Page 5 of Pucking Your Best Friend

Matt sighed and put on a smile. Before he could open his mouth, though, Maddie beat him to it.

“No, he’s not.” She made a face. “But Freddie hears that all the time. It’s the hair. The rest of the face isn’t as pretty as Payne’s, unfortunately. No offense, Freddie-sweetheart.” She patted his hand apologetically. “I mean, all you have to do is really look. The nose alone…”

The students blinked, then leaned forward and said, “Oops. Yeah, totally. Sorry we disturbed you.”

Embarrassed, they raised their hands and went back to their table.

“Freddie?” Matt asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why are you looking at me like that? It’s your name, after all,” she replied innocently.

He snorted but smiled. “Ah, yes. And what’s wrong with my nose?”

“It’s huge!”

“Hm.” He nodded, concerned. “Yes. You sound like the midwife at my birth. And my mother. And Dax. And the photographer from Sports Illustrated.”

She laughed loudly. “Well, at least I didn’t hurt your feelings.”

“At least there’s that,” he confirmed, toasting her and draining his beer. “Anyway, thanks.”

“No problem,” she replied warmly. “Everyone has the right to benormal.”

“You’re contradicting all the other scandal-hungry people in the world.”

“Oh, yes, I’m a true rebel,” she lied.

“Obviously.” His gaze locked with hers, causing her body temperature to shoot up by two degrees.

When he still hadn’t turned away after thirty wild heartbeats, she asked nervously, “What?”

“Nothing. You’re so different from Lucy. I mean, I’ve only known her for a few hours and I’m already a little scared of her. You’re…nicer.”

“Nicer.” She frowned. “Ouch.”

Unfortunately, she knew what he meant. Lucy was brave. A rabble-rouser. She hated being treated unfairly and jumped headfirst into every argument. Maddie was…more modest. Just his morning, she’d given up two parking spaces that were rightfully hers simply because she didn’t feel like dealing with the confrontations.

“Nice isn’t bad,” Matt said, immediately surprised.

“No, of course not.” She waved him off. Nice was just nice. Nothing special. “So, what about you, Matt?” she asked, uncomfortable about revealing too much about herself. “Can you be nice?”

“Oh, yeah.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Very nice. You can ask anyone.”

She chuckled, fairly certain it had to be anyone female. God, he was completely unsuitable forMatch Me!Unfortunately. A prominent client like him might help them compete successfully with Tinder.

Her cell phone vibrated and when she glanced at the display, she saw a message from Lucy:I met a cute guy at the bar. Give me fifteen minutes.

She sighed. “Lucy needs time,” she said and showed her phone to Matt.

“Well, what the heck. Let’s use the time…for another drink?” He pointed at her empty glass.

Use the time. Yes, she wanted to use the time. “Tell me, Matt,” she said on impulse, “Are your muscles functional or are they merely for show?”

He gave her a wry look. “They work.”

“Wonderful. So then, you won’t mind carrying a bench I found in the trash to my apartment?”

It was worth a try. Lucy wasn’t that strong, at least not when it came to muscles.

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