Page 1 of A Date with Fate

Chapter One

Taylor

“This is a horrible idea.”

“This is definitely a horrible idea.”

“You two are being ridiculous. This is a great idea.”

The two men in the room continued to stare at me, dumbstruck, and for a moment I wondered if maybe they were right. But it was too late to go back now. I flapped my hands to my sides. “It’s not even that long of a drive.”

My brother blinked at me. “It’s a very long drive.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’ll be fine, right, Scott?”

Scott Spears, bless his heart, glanced between my brother and me, confusion all over his familiar face. “Uh, I’m going to stay out of this.”

“Look here, bro. The bottom line is you are not ready to leave your baby. I get that. I’m currently unemployed and bored out of my mind.” I motioned to my bags, still stacked by the front door. “I’m already packed. We’ll just keep moving.”

Logan’s shoulders slumped a little, and I knew I had him. A twinge of guilt chilled my fingers as I watched my older brother. We’d been a little disconnected lately, but the birth of my nephew was the beginning of something new. I wanted to know him, my godson, more than anything else. That was, after I let my brother and his Carlie have some time alone.

They deserved it. I didn’t think they’d had a single day of quiet since Hayden was born, and I knew they wanted time to just exist in their new dynamic.

I didn’t blame them. That’s what I would want.

“I’m still not sure.” But Logan wasn’t looking at me anymore. He was looking sharply at Scott. They’d been friends since kindergarten and could do that irritating talk without words that relationships like that could always do.

I wouldn’t know. Outside of Logan, I had almost no strong relationships, from childhood or otherwise. With Mom’s habit of moving us around, I’d never really had the chance to bond with anyone. I’d spent years being jealous, but now I was just painfully self-aware of my loneliness. There were worse things.

“Scott,” I hissed, giving him a long look. “You know I’m just as good of a companion as Logan is. Probably better since I don’t snore.”

Scott’s tanned cheeks pinked a little, and he brushed a hand through the overly long blond hair that lay on his forehead. “She has a point.”

“Hmm.” Logan crossed his arms. “At least I know you won’t hit on her or something.”

Scott’s jaw actually dropped. “What did you say?”

“Logan Haley!”

“What? If Scott was going to make a move on you, he would’ve done it like ten years ago,” Logan said casually, and I actually felt the recoil in my chest. I’d been reminded of this a hundred times before. I wasn’t Scott’s type. Scott was sunshine and smiles, mountains and sunsets. I was…well, my ex-boyfriend claimed I was part ice-queen, part supervisor.

Joke’s on him, I supposed, because even after he left me in the dirt, I was still his boss.

I cringed internally. At least, I was until last week.

Now I was here, in Chicago, begging my older brother to let me go on a road trip with his golden retriever of a best friend. I was a mess.

I struck a carefree pose. It was unfamiliar. “Scott, you said you needed someone to come with you, right?”

Scott nodded, blond hair flopping in a way that made my fingers twitch.

“And Logan, you want to stay here and gush over your newborn, right?”

Logan gave me a hard look, but after a moment, he nodded.

I clapped my hands together. “Looks like I’m hired!”

“Hired?”

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