shakes his head. “You might as well eat it now. It won’t be as good once you make it home.”

He’s probably right. The smell of the food makes my stomach rumble and I pick up my fork, deciding I’ll eat a little bit until our server appears again.

And here I sit, on a pseudo-blind date.

Not how I thought tonight would turn out.

CHAPTER2

Miles

My life has always been strange, but I never thought I’d be the victim of a Dr Pepper drive-by. Even after I made it home, and showered, I kept finding sticky spots just about everywhere. Getting soda out of my hair was the worst.

I’ve already dropped off the suit at the dry cleaners the next day and smile on my way to watch one of my best friends play hockey for the Boston Breeze.

The woman last night had spunk. I can’t help but laugh as I think about it. She probably didn’t know who I was, but then again, she hadn’t said anything when Amber announced my name and rank, as though we were in a period drama.

And yet, she still offered to pay the dry cleaning bill. I can’t say that’s ever happened to me before.

It had taken stealth to hand the server my card while she’d been rooting around under the table to retrieve hers. We’d even had a substantial conversation about things besides fashion and money before I had to box up her date’s food and tell her the bill had already been taken care of.

The fact she turned down the salad makes me like her even more. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy a good salad from time to time. I’ve just been out with women who take two bites and say they’re full. Maybe I’ve just been striking out when it comes to the right woman. If only there was a surefire way to figure out the best type for me, I’d be all over it.

Most women only see me for dollar signs since my family‘s company hit the billion-dollar range. It gets old not being able to trust people. If only everyone could be as honest as Dani was last night. She didn’t treat me different than the rest of the people there, and she was polite to the server, which is new territory for my dates. Not that it was a date, but it had the ambience of one.

At the end of the night, she said goodbye and headed toward the train. I couldn’t believe she’d turned down my offer to drop her off, but it was just one more reason why I was intrigued by her. At least I didn’t have to put up with Amber’s antics for one more night.

Best break-up ever.

I come back to the present and walk into the suite near the corner of the arena for the Breeze. One of my good friends from high school, Trey Hatch, was drafted by the Chicago Tornadoes a year out of high school. After five seasons there, he’d been traded up to the Breeze the year before. Having him back completed our friend group.

My two other good friends, Jack and Spencer, are here. Spence was once a child star who’s been trying to figure out what to do with his life ever since. He’s worked on several voice-over jobs for a few animated films that have come out recently.

And Jack is the same old Jack, always joking and giving everyone a hard time. He and Trey are the most alike in that way. If it was possible, he could make sarcasm his day job. He went against his mother’s wishes and became a vet, finishing two years ago.

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