Page 21 of Third Time Lucky

Tanner is beautiful, with dark hair, dimples, tan skin, and big brown eyes staring at me in a way that I haven’t experienced in many months. Is he undressing me? Or admiring me? The line is fine.

‘She says “thank you,”’ Madi says, kicking me from under the table. ‘Tanner, this is Lucy Gray. She’s in her thirty, flirty and thriving era as of sixty days ago and beyond single. You two should definitely chat while I run to the little girls’ room.’

With that, she stands from her seat, offering it to Tanner, who happily sits.

On her way to the bathroom, she glances back and mouths the words, ‘Talk to him – he’s cute.’

Oh my God. She set this up.

‘Lucy Gray,’ Tanner repeats. ‘That’s a good name.’

I laugh nervously. ‘I’ve got no complaints about it.’

But I do have a complaint for my BFF for once again setting me up and surprising me. She did this with Gabe a few months ago, only he met us at a nightclub when she insisted I drag myself out of bed, dress up and go out. ‘Out is good for depression,’ she claimed. It wasn’t. Gabe called me every day for weeks after I’d had one too many cocktails and let the guy kiss me. Big mistake. Total turd. Terrible kisser. She means well, but her matchmaking ways have been revoked after Brandon and Gabe, so pass.

‘Ladies.’ Our waiter stops at our table, second glancing Tanner sitting where Madi was, carefully setting four desserts and two fresh drinks down, filling our small table.

‘Wow. You two have a sweet tooth, eh?’ Tanner asks, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a wallet. ‘How about I just leave you with this and say – call me sometime?’ He hands a business card my way.

I take the card and read the words to myself. ‘Tanner Scott – Attorney at Law.’ Ugh. Of course, he is. He’s dressed to the nines, professional and gorgeous, I should have guessed. Please, Lord, don’t let my father find this business card.

‘Maybe?’

‘Call me maybe?’ he says with a smirk, lifting his phone to his ear.

Now it’s awkward.

‘Yeah… I’m not gonna lie, you’re very pretty. However, I’m sort of on a dating hiatus right now, bu?—’

‘Buuuut,’ Madi comes buzzing back over as if she wasn’t in the bathroom at all but hovering somewhere just out of sight listening. ‘She’ll reconsider that and shoot you a text in the coming days. Sound good?’

‘My phone’s always on,’ he says, winking.

Tanner looks like he doesn’t get shot down a lot, but he doesn’t press and just waves before leaving the restaurant altogether.

‘Did you set this up?’ I ask Madi as she sits back down, her eyes on the chocolate in front of us.

‘What?’ she asks, her tone saying everything. ‘I don’t even know the guy.’

‘Might I remind you that lying well doesn’t run in your family?’ I say, noticing the flash of stormy waters in her eyes. ‘I told you, Mads, you’re banned from all future set-ups. You’re two to zero, my heart is long gone, and I’m over dating. Romance or love or even a strong liking – whatever you want to call it – I’m no longer looking for it.’

‘You’re officially on a man ban?’

Ooh. I like that. I nod. ‘That’s right. From here on out, man ban. Got it?’

‘Fine,’ she says with a sigh. ‘But for the record, that one found you.’

‘No,’ I say, pretty sure I’m right about this. ‘At some point in the not-so-distant past, I’d bet money Tanner Scott found you, and you thought of me, and here we are.’

She laughs, stabbing her fork into one of her desserts. ‘You’re having some wild thoughts. Now, catch up to me; I’ve already started my second drink. And don’t lose that card. One night at two in the morning, you’ll think of Tanner, and from my lips to your ears, he’s not opposed to booty calls.’

‘For the record, if I booty call him, you start looking for love.’

Her smirk says everything – that is never ever happening.

I drop my head toward the ground with a groan. ‘The fact that he pulled off chivalry so well when all he wants is to get laid is a tad disturbing. How is a woman ever supposed to trust again?’

‘They can’t all be gentlemen,’ she says through a bite of chocolate ganache that she closes her eyes for. ‘Sometimes we need someone to ravish us to remember how we should be worshipped.’

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