Page 11 of The Good Guy on My Porch

It was her turn to snort and almost spit out her BBQ, which would have been a tragic loss. “You didn’t have anything to do with that.”

I straightened and looked down my nose at her. “Who suggested you take a break from dating losers?”

“You did,” she said reluctantly.

“And who invited Cody to go out dancing with us?”

“You did. But that got the whole town talking and almost cost me my job.”

I shook my head like I was disappointed. “It’s hardly my fault you can’t handle your liqueur and he had to take you home with him. I’m just pointing out that I got the ball rolling between you two. A little gratitude would not be amiss.”

She tapped her fingers on the table and sighed. “You do have a small point.” She gave me a sincere smile. “Thank you, Dilly.”

I relaxed in my seat, my work done. “You’re welcome.”

But Carrie didn’t relax, her gaze sharpened. “I should return the favor.”

I put my hands up. “I don’t do set-ups, Carrie. You know that.”

She tapped her chin, studying me. “Don’t worry, I know your rules. I know all your rules.”

The truth was, she didn’t know all my rules. I’d kept her at a distance, because it was the only way I could be the fun, light-hearted Dilly who supported her and never brought her down. I could pretend it was altruistic, but I knew myself better than that. I needed Carrie as much as she needed me, probably more, and I knew if I let her into all my secrets, our friendship would change and she’d no longer be the escape I needed. I lived my life by compartmentalizing everything I could and letting Carrie into my love life would be a bad, bad idea. “ I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it, but I’m seeing someone.”

She looked skeptical and she was right to look skeptical. I loved sharing the stories of my new romances with her, because I didn’t date anyone unless our meet-cute was a good story. A girl had to worry about the story she’d tell her grandkids. Not that I planned to have kids, but still…

“Someone from town?”

I’ve been lying for a lot of years, but this one was hard for me to conjure up on the spot and be sure it wasn’t a lie I’d used before. Years ago, I’d created a spreadsheet to track my lies, but there was no way she wouldn’t get suspicious if I ran home to spend some quality time with my laptop before I told her about my new beau. Instead, I thought of the last romance book I read. Fight over a house two people had inherited…No that wouldn’t work. “It got off to an unusually rocky start,” I said, my mind going to Oscar for some reason. “But he’s made up for it and he’s…” Shit, what had I gotten myself into? “He’s a bit of a stuck-up sort and he wanted nothing to do with me when we met, but there’s something there, you know. He’s very rich and thinks he’s better than everyone else, but he was kind to me when my sister was ill and he—”

“You don’t have a sister,” she said, a smile tickling her lips. “You’re describing the plot of Pride and Prejudice.”

Darn it, I was.

“You’re just trying to convince me not to set you up.”

“The truth is,” I said, lying through my teeth. “I’m thinking I could use a break from dating. I need to work on me for a while.”

She studied my face, considering, then she smiled. “You’re perfect, Dilly. You’re the most confident person I know and you’re doing exactly what you always dreamed of doing, working at the library. What could you possibly work on?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe figuring out the guy is married before I sleep with him.”

“Which is why a set-up is perfect,” she said. “I can vet the guys before you even meet them.”

I loved Carrie like she was my sister, but she and I were polar opposites in so many ways. I was more than a hundred percent positive she would not choose a guy I’d like. “I’m asking you, Carrie, as your very best friend, do not set me up.”

She shook her head, her gaze thoughtful, like she already had someone in mind. “I went bungee jumping with you. You can go on one date with a guy of my choosing. Just one date.”

“Fine,” I said. “But I will remind you that no great love story has ever begun with a blind date.”

She shook her head. “I’m disappointed, Dilly. I thought you were all about breaking the rules.”

***

I dropped Carrie off and went home. I immediately saw Oscar on the porch steps. It was early to be out sunset watching, but I couldn’t help being glad to see him. It had only been two days, but I had already started to look forward to sitting on the porch with him, talking to him, and hearing about his day.

He was reading, his attention on his book, his lean body covered in jeans and a t-shirt that fitted to his toned muscles. Then he looked up and he smiled, and his face transformed. How had I never noticed how gorgeous he was? I was amazed he was still single.

I was halfway down the walk when a woman stepped through Oscar’s front door and plopped down beside him. He gave her a huge smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a tight side-hug. Ah, so not single. Good for him, I thought, even as my smile went brittle and something twisted in my gut. Was I jealous? No. That would be entirely ridiculous. I was probably just unhappy about someone intruding on our sunset-watching routine.

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