Page 2 of Her Inconvenient Wedding Date

“No, it’s just allergies.”

I wince, knowing full well she’s fibbing. Like everything about her, Jasmine has the perfect immune system. She hardly ever gets sick, and she certainly does not get sneezing attacks every spring like I do. She’s obviously having a hard time dealing with her obstinate, love-challenged sister.

And I can’t blame her.

Cringing, I swallow my pride and soften my stance. What’s one date? It’s not like I have to marry the guy I choose. I just need to make it look like I’m trying to find a husband. My hope—and secret plan of attack—is that if I put some effort into dating, I can convince my mother to let Jasmine set a wedding date. Once the invitations are mailed out, there will be no turning back—whether I’m marriedor not.

“I’ll go with guy number three,” I announce with forced enthusiasm. “He seems harmless enough.”

Jasmine gasps. “You will?! Thank you, thank you! You’re the best sister in the entire universe!”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re not so bad yourself.”

“I’ll text you the time and place for your date as soon as I hang up!”

My shoulders immediately tense up. “You already have the date planned?”

“Of course. You’re on for dinner and boba tonight.”

“But how did you know I was going to pick this guy?”

“I didn’t. I set up dates with all four of them, so I’ll need to cancel the other three ASAP. Oh, a patient just walked in. I’ll talk to you later, Jie!”

Once she hangs up, I’m left staring at my phone and shaking my head. If the wordefficiencyhad a mascot, it would be my sister. She never ceases to amaze me with her multitasking skills.

Now that the call is over, I throw my head back against my chair and groan. I can’t believe I agreed to go out with a total stranger. But at this point, I’m verging on the edge of desperation. The tip of my square-toe braided sandal is touching the border and ready to dive head-first into the other side. Knowing how long Jasmine has been waiting tugs at my heart. It’s not her fault our family has this silly tradition and it’s certainly not her fault that I was born first. Being the younger sibling has its perks—winning the genetic lottery being one of them—but the downside is just as extreme. But if I ever want to be the cool aunt that I know I have the potential to be one day, I need to fake it till I make it.

It’s not that I don’t want to get married—I do. I’m a hopeless romantic despite my nerdy brain. I love reading romances so much I joined a book club so I can gush about meet-cutesand grand gestures every Sunday night with four other bookworms. One of them, Hope, just married the love of her life over the summer, so we know happy endings do occur in real life. But I’m pretty sure the plot line where I find a husband whom my mother likes as much as me exists solely in fiction.

“Ahem.”

A low, familiar voice sounds behind me. I don’t need to turn around to know which colleague is leaning all of his six-foot-four frame against my cubicle wall. There is only one guy who smells like a citrusy forest every time he passes by, and that’s Mr. Hunter Payne. His surname is quite fitting, considering how much frustration he causes me on a daily basis when he oh-so-inconveniently stops by to brag about how fast he debugged a program or to look over my shoulder and critique a line of my code. As if that wasn’t enough, he earned a huge red flag when his cousin broke off his engagement with my friend, Amelia, and he had the gall to take Ryder’s side. Since then, I’ve tried to steer clear of Hunter as much as I can, but he, for some reason, won’t leave me alone.

I spin around in my chair, ready to give him the stink eye, but my stomach unexpectedly dips at the sight of him. There’s something different about him today—dare I say, even kind of cute? Is it his clothes or his shoes? Did he do something different with his hair? I nearly gag when I realize I’m using up precious brain cells to ponder these questions. Because there is no way I would ever be interested in Hunter. And there is absolutely no chance at all that anything could ever happen between me and my frenemy.

CHAPTER 2

Hunter

“I’m tryingto become a superhero, but I can’t figure out which one… Superman or Yourman.” ~Unknown

I may not be the coolest guy on planet earth, or even in Silicon Valley, but when Lily Lam looks my way, I stand a bit straighter. When I’m around her, I don’t mind being compared to the Jolly Green Giant, that memorable mascot who sounds like Santa but resembles Shrek. But even though I’m nearly as tall as a giant and have been since my junior year of high school, I don’t have the legs to pull off that leafy caveman outfit he wears. Nope, I prefer to live in jeans and a T-shirt and let beautiful people like Lily have the spotlight.

Because her legs look amazing in just about anything.

“There’s something different about you today, Hunter.” Lily eyes me cautiously, giving me a thorough onceover from my mop of chestnut brown hair all the way down to my black Vans. “I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.”

Frowning, she taps her pink-polished index finger against her lower lip and makes a humming sound that’s sweet andsoothing to my soul. Everything about Lily is like a perfect line of code, which some programmers argue doesn’t exist, but I beg to differ. When you’ve experienced perfection, your brain instantly recognizes it. Like the vibrant colors of a sunset or the harmonic tones of a major 9th chord, Lily is just as magical.

I’m pretty sure I know how Adam felt when God brought Eve to him for the first time. Lily’s the only woman who has ever rendered me speechless with a smile. From the moment I met her on my first day of work here a year ago, I was a goner. Literally. My thoughts vanished and I couldn’t speak for a good five seconds. I remember standing there with my mouth open like a fish out of water gasping for breath.

It wasn’t until one of our colleagues walking by stuck a bagel in my mouth did I get my jaw moving again. Fortunately, I’ve learned to always carry one with me when I’m near Lily, so I don’t get caught in that situation again. Day-old bagels with their drier and tougher texture are the most effective since they require more chewing. And more chewing means I’ll at least have a legitimate reason for not talking when my mind goes blank in her presence.

I swallow the last bite of the blueberry bagel in my hand, finally ready to speak now that my operating system (aka brain) has rebooted itself. “You noticed? I didn’t think you paid that much attention to me,” I add with a smirk that makes her eyes roll.

“Don’t let it go to your head, Hunter. I happen to have an eye for detail. It’s not like I keep track of what you wear every day or how you style your hair.” She cocks her head to one side and asks, “Is it your hair? Did you get it cut?”

“Nope, it’s not my hair.” I take a few steps toward her desk, enjoying every second that she has her gaze on me. This has to be the longest that she’s ever looked my way, at leastwith genuine interest and not her usual displeasure. Not that Lily’s ever mean, but her right brow always twitches when she’s bothered, which seems to happen often when I come by to chat. It’s not my intention to annoy her though.

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