Page 7 of Her Inconvenient Wedding Date

Regret courses through my body like kryptonite, snuffing out the life in my veins. I squeeze my eyes shut, not caring if my contacts become permanently glued to my eyeballs. This is such an unexpected plot twist, I’m almost impressed with Simon’s strategic, unromantic ways.

Will Lily be as well?

Speaking of plots, I now understand why she cries over the books she reads. From what I know about romance stories, there’s usually a black moment for a couple when they think all hope is lost. It doesn’t come until after they get together, but in my case, it’s happening now. Forget dating; I won’t even have a chance to tell Lily how I feel about her.

Some superhero I am.

I’m almost too afraid to look over at their table, but I force my eyelids open. Taking a deep breath, I brace myself for the worst-case scenario—finding the woman I adore engaged to another man. To my surprise, however, I only see Lily sitting at her table. Simon and his briefcase are gone. I lean to the left to catch a glimpse of Lily’s left hand. My lungs finally expand again when I see her bare ring finger.

Thank You, Lord!

I’m not sure what happened or didn’t happen, but I don’t have time to wonder because Lily’s heading over in my direction, likely on her way to the restroom. Being the calm, cool, and level-headed guy that I am, I quickly grab the teapot and hold it in front of my face. The expression I see reflected in the stainless steel is as sheepish as I feel. I stay still, waiting for Lily to pass. Maybe if I hold my breath, she won’t?—

“Hunter?”

—see me.

Down goes the teapot and up go my brows as I fake a tone of surprise. “Hey, Lil! What are you doing here?”

“I came here for my date like I told you I would. What areyoudoing here?”

My tongue freezes, not because I have no excuse to tell Lily, but because she’s just so beautiful. She has on a black dress, a color that I’ve never seen her wear, but her jewelry is still colorful. Her big brown eyes look at me expectantly, waiting for an answer. “I, um, felt like Chinese food tonight.”

“Yeah? It’s sort of nice that I ran into you here. You’ll never believe what happened with Simon.”

“Sounds intriguing.” My tone is so nonchalant, I should get an Oscar. “Do you want to sit and tell me about it?”

“Yes! Let me run to the ladies’ room first. Be right back!”

While Lily’s doing her business, I get down to mine and ask one of the waiters to bring her food over to my table. I also pay for her bill, so she won’t need to think about that part of her evening again. Now that Simon is out of the picture, I hope we can focus on more pressing matters, like how did he mess up and how do I not follow in his footsteps? I’m realizing now more than ever that time is not on my side. If I want Lily to see me as more than a friend, I’ll need to make a move fast before she receives any more proposals.

When she returns and sees a clean plate and pair of chopsticks set out for her, she gives me a smile. She slides along the booth until she’s seated beside me. “Thanks for letting me crash your dinner. This night totally didn’t go the way I expected it to, but at least I don’t have to eat alone.”

Hearing the gratitude in her voice has me puffing out my chest like a male bird. I haven’t done much yet, but I already feel like I’m making headway. If I need to sing, dance, or offer a gift to impress Lily, I’ll consider it. But first, I want to hear all about her disastrous date.

I pour a fresh cup of tea for her, then say, “So, tell me what happened with Mr. PowerPoint.”

CHAPTER 5

Lily

“A blind date:An exercise in trust or an unexpected comedy special." ~Unknown

I’m pretty sure Hunter spied on me and Simon tonight. First of all, he just called him Mr. PowerPoint, which meant he saw the twenty-slide presentation that my date had painstakingly put together. I’m grateful he witnessed it because I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them Bill Gates played a part in my love life. Or my soon-to-be nonexistent love life, to be more exact. If the dating world is anything like what I just experienced, I’m ready to book a tour at the closest convent.

“Well, long story short, Simon proposed, and I turned him down.” I shake my head as the absurdity of my own words hits me. “What guy proposes on the first date?”

“That’s exactly what I thought! I’m glad you set him straight,” Hunter replies as he offers me some fried rice. “I bet you’re starving. You didn’t even get to take two bites before he broke out the slideshow. Here, eat.”

“That is not an exaggeration. I lost my appetite as soon as I saw his pie charts. It should be illegal to name something that dull after a type of dessert.” I pick up my chopsticks and wait with anticipation as he piles more food onto my plate. My stomach gurgles happily as I inhale the savory scents of soy sauce, garlic, and sesame oil. Now this is the kind of experience I was hoping for when I showed up here. A night out with a man who’d enjoy sharing a meal and some good conversation. That’s all I need—some nourishment for my stomach and soul. I say a prayer of thanks to God for bringing Hunter here. “Thank you for this.”

“The food? I wish I could take credit for it. I can do a lot of things, but cooking is not one of them.”

“Not the food, the company. It’s nice to have a normal conversation where I’m not being grilled about my 401K or cholesterol level.”

His jaw drops. “Simon asked you about those things?”

“That was during the fourth and fifth slides when he was telling me about his numbers,” I reply with a wry smile before I dig into the fried rice. I’m two bites in when my taste buds start cheering. “This is so good. At least he picked a nice restaurant. Everything else about this date, though, was a total bust. I felt like he was only interested in getting to know my credentials. I might as well have been interviewing for a job.”

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