Page 22 of The Rules

She let herself picture the type of relationship she could see herself in. What type of guy she could stand to look at day in and day out. Then she took another sip of wine and started typing.

I’m not looking for long walks on the beach or even flowers on Valentine’s Day. You don’t need to look at me with stars in your eyes—in fact, I’d prefer you didn’t. It’s creepy. I just want to find a guy who likes to have fun but has all of the adulting down too. Care about your job, care about your friends, love your mom. Stay out late drinking wine with me until we have to sleep the morning away, but also know when it’s time to go home or get up. Most importantly, please don’t make me regret this.

Seven

Dani’s wedge sandals wobbled onthe crushed stone as she stepped out of the car into Dylan’s driveway. Nick hadn’t been wrong about the power statement thing. She’d always found it easier to deal with the male species, especially ones who’d seen her naked, when she could look them in the eye. At five-four, she needed the assist.

And if she was going to use this party as a chance to talk to Dylan about being her freebie, she’d take that little bit of extra confidence.

She’d rescinded her RSVP to his Fourth of July party five times in her head over the last week. Once for every time she’d pictured their last run-in—her date in the middle of a drug deal and his hand on some chick’s ass—but Dylan was the perfect solution to her problem. Sonya said to find a guy with no expectations and no chance of getting confused, and if there was one person she could be sure fit that description, it was him. Besides, despite kicking herself for it in the morning, the night they’d spent together had been pretty hot. Now she had the chance to turn it into an opportunity. She just needed to man-up and ask him.Hey, remember that thing we did at Cat’s wedding, Dylan? Let’s do it again. On the regular. No strings.In what world would Dylan turn that down? She’d make sure she had a moment alone with him and lay the offer on the table.

Unless he’d invited someone.

That thought stopped her dead. He’d said he wasn’t inviting Mia, but he hadn’t said whether he’d have another woman on his arm today. That would ruin her whole plan.

She looked down at the store-bought cupcakes she’d brought, melting in their plastic container, and blew out a breath. Too late now.

The front door was propped open by a rock—typical—and she slipped around it into the living room. Dylan’s house didn’t scream bachelor pad, but it was heavily implied. Instead of art on the walls, there was a vintage beer sign from Camden Yards hanging over a bar cart in one corner. The other walls were mostly covered by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, sparsely populated and organized in no particular way. His furniture was all high-end, though. Too bad he couldn’t be bothered to spruce it up with some decor.

“Dani!” a voice called as she stepped through the back slider, out onto the patio. Cat sat on the edge of Dylan’s kidney-shaped pool in a white bandeau bikini, her hair tucked through the back of one of Josh’s baseball caps. She jumped up and crossed the grass to greet her.

“Hey, Kit Cat.” Dani leaned in for a hug, but Cat pinched the inside of her elbow with her short, sherbert-colored nails.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“That picture you posted of me in the bridal suite, swishing mouthwash and digging under my dress for my garter.”

Oh, yeah. She’d forgotten about that. That post got over a thousand likes. She’d captioned it:Bridezilla #nofilter.

“I was commemorating my best friend’s wedding day,” she said. “It was artsy.”

“Whatever. I hate you but I’m glad you’re here.” Cat hooked her arm through Dani’s and dragged her to a couple of empty lounge chairs. She plopped onto one of them and picked up a plastic tumbler of iced tea.

Josh and Shawn waved to her from the pool, and she waved back, wondering where Dylan was. She’d like to get the awkward hello out of the way and work on pretending things were normal before she made them complicated again.

Dani heard a splash and looked up to see Josh hoisting himself out of the water. He skipped a towel, instead walking straight to Cat’s chair and wrapping her in a soggy, full-body hug. Cat squealed and swatted at him as he soaked her. It was their usual nausea-inspiring adorableness, but then Josh whispered something in Cat’s ear that Dani couldn’t hear, and Cat’s shoulders fell.

“I’m fine,” she whispered back, less stealthily than Josh had.

Dani’s Spidey-senses flared.That was weird.There was an edge to Cat’s voice Dani hadn’t heard directed at Josh before.

She studied her nails, pretending not to be intrigued by that little interaction.

Josh kissed Cat on the forehead and stood. “I’m going to get a drink. Dani, you need one? Shawn’s mixing.”

“Absolutely.” For a big, Irish, ginger-headed dude, Shawn made an unrivaled margarita. It was all they drank when he was around. She was surprised Cat wasn’t double-fisting them.

“What was that all about with Josh?” Dani asked when he was out of hearing range.

“Nothing.” Cat’s eyes flickered with guilt. She should never play poker. “I wasn’t feeling well this morning. You know how he is.”

Obsessed with her every breath? Yeah, they all knew. But Cat usually liked that. She certainly never snapped at him over it. Dani studied her friend a little closer. For having just returned from her honeymoon, Cat didn’t look at all sun and sexed-out. She looked more like she’d just returned from a grueling trip up a mountain on horseback.

“You don’t look great.”

“Thanks.”

“No, I’m serious.” That pink glow in Cat’s cheeks that had popped so beautifully in all of her wedding pictures was gone, and she had bags under her eyes like she hadn’t slept in a month. “Is everything okay in Josh Land?”

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