Page 2 of My Grumpy Sweetheart
When I entered Dogtower Fitness that afternoon, there was a skip in my step. Well, to be honest, I was basically bouncing around rather than walking. I definitely needed my yoga class tonight; otherwise, I probably wouldn’t get even a minute of sleep.
“Hi, Mikey!” I said a little too loudly to one of the regulars currently sitting at the juice bar slurping something that looked like it’d already been eaten at least once. Mikey raised his hand to give me a short wave, but his eyes never left the book he was reading, so I didn’t think he’d enjoy my company.
Bummer.
Especially since I could tell him that the second book in the series — a very gruesome thriller — was even better than the first one and would be available next week. Also, he could win a signed paperback copy if he followed our Instagram account because there was this giveaway going on that’d gone live just… I looked at the big clock on the wall behind the bar… an hour ago.
But alas, I didn’t want to annoy him, so I went over to the multipurpose room the yoga class was taught in, hoping I’d find someone to talk to there. Seriously, I’d lose my damn fucking mind if I couldn’t tellsomeoneabout my promotion asap. Getting through the day without blurting it to some of my colleagues had been hard as hell.
Because this promotion thing? Was a-fucking-mazing.
Which was why I let out a little squeal upon entering the room, skipping over to my yoga instructor, Evan.
“Guess what?” I said, my smile stretching from ear to ear.
“Good afternoon, Bailey,” he said calmly, looking up from his phone in his zen way I admired the hell out of.
“Guess what?” I said again but didn’t wait for him to actually take a guess since I hadn’t told him about the position I’d applied for, so he couldn’t know the right answer, anyway. “I got a promotion. Like… a big one!” I rocked to my toes and jumped up and down. “Like Head of Social Media Marketing big; like… double my current salary big. Big big.”
It was unbelievable.
Evan ran one hand through his silky, black hair, pocketed his phone, and smiled at me. “Congratulations. That sounds like an amazing opportunity.
I nodded, suppressing the urge to clap my hands. “It is. And I’ll treat myself to a… mini vacation or something like that.” I shrugged. “Or maybe not. I really want to go on a trip, but I don’t want to go alone, and most of my friends are all lovey-dovey and coupled up. And I’m happy for them, but… if I go on vacation with any of them, their partners will be there, so I’ll end up being the third wheel.”
Evan furrowed his brows. “Going alone isn’t an option?”
I shook my head. “Nah. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt, but… yeah. Ideally, I’d have my own boyfriend to take, but where do I find one right now?”
“Carousel,” Evan suggested.
“The dating app?” I still had it on my phone, but I hadn’t used it in months. “I mean, yeah, I could start using that again, but… do you think I’ll find a boyfriend fast enough to take on a mini-vacation in like… the next couple of months?”
Evan’s face turned thoughtful for a moment. “I think there’s some kind of charity bachelor auction going on there at the moment. You bid for someone to go on a blind date weekend getaway with.”
“A date and a vacation?” I clapped my hands. “That sounds like it’s exactly what I was looking for!”
Evan just smiled indulgently before he turned around and greeted a group of middle-aged ladies who’d just entered the room.
I sighed, walking toward the back of the room to grab a yoga mat and secure a spot where I was comfortable and wouldn’t interrupt the class. I had the feeling I wasn’t going to be the epitome of calm and collected today. Unlike Evan. The dude was seriously chill. And bendy — something else I definitely hadn’t mastered yet.
“Good afternoon, everyone.” I heard Evan’s voice, calm as ever but somehow loud enough to drown out the conversations in the room. “Please grab a mat and get set up. We’re starting in a minute.”
Quiet music started filling the room, and I took a deep breath. Yoga. Calm. Relaxing.
Not thinking about bachelor auctions, blind dates, and weekend-getaways. No problem.
At all.
* * *
Evan was right; Carousel did have a charity bachelor auction going on.
I smiled at my phone as I clicked and answered my way through the question and legalities they probably had to ask me. Well, they probably had to ask most of the questions — I didn’t see how my choice of either cake or pie would help them cover their asses on a legal basis, but they were fun to answer.
I grabbed my bottle of coke from my coffee table and took a gulp.
Yes to small towns and nature.
