Page 79 of The Snuggle is Real
“Ford? Are you okay?”
His voice was perplexed, as if he couldn’t imagine a reason why I’d call him. Which was fair. I hadn’t called since…well, not since we were dealing with my sister’s belongings in the weeks after she’d died.
“Yeah, I…” I stopped and cleared my throat. “Sorry for calling out of the blue. I had a question.”
“Okay.”
“It’s about your matchmaking service.”
“Oh, did you want to sign up? I’ve got a new website for it. I’d love to help match you with someone.”
“No, I… I was just wondering about one of your clients.”
“Well, that’s confidential.”
“It’s just that Mason is a…friend of mine.” I shifted and cleared my throat. “I want to make sure this date he’s going on is safe.”
“I vet all my clients, and they always meet at a public place. Mason will be fine. He’s a sweetheart, and he totally deserves love. Honestly, I think the date I’ve got lined up is going to find him adorable.”
My hand tightened on the phone. For some reason, Nick’s use of the wordadorablegot under my skin. That wasmyword for Mason. I didn’t want some asshole blind date thinking it.
“You’ve got a date for him? Who?”
“I can’t tell you that,” Nick said.
“Then tell me when and where, at least. So I can go…keep an eye on them and make sure Mason is okay.”
That sounded reasonable, right?
Nick didn’t take the bait. “Sorry, can’t do that either.”
“Then what good are you?” I snapped.
“Wow,” Nick said quietly.
Guilt hit me like a ton of bricks. I winced. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.”
“Maybe you did. This is the first time you’ve wanted to talk to me in a long time.”
“Yeah, I know. Shit. I just… Seeing you just makes me think of Nicole and how she’s not beside you. It’s hard.”
“I know,” he said softly. “It hasn’t been easy for me either.”
“Yeah. I’ve been a miserable bastard to everyone for too long. I’m starting to see that.”
“Charlie has been good for you,” Nick said.
I smiled. “Yeah, she has.”
“And Mason?” he asked tentatively. “Has he been good for you too?”
I tensed up, but hell, Nick had the right to ask after my absurd phone call demanding answers. “I think so. Maybe. I don’t know. I’m kind of confused.”
He chuckled. “I kind of thought you might be. You seemed like maybe you were a little upset he was going on a date?”
“Uh, well…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I shouldn’t be.”
“Why not?”
