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It was like she could read the meaning beneath that and see the things I didn’t say—there wasn’t anyone I’d been interested in asking. Or, maybe, more specifically, there wasn’t anyone Icouldask that I’d be interested in taking. If I had the time to get into it and cared to discuss it with her, I would have assured her that she wasn’t the only one bothered by that.
Doing what I did for a living, solving cases and uncovering mysteries, I wondered if this was something I should take a deeper dive into. I excelled at my job. Maybe I needed to put my skills to good use and figure out why I was still single.
“That’s such a shame, Landen. You look so handsome.”
My lips twitched. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be alright, though. It’s not like I don’t know anybody there.”
“Who knows? Maybe you’ll meet someone there.” I could hear the hope in her tone and knew she was saying what she had to, just to make herself feel better. While this was the extent of what she did to indicate she wanted to see me find someone and fall in love, I knew it bothered her that it hadn’t happened yet.
I’d been twenty-three when my dad died, so the lack of a serious romantic relationship then didn’t seem like such a big deal. But as the years passed, and I still hadn’t found someone, I knew my mom was thinking about allthe things she’d experienced with my dad that I hadn’t yet.
It wasn’t like I didn’t want that.
I did.
In fact, I’d made valiant attempts over the years. I’d had a few women I’d gone on dates with, some more than others. And while it had been fun enough—the women were great—none of them appealed to me the way I thought they should if I was truly interested in findingthe one.
I had no interest in settling, so if it took me another two or three years to find her, I was going to wait. I didn’t need to rush something or force a situation that didn’t feel right. I could be patient. But since I knew my mom was hoping things would change soon, I couldn’t bring myself to share that.
“You might be right, Mom. There are single people at weddings, so it’s entirely possible.”
“Fair enough. And if not, maybe you’ll consider a blind date…” she teased.
I walked away from in front of the fireplace while shaking my head. “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. I have to get going, if I’m going to make it there before the bride walks down the aisle.”
“Okay, Landen. Have a good time tonight. And thank you, again, for bringing the doughnuts.”
Wrapping my arms around her, I said, “You’re welcome. I’ll talk to you later this coming week.”
“Sounds good. Enjoy yourself.”
“I will.”
A moment later, I was out the door and on my way to the wedding.
“The ceremony was so beautiful. I don’t know how I didn’t totally destroy my makeup.”
One of my coworkers and fellow private investigators, Blaze, leaned to his right and kissed his wife on her cheek. “Emotional or not, you look stunning as ever, Harlow.”
She tipped her chin down, smiling, and leaned into him.
An unfamiliar pang of jealousy washed over me. I’d attended enough weddings recently for nearly all my coworkers, so it wasn’t unusual for me to see each of the guys interacting with the woman in their life. It hadn’t ever bothered me, had never led to me feeling any sense of envy.
Until now.
Until today.
But maybe that was because I had no choice but to realize precisely what the situation was for me now.
“It was breathtaking,” Reagan sighed. She was seated beside Harlow, but the space between their chairs was more than it had been when we arrived at the reception. No doubt it was my closest friend, Hart, who’d made that happen. He’d dragged Reagan’s chair so close to his, they were practically touching.
With his arm draped over the top of her shoulders, Hart pressed his lips to the side of her head near her temple. “Now you can understand how I feel every time I look at you.”
That was it.
That right there was the one thing that made itimpossible not to notice that I might have made a mistake in attending this wedding alone.
Hart Anderson was in love.
