Page 11 of One and Only

“I forgot my phone,” I said. “She didn’t happen to bring it up here, did she?”

She smiled, but it was tight and nervous. “No.”

“It’s fine. I’ll get it.”

“Sir,” she called to my retreating back.

I approached the booth and saw the blond guy with the jaw sitting in the space I’d occupied. The rose was laying on the table. Her spot was empty, and my phone wasn’t on the table where I’d left it. He was staring at his own screen, and I glanced at the back of the restaurant toward the restrooms. There was no sign of Greer, but she had to be somewhere.

As I neared the hallway that led to the restrooms, I heard the sound of her voice, followed by male laughter. I paused.

“Thoughts?” she said.

I tucked my hand in my pocket and leaned forward enough to steal a look at who she was speaking to.

It was the server.

“Cute.” He was holding a plate of food, and Greer shoveled a bite into her mouth. “Not as cute as the guy before him, but definitely the best of all the options you’ve had.”

My eyes narrowed.

“No one is as cute as the guy before this one.” She sighed. “He was …” Then Greer shivered.

My stomach tightened at the realization she was talking about me. My face felt warm, and I glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention.

She kept talking. “But he was a business meeting, not a …you knowcandidate.”

Whatwas going on?

“More dates tomorrow night?”

“I don’t know if I can handle another night of this. They were all so awful, Rocco.”

“I know, girl. I saw.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll do it as long as you don’t need me moving across the state. I don’t think I could explain my income to my mom very well.”

Because of the dark color of his skin, I couldn’t tell if Rocco was blushing, but the way he glanced at her—shy and a little bit smitten—I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was.

She laughed. “You are so sweet, but you’re about a decade too young for this. My parents would never believe I’m robbing the cradle, but if I thought they would”—she set a hand on his arm—“I’d take you up on it in a heartbeat.” The sound of a fork scraped against the plate. “Can you wrap that up for me? I want to eat an entire casserole dish of that before I pass out.”

“You got it, boss.” His attention turned toward the end of the hallway, and I ducked out of sight. “Are you gonna ask this guy then? He kinda looks like Lord Farquaad fromShrek.”

If I hadn’t felt the sharp edge of alarm at everything I was hearing, I might have laughed. What the hell was she getting herself into?

“Rocco,” she said on a laugh.

“Hedoes.”

“If I’d figured out how to ask this without sounding crazy, I might ask him. He’s good enough, right? He’s cute. He’s tall. One year older than me. He said he’s between jobs at the moment, so the money might entice him. I think my family would believe it. But I still have to figure out the wholeI’m offering you money to pretend to be married to mething.” My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. “You know,” she continued, “without sounding completely desperate.”

The server hummed knowingly.

“I know,” she wailed. “It’s insane, I know.”

I glanced back at the booth, my heart twisting in rapid beats as I surveyed her companion in the booth again. He was holding up his phone for a selfie, the rose next to his face. He pursed his lips and tilted his chin at an arrogant angle.

What a tool.

I thought about Parker, one of my only close friends on the team. If his sister was into something, I’d never be able to look him in the eye if I didn’t speak up.

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