Page 23 of Fixing Up My Love Life

I freeze.

Jessica gasps. “Oh my gosh—it’s Jack. Tell me it’s him.”

“I—” My mouth opens, but I don’t even bother denying it. My face says it all.

They squeal in unison.

“She made the face!” Michelle sings. “The ‘I kissed him and I’m pretending I didn’t enjoy it’ face.”

“I did not make a face!”

“Yousodid,” Jessica says, eyes sparkling. “You matched with him, hired him, and kissed him? That’s a small-town Hallmark plot with bonus heat.”

My cheeks flush. “It was just one kiss. And it didn’t mean anything.”

Amber snorts. “Oh honey, that’s exactly what people say right before it meanseverything.”

Michelle leans in. “So are you two, like, a thing?”

I shake my head, twisting the stem of my glass. “I don’t know what we are. It’s... complicated.”

Jessica waggles her brows. “Complicated with kissing. Sounds promising.”

“Okay, but seriously—what’s going on?” Amber asks. “There’s something you’re not telling us.”

I glance down at the popcorn bowl. “It’s just… when he saw Mads, he kind of panicked.”

Jessica tilts her head. “Panicked how? Did she throw a rock at him or something?”

“No. Nothing like that.” I hesitate, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

Michelle softens. “Hazel?”

I take a breath. “He thought she might be his.”

They all freeze.

Amber nearly drops her wine. “Shut. Up.”

“I know Mads looks like me, but there’s no way. She’s Anthony’s. And the timeline doesn’t even work.”

Jessica nods quickly. “Right—you got pregnant a year into your marriage. I remember that.”

“I told him that, but he didn’t know at first. He just saw her and jumped to the worst conclusion.”

Amber presses a hand to her chest. “Oh no. Poor guy.”

“Yeah,” I say quietly. “I think it rattled him more than he expected.”

“So… from child panic to lip lock?” Michelle prompts. “That’s quite a leap.”

I shrug. “After we talked it through, something shifted. He got quiet. I felt… pulled toward him. And before I could overthink it, I kissed him.”

“You kissedhim?” Jessica grins. “You legend.”

“But then I panicked,” I add quickly. “And left him standing there on the beach.”

“Youwhat?” Amber shrieks.

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